Only two weeks remain in the regular season, but there is still much uncertainty about the playoffs. Only a few regular-season region titles have been secured and no one has finalized their top four for the postseason. The next two weeks should be a lot of fun.
Here’s a region-by-region look of the playoff scenarios in Class 5A.
Region 1: There are no easy games in this league. No. 2 Warner Robins has the only unbeaten region record and plays No. 6 Coffee this week; the winner is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. No. 3 Ware County hosts Veterans; Ware could clinch a playoff spot with a victory. Wayne County has the week off. The standings for this region won’t be determined until next week.
Region 2: No. 7 Starr’s Mill has clinched its fifth straight region championship. Second place could be determined by this week’s game between Harris County and Griffin. Whitewater has the inside track on the fourth playoff spot, if the Wildcats can beat Northgate this week.
Region 3: Woodward Academy took over the top spot by defeating previously unbeaten Jonesboro on Monday night. The War Eagles and Creekside are both unbeaten in league play and will meet in the final game of the regular season. But in order to make that a winner-take-all showdown, the Seminoles will have to beat Jonesboro on Saturday night. A three-way tie for first place is not out of the question. Three teams that have three region losses -- Tri-Cities, Mundy’s Mill and Banneker -- are currently tied for the fourth playoff spot with three region losses. Mundy’s Mill plays Banneker this week, with the loser eliminated from playoff consideration.
Region 4: No. 10 Jones County has not lost a region game and has already beaten Ola, but the Greyhounds will play Dutchtown in the season finale in a contest that could determine first place. Ola and Dutchtown are tied for second, but Ola has the tiebreaker based on its win over the Bulldogs. The fourth playoff spot could come down to the final game between Union Grove and Woodland.
Region 5: Decatur and St. Pius are tied at the top of the standings; those two teams meet next week. Decatur has a big test this week with Southwest DeKalb, which can finish no worse than third. Lithonia, King and Northview are vying for the final spot; the winner of this week’s Northview-King will have a leg up.
Region 6: Chapel Hill will win the region championship if it defeats New Manchester on Friday. The two teams are tied with Villa Rica with one loss apiece, but Chapel Hill has already beaten the Wildcats. A win by New Manchester would create a three-way tie for first. Lithia Springs and Maynard Jackson are tied for fourth, but Lithia won the head-to-head meeting.
Region 7: No. 1 Blessed Trinity and No. 4 Cartersville are unbeaten in region play, but their head-to-head game was cancelled because of COVID-19 at Cartersville. Cartersville and No. 6 Calhoun will play this week to clear up the situation. Unless Cass can upset Blessed Trinity this week, the fourth playoff spot will go to one-win Hiram based on its head-to-head win over Cass.
Region 8: No. 9 Clarke Central has clinched its second straight region championship. Eastside and Greenbrier are currently in second and third places and play each other in the last game. The final playoff spot will come down to Loganville, Walnut Grove, Jackson County and Apalachee; all four are tied with 2-3 region records.
About the Author
