Half of the No. 1 playoff seeds in Class 5A have been determined. Ware County, Villa Rica, Cartersville and Clarke Central are all set. But the remaining four regions won’t crown their champions until Friday night and the final playoff alignment won’t be set until the last game is finished.
Here’s a look at the playoff situation in each Class 5A region in Georgia. When the playoffs starting next week, here’s how they will line up: Region 1 vs. Region 3, Region 2 vs. Region 4, Region 5 vs. Region 7, and Region 6 vs. Region 8.
Region 1: No. 4 Ware County is the region champ, even if it loses to Wayne County this week. Veterans could change the mix if it finds a way to upset No. 5 Warner Robins at The Mac, which would create a three-way tie for second place. If Warner Robins wins, the Demons will be No. 2, Coffee will be No. 3 and Veterans will be No. 4.
Region 2: If Whitewater defeats Harris County, the Wildcats will be the region champion and Starr’s Mill will be the second seed. If Harris County wins, there would be a three-way tie for first place which would result in Starr’s Mill being No. 1, Harris County No. 2 and Whitewater No. 3, based on the league’s tiebreaking criteria. Griffin is the No. 4 playoff seed.
Region 3: The winner of the game between No. 2 Creekside and No. 3 Woodward Academy will be the region champion. Jonesboro defeated Mundy’s Mill 38-0 on Thursday and nailed down the No. 3 seed, making the playoffs for a school-record fourth straight year. Banneker will be the No. 4 seed if it defeats Forest Park on Friday. That would leave Banneker tied with Mundy’s Mill, but the Trojans win the tiebreaker on a head-to-head outcome.
Region 4: The winner of this week’s game between Dutchtown and Jones County will be the region champion. Ola, Union Grove and Woodland are tied at 3-3. The winner of the Union Grove-Woodland game will make the playoffs. If Ola defeats Locust Grove, it will make the playoffs. Based on head-to-head tiebreakers, Ola would finish third if it winds up tied with Woodland, but would finish fourth if it ties with Union Grove.
Region 5: St. Pius will win the region title if it beats Decatur on Friday. If Decatur wins and Southwest DeKalb wins, there will be a three-way tie. Under the region’s rules, a 12-point differential would be invoked and Decatur would have to defeat St. Pius by 12 or more points, otherwise St. Pius is the top seed and SWD is the second seed, based on its regular-season win over Decatur. If the point differential does not break the tie, a draw or coin flip will determine the top seed and the second seed will revert to the head-to-head outcome. The No. 4 seed will be the winner of the King-Lithonia game.
Region 6: Villa Rica won the regular-season title after its 31-10 win over New Manchester. The No. 2 spot will go to New Manchester if it beats rival Chapel Hill. Lithia Springs is in with a win over North Springs. Maynard Jackson is in the playoffs, most likely as the fourth seed.
Region 7: Cartersville cemented its championship last week by beating Calhoun 21-14, leaving the Yellow Jackets as the second seed. Blessed Trinity will be No. 3 and Cass is No. 4. This region has completed play, giving all teams a week off before the playoffs start.
Region 8: Clarke Central is the region champion for the third straight year. The other three spots are up for grabs between six other schools. The remaining games feature Greenbrier (3-3 region) at Eastside (4-2), Jackson County (3-3) at Apalachee (4-2), and Loganville (2-4) at Walnut Grove (2-4). There are dozens of scenarios, but Eastside and Apalachee are in the playoffs if they both win, with Apalachee earning the second seed because of its regular-season win over the Eagles. They’ll be sorting this out late into Friday night.
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