Much of the regular-season drama has played out, with the majority of races over in Class 5A. Most of the final two games of the regular season will determine the seeding for the region tournaments.
Region 2 has already started its tournament, hosted at Warner Robins High School. The first round of the girls competition is complete, while the boys will determine their four state qualifiers on Tuesday night.
The remaining regions will start their playoffs next week with the top four teams advancing to the state playoffs.
Here’s region-by-region look at the playoff races.
Region 1
Girls – Bradwell Institute (20-3, 9-1) won the regular season, with Greenbrier (18-7, 7-3) taking second place. The two teams split their regular season meetings. Boys – Greenbrier (16-9, 9-1) moved into the region this year and wound up winning the regular season. Bradwell Institute, Coffee and Statesboro were all 6-4 in league play to create a three-way tie for second.
Region 2
Girls – The regular-season wound up with Warner Robins (21-4) and Union Grove (15-6) tied at 10-1 in region play. Jones County and Eagle’s Landing tied for third with 6-6 marks in the league. The first of the playoffs has already been completed with Warner Robins, Union Grove, Eagle’s Landing and Jones County advancing to the state playoffs. The semifinals will be Thursday and the finals played Friday at Warner Robins. Boys – Eagle’s Landing (23-1, 11-1) won the regular season title, finishing one game ahead of Dutchtown (18-7, 10-2). The playoffs start Tuesday at Warner Robins.
Region 3
Girls – There’s still unfinished business here. Northside-Columbus (16-6, 6-0) has a one-game lead over Harris County (16-7, 5-1), but they play each other on Saturday in a game that could determine first place. Boys – McIntosh (17-7, 7-0) can clinch the championship with a win over Drew on Friday. Northside Columbus (15-6, 4-2) will be the No. 2 seed.
Region 4
Girls -- Arabia Mountain (23-1, 10-0) ran the table in the region, beating second-place Decatur (19-8, 8-2) in both head-to-head meetings. Boys – The Tucker Tigers (18-6, 10-0) dropped down a rung in classification and rolled through the league without a loss. Decatur (15-8, 7-3) climbed over Lithonia (16-8, 6-4) to claim second place.
Region 5
Girls -- Maynard Jackson (19-1, 14-0) has already clinched the regular-season championship, with youthful Midtown (18-5, 11-3) enjoying a two-game lead in the race for second place. Jackson and Midtown play in the season-finale, although it will have no bearing on who finishes first. Boys – Reigning state champion Tri-Cities (15-8, 12-2) is in the driver’s seat, but still has games remaining against Maynard Jackson and Banneker. Second-place Mays (16-7, 11-3) finishes against Lithia Springs and Villa Rica. Chapel Hill (15-8, 11-4) and Jackson (14-7, 10-4) are tied for third in this deep league.
Region 6
Girls – Kell (18-5, 11-0) has been the dominant team all season and has already clinched the regular-season championship. Greater Atlanta Christian and Centennial both have three losses. GAC has the tougher finishing schedule, as the Spartans play Kell in the season finale. But Centennial closes the season with rival Chattahoochee. Boys – Kell (20-2, 11-0) has reigned supreme all season and wrapped up first place. Centennial (15-8, 7-3) could nail down the No. 2 seed with a win over third-place Chattahoochee (13-10, 6-4) when the rivals play on Friday.
Region 7
Girls – Calhoun (18-4, 7-1) has a one-game lead over Hiram (18-4, 8-2) with games remaining against Cartersville and Dalton. Hiram has games left against Cass and Cartersville. Boys – Hiram (20-2, 8-0) has clinched the regular-season championship. Cass (11-11, 5-3) and Calhoun (12-10, 5-3) are tied for second. Cass finishes with Hiram and Woodland, while Calhoun finishes with Cartersville and Dalton.
Region 8
Girls – Loganville (16-8, 10-1) has already clinched first place. Boys – Winder-Barrow (16-8, 9-2) and Heritage (17-6, 9-2) are tied for first place. Winder hosts Loganville and Heritage hosts Flowery Branch on Tuesday to finish the season. Eastside (20-5, 9-3) is currently in third place, but could move up depending on the results of those games.
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