The Class 6A football playoffs begin Friday night with 16 first-round games, and there will be a new champion this year.

Buford has departed to the highest classification after winning back-to-back championships during its two-season layover in 6A, leaving the field open for someone else to get a shot.

Here’s a look at some of the storylines of the first round:

*The favorites: Top-ranked Hughes came agonizingly close to knocking off Buford in the 2021 championship. Now the Panthers are back, 10-0 for the first time in the program’s 14-season history and a region champion for the second consecutive season. They steamrolled through the regular season, outscoring opponents 533-96 (and 377-47 in region games), and their closest game was a 47-21 victory at Class 7A McEachern on Aug. 26. Hughes is one four 10-0 teams in Class 6A, joining No. 2 Thomas County Central, No. 4 Gainesville and No. 8 Brunswick.

*Toughest draw: Hughes won’t have an easy path to the final. The Panthers are one of three ranked teams in the upper-right quarter of the bracket, which also includes No. 5 Woodward Academy and No. 9 Lee County. Other teams in that part of the bracket are No. 2 seeds North Forsyth and Effingham County, which lost close contests against undefeated top-10 teams in games that decided their region championships. Lee County and Blessed Trinity are possibly the two best No. 3 seeds in the Class 6A field. And whichever team advances to the semifinals could be looking at game against Northside-Warner Robins, No. 7 Marist or No. 6 Rome.

*Best first-round game: Tenth-ranked Houston County finished in a tie for second place with Lee County and Northside in Region 1, but region tiebreakers pushed the Bears down to the No. 4 seed. That put them in a first-round matchup with No. 8 Brunswick in the only 6A game this weekend between top-10 teams. Brunswick ranks No. 7 in points allowed at 13.3 points per game, but that defense will be tested by a Houston County team that scores 45.10 per game, second best in 6A. Brunswick coach Garrett Grady said of the Bears, “I think they may be the best No. 4 seed I have ever seen before.” The winner will face North Atlanta or Lovejoy next week.

*Fresh faces on top: Five of the eight teams that won region titles in 6A this year didn’t play in the classification last season. The most notable was Thomas County Central, which was a 5-6 team in 4A last season but won rugged Region 1 this year and finished 10-0 and ranked No. 2. Marist also moved up two classes but won Region 4 for its third consecutive region title. Woodward Academy moved up one class from 5A and won Region 3 for its seventh region championship in nine seasons. Roswell (Region 7) and Gainesville (Region 8) moved down from 7A and won their regions. Roswell was 10-3 and a quarterfinalist last year, while Gainesville went 5-5 and missed the playoffs. The returning teams that earned titles this year – Brunswick (Region 2), Hughes (Region 5) and Rome (Region 6) – all won their regions for the second consecutive season.

*Barely made it: Allatoona won its final four regular-season games to keep alive its streak of making the playoffs every year since it began playing a region schedule in 2010. The Buccaneers needed a victory in the finale against River Ridge or the streak would have ended. Instead, they won 31-0 and ended up with the second seed in Region 6 behind Rome. … Riverwood lost to Marist in its finale but clinched a playoff berth in Region 4 when North Atlanta eliminated Dunwoody that same night. … Houston County defeated Veterans, Evans beat South Effingham and Sprayberry knocked off Pope last week in games that determined the No. 4 spots in their regions.

*The projections: Here are the Maxwell Ratings’ picks for all 16 of Friday’s games in Class 6A. The computer projects that the higher-seeded (home) teams will win 11, with two of the other five being virtual toss-ups.

Alpharetta vs. Shiloh -16

Blessed Trinity at North Forsyth -8

Douglas County at Allatoona -1

Gainesville vs. Sprayberry -29

Houston County at Brunswick -7

Hughes vs. River Ridge -42

Lee County at Effingham Co. -18

Marist vs. Morrow -42

North Atlanta at Lovejoy -2

Northside-Warner Robins vs. Glynn Academy -32

Rome vs. Paulding County -28

Roswell vs. Lanier -40

South Paulding vs. Sequoyah -13

St. Pius vs. Mundy’s Mill -10

Thomas County Central vs. Evans -46

Woodward Academy vs. Riverwood -42

About the Author

Featured

The city of Brookhaven's mayor and City Council last week decided to remove the colored panes of glass from the dome of Brookhaven's new City Centre after residents objected to the brightness of the colors, seen here Friday, June 27, 2025. (Reed Williams/AJC)

Credit: Reed Williams/AJC