Six region titles and six playoff berths remain up for grabs in Class 6A as the football regular season comes to a close this weekend.
Here’s how the races shape up heading into Week 12:
*Region 1: This is the only Class 6A region that is completely set, as it finished its regular season last week. Lee County is the region champion for the fifth consecutive season. Northside-Warner Robins will be the No. 2 seed, and Houston County is the No. 3 seed. The fourth team in the region, Valdosta, is ineligible for the playoffs.
*Region 2: Brunswick, Effingham County and Richmond Hill have clinched playoff berths, and the winner of the Statesboro-Glynn Academy game will get the other one. Brunswick, at 9-0 the only remaining undefeated team in Class 6A this season, will travel to Effingham County for a game that will decide the region championship. Brunswick can finish no worse than second place, but a loss by Effingham County could drop the Rebels to the No. 3 spot. Glynn Academy has won four of the past five region titles, but a loss will keep the Red Terrors out of the playoffs for the first time since 2007. South Effingham and Bradwell Institute are out of contention.
*Region 3: Evans and Alcovy will meet Saturday in Covington for the region championship. The loser will be the No. 2 seed. Evans is seeking its fourth region title in five seasons, while Alcovy is aiming for its first in school history. The winner will get a first-round bye in the playoffs because Region 1, which is matched up with Region 3, will send only three teams to the postseason. Lakeside-Evans will be the No. 3 seed, and the winner of the game between Heritage-Conyers and Grovetown will take fourth place. Rockdale County is out of contention.
*Region 4: Hughes has clinched the championship, its first region title since 2013. Westlake has clinched a playoff berth, and a victory against Tucker this week would secure the No. 2 seed. Lovejoy and Tucker are tied for third place, although Lovejoy holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, and both can grab playoff berths with a win. However, fifth-place North Atlanta plays Lovejoy and could end up in the playoffs if it beats the Wildcats. Morrow is out of contention, and Lakeside-DeKalb is playing a non-region schedule.
*Region 5: Carrollton, Rome and South Paulding are tied for first place with 5-1 region records, and each is 1-1 against the other two. Rome has the advantage in head-to-head point differential. Fourth-place Douglas County has also clinched a playoff berth and can improve its seeding to No. 3 if it beats Carrollton. Alexander, Paulding County, East Paulding and Dalton are out of contention.
*Region 6: Kennesaw Mountain, Pope and Allatoona have one loss each in region play. Assuming Kennesaw Mountain defeats last-place Osborne this weekend (the computer Maxwell Ratings projected the Mustangs as 35-point favorites), it will win the first region title in school history, because it beat both Pope and Allatoona. The Pope-Allatoona game would then settle the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. The winner of the Kell-Lassiter game will take fourth place. South Cobb, Sprayberry, Wheeler and Osborne are out of contention.
*Region 7: Riverwood, Cambridge and Johns Creek are tied for first place with 5-1 region records, and each is 1-1 against the other two. Johns Creek holds the point-differential tiebreaker but also has the toughest game this week, facing fourth-place Creekview, which clinched the other playoff berth last week. Creekview could move up to at least the No. 3 seed by beating Johns Creek. Defending champion River Ridge, Sequoyah, Centennial and Chattahoochee are out of contention.
*Region 8: Top-ranked Buford plays at Dacula for the region championship. The loser will be the No. 2 seed, and Shiloh has clinched third place. Winder-Barrow and Lanier are tied for fourth place, and the winner of their game at Lanier will take the fourth playoff berth. Habersham Central and Central Gwinnett are out of contention.
First-round games
This is how the teams will match up in the bracket for the first round, which will be played on Saturday, Nov. 13. A few teams already have been officially placed by the GHSA:
(R1 #3) Houston County at (R3 #2)
(R7 #4) at (R5 #1)
(R6 #3) at (R8 #2)
(R4 #4) at (R2 #1)
(R3 #3) at (R1 #2) Northside-Warner Robins
(R5 #4) at (R7 #1)
(R8 #3) at (R6 #2)
(R2 #4) at (R4 #1) Hughes
(R2 #3) at (R4 #2)
(R8 #4) at (R6 #1)
(R7 #3) at (R5 #2)
(R1 #4) Bye at (R3 #1)
(R4 #3) at (R2 #2)
(R6 #4) at (R8 #1)
(R6 #5) at (R7 #2)
(R3 #4) at (R1 #1) Lee County
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