The four teams that will compete for the Class 6A boys and girls basketball championships this weekend at the Macon Coliseum weren’t even in the classification last season.
The Wheeler boys team and the Westlake girls won state championships in 7A in 2020 before dropping to 6A during the reclassification process. The Kell boys were semifinalists and the Carrollton girls were quarterfinalists in 5A last year before moving up this season.
Two of them will capture titles when 6A crowns its champions Friday at 5 p.m. (girls) and 7:30 p.m. (boys). They will officially end the reigns of the Forest Park girls, who moved to 5A this season and will play Woodward Academy for the championship, and the Chattahoochee boys, who lost to Lee County in the quarterfinals.
Here’s a look at this week’s Class 6A championship games:
Girls
No. 3 Carrollton vs. No. 1 Westlake (5 p.m. Friday)
This game matches the state’s only remaining unbeaten girls team (19-0 Westlake) against the only 30-game winner (30-1 Carrollton).
Westlake won the past three championships in 7A and can become the seventh program in state history to win at least four consecutive state titles, joining Hart County (1989-1994), Wesleyan (2008-2013), Taylor County (1968-1972), Jeff Davis (1952-1955), Lowndes (1977-1980) and McEachern (2014-2017). The Lions are led by Raven Johnson, who is the nation’s No. 2-ranked senior, a South Carolina signee and the 2020 AJC all-classification player of the year. She is surrounded by a talented cast that includes fellow all-Region 4 players Ta’Niya Latson (23.1 points per game), Brianna Turnage (10.2 point, 6.9 rebounds), Camerah Langston (6.2 points) and Misia McKinney (8.0 points). Westlake hasn’t lost a game played in Georgia during its championship run.
Carrollton has won 22 consecutive games since its only loss, 53-49 against Class 7A No. 2 McEachern on Dec. 22. The Trojans’ leaders are guards De’Mauri Flournoy and Kehinde Obasuyi, named the top two players in Region 5 in the all-region balloting. Flournoy is a Vanderbilt signee averaging 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Obasuyi, a junior who missed last season with a torn ACL, averages 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Kell’s Tony Ingle, a coach familiar with both programs, was asked what it would take for Carrollton to derail Westlake’s drive for a fourth consecutive title. “If Carrollton plays the way they typically play, they will be fine,” he said. “Coach [Shon] Thomaston does a great job with his team and has some talented players to match Westlake’s talent. The two main things is to limit Westlake’s easy baskets and prevent Westlake from getting second-chance points.”
Kell lost to Westlake 55-46 in the quarterfinals and spent the past four seasons sharing a region with Carrollton in Class 5A.
Boys
No. 1 Wheeler vs. No. 2 Kell (7:30 p.m. Friday)
The Cobb County and Region 6 rivals will be facing each other for the fourth time this season. Wheeler won both meetings during the regular season by a total of four points, 74-73 at Wheeler on Jan. 15 and 68-65 at Kell on Feb. 12. Kell avenged those losses with a 78-71 victory in two overtimes in the region championship game.
That loss sentenced Wheeler (26-5) to a tough road back to the state final. After taking care of Sequoyah 75-59 in the first round of the state tournament, the Wildcats had to play three consecutive road games against region champions. The Wildcats won all three by double digits, beating No. 7 Lanier 77-64, No. 10 Richmond Hill 61-47 and No. 6 Centennial 73-63. Kaleb Washington had 25 points and seven rebounds in the victory against Centennial, and Ja’Heim Hudson had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Collier (13 points, seven assists), Maxwell Harris (10 points) and Khedric Oliver (10 points) all added double-figure scoring.
Wheeler has won seven state championships, including six since 2002, the year Kell opened. The Longhorns are seeking their first state title.
Kell (22-6) has played the toughest schedule in 6A, according to MaxPreps, and its six losses have all been by six points or less. The Longhorns have been tested in the playoffs, winning all four of their games by 10 points or less. They escaped the first round with a 58-56 victory over River Ridge, then beat No. 5 Shiloh 63-55, No. 9 Westlake 78-68, and Lee County 60-55.
The star of the show for Kell is five-star junior Scoot Henderson, the Region 6 player of the year. He had 26 points and 11 rebounds in the region final against Wheeler and 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in the semifinal victory over Lee County.
About the Author
