Class 7A blog: Best opening-round games and more

The draw is out, and the playoffs are upon us. Here are five quick observations before the first round in Class 7A:

*Only five of the 32 playoff teams didn’t also make the playoffs in 2019. The newcomers are Discovery (first appearance), Peachtree Ridge (last qualified in 2016), Meadowcreek (2017), Tift County (2018) and Pebblebrook (2018). Don’t expect a similar outcome, though. Defending champion Marietta is 3-7 and facing a tough East Coweta team in the first round.

*Brookwood and Colquitt County were ranked in the top five for the first half of the season. Now, they’re playing in the first round at Colquitt. Brookwood has lost twice – once to No. 1 Grayson when outmanned, once to Newton when star quarterback Dylan Lonergan hardly played because of an injury. Of course, Colquitt hasn’t lost at all. This is the most intriguing first-round game in the state by far.

*Parkview and Camden County were preseason top-10 teams whose seasons haven’t gone as they had hoped, but both are talented, each with a Super 11 player – Parkview’s Cody Brown, Camden County’s Micah Morris. Should be a good one at the Big Orange Jungle.

*North Gwinnett and Cherokee have spent much of the season in the top 10, though neither is currently there. The season shouldn’t end this soon for either. North Gwinnett has one of the state’s best defenses while Cherokee has some of the most explosive skill-position players in 7A.

*The most competitive games, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, will be Mill Creek at Roswell and McEachern at Walton. Maxwell pegs Mill Creek and Walton as one-point favorites.

Below is the draw. Note that Grayson is the only top-10 team in the bottom quarter of the draw, so the forecast is good for the Rams.

(R4 #3) Newton at (R1 #2) Lowndes

(R2 #4) Pebblebrook at (R3 #1) North Cobb

(R6 #3) Gainesville at (R7 #2) Archer

(R8 #4) Peachtree Ridge at (R5 #1) Milton

(R7 #3) Discovery at (R6 #2) Denmark

(R5 #4) Alpharetta at (R8 #1) Collins Hill

(R1 #3) Camden County at (R4 #2) Parkview

(R3 #4) Marietta at (R2 #1) East Coweta

(R8 #3) Mill Creek at (R5 #2) Roswell

(R6 #4) South Forsyth at (R7 #1) Norcross

(R2 #3) McEachern at (R3 #2) Walton