Football is back! Here’s an overview of the 2021 season:
First, a look back at 2020
Here are the returning region champions:
Region 1
Private: First Presbyterian (7-5); Public: Pelham (6-2)
Region 2
Private: Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (9-4); Public: Irwin County (12-3) – State Champions
Region 3
Private: Savannah Christian (9-1); Public: Metter (13-1)
Region 4
Private: Trinity Christian (12-3); Public: Dublin (10-2)
Region 5
Private: Wesleyan (11-3); Public: Macon County (9-2)
Region 6
Private: Fellowship Christian (10-1); Public: Bowdon (7-5)
Region 7
Private: Christian Heritage (9-1); Public: Hancock Central (7-1)
Region 8
Private: Prince Avenue Christian (13-1) – State Champions; Public: Commerce (11-2)
New coaches
Region 1
Private: None
Public: Mitchell County, Dondrail Pinkins; Pelham, Lamar Landing; Randolph-Clay, Scott Swantic; Seminole County, Cedric Stegall
Region 2
Private: Landmark Christian, Tommy Lewis; Our Lady of Mercy, Shawn Cahill
Public: None
Region 3
Private: Savannah Country Day, John Mohring
Public: Claxton, Greg Hill; Portal, Jason McEachin
Region 4
Private: Heritage-Newnan, Jake Copeland
Public: None
Region 5
Private: None
Public: Central-Talbotton, Chris Cotton; Manchester, Stephen Holmes
Region 6
Private: Fellowship Christian, Tim McFarlin
Public: None
Region 7
Private: North Cobb Christian, Matt Jones
Public: Crawford County, Craig Puckett
Region 8
Private: Athens Christian, Rickey Bustle; George Walton Academy, Logan Beer
Public: Commerce, Mark Hollars; Lake Oconee Academy, Drew Anthony
What to watch for
Region 1
Private: Last season First Presbyterian, Mount de Sales and Stratford Academy finished in a three-way tie (4-1) for the top spot in the region, with FPD winning the tie breaker. FPD and Stratford, which dealt the Vikings their region loss, advanced to the second round of the state playoffs. Look for another tight race in this league where four of the six teams are located within 10 miles of each other in Macon.
Public: Mitchell County lured alum Dondrail Pinkins away from rival Pelham, after he led the Hornets to their third region crown in his six seasons at the helm. The two teams will open their seasons against each other for the second season in a row on Friday. Pelham won last season, 24-18. Meanwhile, Randolph-Clay new head coach Scott Swantic already is fighting an opponent prior to the first game of the season – COVID-19. The Red Devils are among a handful of south Georgia teams that have had to cancel their season openers due to an outbreak of the virus in their schools.
Region 2
Private: Eagle’s Landing Christian is still back … and this year with an attitude. ELCA’s roll of four consecutive state titles was snapped emphatically last year by eventual champion Prince Avenue Christian in the quarterfinals, 38-0. But the Chargers appear to be back in the title hunt after an 18-12 win over Class 7A Lowndes in a scrimmage last week. Our Lady of Mercy, whose program has plummeted from competitiveness since the departure of future hall of fame coach Mike Earwood in 2015, will play eight-man football this season under the leadership of new head coach Shawn Cahill, who was on the staff at Class 6A Chapel Hill. The Bobcats cancelled last season due to COVID-19.
Public: Irwin County is going for the three-peat as state champs and once again they will have to earn it. The four playoff teams in the region won a total of 12 playoff games last season as Brooks County advanced to the finals against Irwin and Clinch County made it to the semifinals. Turner County lost in the first round but the now-Titans (formerly the Rebels) pushed eventual semifinalist Metter, which advanced to the semifinals, to the wall in the loss (20-19). Also, perineal contender Charlton County appears ready to compete for the region title again.
Region 3
Private: Savannah Christian and Calvary Day will most likely fight it out for the region title. Returning champ Savannah Christian has won two of the last three titles and advanced to the state quarterfinals last season. Calvary Day hasn’t won the crown since 2016 but the Cavaliers made it to the semifinals last season.
Public: Metter is once again the class of the league, but look for McIntosh County Academy and Claxton to push the Tigers. Emanuel County Institute will most likely be back in the mix as well, as coach Chris Kearson and his staff will rebound after the Bulldogs missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Region 4
Private: In just their third season in the GHSA, Trinity Christian of Sharpsburg advanced to the state title game where the Lions fell to Prince Avenue Christian, 41-21. They are once again the favorites to claim the region crown with Brookstone and St. Anne-Pacelli giving chase. Heritage-Newnan went winless in its first GHSA season last year. New head coach Jake Copeland will look to fix that.
Public: Dublin was the Class AA champs in 2019, but found the sledding a little tougher in Class A as the Irish won the region title but failed to make it past the second round of the state playoffs. They will try to hold off Wilcox County, and Johnson County for the repeat in 2021.
Region 5
Private: Wesleyan won its first region title since 2009 and advanced to the state semifinals. Holy Innocents’ and Hebron Christian lost by only a touchdown to the Wildcats, so look for them to challenge for the league championship this season.
Public: Macon County won its first region championship since 2016, when the Bulldogs went all the way and won the state title. Chattahoochee County stayed within a touchdown of Macon County when the teams met in the regular season finale to decide the league champion. Taylor County and Manchester, under new head coach Stephen Holmes, will try to unseat the Bulldogs as well. Central-Talbotton’s new head coach Chris Cotton will try to make sure the Hawks don’t go winless like they did in 2020.
Region 6
Private: Fellowship Christian will go for the three-peat in the region this season, but will have to do so without longtime coach Al Morrell, who retired at the end of the season. However, the Paladins are replacing him with one of the state’s most successful coaches in Tim McFarlin, who won seven region titles and three state titles in 10 years, spanning three different classifications (Class 3A, 4A and 5A) at Blessed Trinity.
Public: Bowdon edged Gordon Lee (23-21) when the teams met in the middle of the season in a game that eventually decided the region champion. They are the favorites again this season, but Mount Zion-Carroll and B.E.S.T. Academy of Atlanta will look to challenge the Red Devils.
Region 7
Private: Christian Heritage of Dalton won the program’s first region title in its 10 years of existence in one of the classification’s most competitive leagues. The Lions advanced to the second round of the state playoffs where they were narrowly defeated by George Walton Academy (28-25) in a game the Bulldogs eventually forfeited due to an ineligible player. North Cobb Christian will look to continue its string of recent success under the new leadership of Matt Jones after former head coach Mark Hollars took the job at Commerce. Darlington will be in the mix and Mount Paran Christian will look to rebound from last season’s 1-7 mark, the Eagle’s worst record in the program’s 14 years.
Public: It took 61 seasons but Hancock Central finally won a region title in football last year, and then won a first-round playoff game en route to a 7-1 season that was shortened by COVID-19. Warren County and Georgia Military College will look to challenge the Bulldogs.
Region 8
Private: Prince Avenue Christian won the school’s sixth region title and then its first state championship, 41-21 over Trinity Christian. On the way, the Wolverines enacted revenge on a couple of their main nemeses – Athens Academy (55-9) in the regular season and ELCA (38-0) in the state quarterfinals. PAC is still the clear favorite in the region, but Athens Academy and George Walton Academy should provide stiff challenges this season.
Public: Commerce came out on top in the most competitive region in the classification, as the top three teams – Commerce, Washington-Wilkes and Lincoln County – all advanced to the state quarterfinals. Mark Hollars, formerly of North Cobb Christian, steps in this season at Commerce as Michael Brown has moved on to the staff at nearby Jefferson. The region should be tight again, and a new program, Lake Oconee Academy, will jump into the mix as well.
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