All eight region championships and 16 of the 32 playoff berths in Class 6A are still up for grabs heading into the final two weekends of the high school football season.
Eight teams have a chance to clinch region titles with victories this weekend. They are Thomas County Central and Lee County in Region 1, Mundy’s Mill and Woodward Academy in Region 3, Marist in Region 4, Douglas County in Region 5, Rome in Region 6 and Gainesville in Region 8.
The playoffs begin on Nov. 10 with 16 first-round games in Class 6A. The championship games in all classifications will be played Dec. 11-13 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here’s a look at where things stand in the playoff races in Regions 5-8 heading into Week 11.
Region 5
Douglas County can claim its first region title since 2002 with a victory Friday against Newnan or next week at South Paulding. Defending state champion Hughes, which lost to Douglas County 30-27, will finish second with a win in either of its two remaining games. Behind them is a logjam that includes two-loss teams East Paulding and South Paulding and three-loss teams New Manchester and Newnan. East Paulding is in the best position of the four, with the lightest remaining schedule and victories in hand against South Paulding and Newnan. South Paulding has the toughest road, with games remaining against Hughes and Douglas County, although losses in both wouldn’t necessarily eliminate the Spartans. Paulding County and Alexander are out of the race.
*This week’s games: Newnan (3-5, 2-3) at Douglas County (8-0, 5-0); South Paulding (3-5, 3-2) at Hughes (6-2, 4-1); New Manchester (3-5, 2-3) at East Paulding (4-4, 3-2); Alexander (2-6, 0-5) at Paulding County (1-7, 1-4).
Region 6
Rome can clinch its sixth region title in eight seasons with a victory this week against second-place Creekview. The Wolves, who have outscored their first four region opponents 232-10, are projected as 19-point favorites by the computer Maxwell Ratings. If Creekview wins, it most likely creates a three-way tie for first place that would include Sequoyah. Rome and Creekview have clinched playoff berths, and Sequoyah needs just one win in its final two games. The fourth spot probably will go the winner of the Allatoona-River Ridge game. Allatoona has never missed the playoffs since it started playing a region schedule in 2010. Things looked bleak for the Buccaneers after starting the season 0-6, but they have rebounded with wins over Woodstock and Etowah to get into contention.
*This week’s games: Rome (7-1, 4-0) at Creekview (7-2, 4-1); Allatoona (2-6, 2-2) at Sequoyah (5-3, 3-1); River Ridge (3-5, 1-3) at Etowah (4-4, 0-4); Woodstock is off.
Region 7
Roswell, Alpharetta and Blessed Trinity will be the region’s top three playoff seeds, but the order of finish remains up in the air. Roswell and Alpharetta are unbeaten in region play, just ahead of Blessed Trinity, which lost to Roswell. If Alpharetta beats Blessed Trinity this week, it will set up a winner-take-all game against Roswell for the title next week. Roswell defends its region title if it beats Alpharetta. If Alpharetta loses to Blessed Trinity and beats Roswell, there would be a three-way tie for first. Sprayberry, Lassiter and Pope are tied for fourth place at 1-3 in the region. Sprayberry plays both in the final two weeks and will be heavily favored in each.
*This week’s games: Alpharetta (5-3, 4-0) at Blessed Trinity (6-2, 3-1); Sprayberry (4-4, 1-3) at Lassiter (1-7); Johns Creek (1-8, 0-5) at Pope (1-7, 1-3); Roswell is off.
Region 8
Gainesville can clinch the region title with a victory this week against third-place North Forsyth, but a North Forsyth victory likely would create a three-way tie for first place that also would include Lanier, which can finish no lower than third place. All three have clinched playoff berths. Behind them are three-loss teams Jackson County, Habersham Central and Shiloh. Although Jackson County has one more win than the other two, Habersham Central is in the best position of the three because it has the lightest remaining schedule and defeated Jackson County in overtime on Sept. 29. However, if Habersham Central loses to Shiloh in the regular-season finale, the three teams probably finish in a tie for the final playoff spot, which would be determined by the region’s tiebreakers.
*This week’s games: Gainesville (8-0, 4-0) at North Forsyth (4-4, 3-1); Lanier (7-2, 4-1) at Shiloh (2-6, 1-3); Habersham Central (3-5, 1-3) at Apalachee (0-8, 0-4); Jackson County is off.
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