The first round of the flag football playoffs are today with 29 first-round games scheduled in the two classifications – 6A/7A and A/5A. Many second-round games might also be played as teams have the option of getting together in groups of four and fast-tracking to the quarterfinals.
Sequoyah in 6A/7A and Heritage of Conyers in A/5A arrive as area champions and No. 1-ranked teams in the computer Maxwell Ratings, which were used here to put some perspective on the postseason.
Mill Creek, Allatoona, Forsyth Central, Pace Academy and Calvary Day also show undefeated records, so the road to state titles might be anyone’s guess.
Ernie Yarbrough, the GHSA’s coordinator for flag football, says the season has gone well considering that COVID-19 prompted several schools to pass on the GHSA’s inaugural season. Of nearly 200 schools that signed up in March, only 90 fielded teams.
“But, I want to commend those 90 and their administration, coaches, players and game officials for doing all they could to make sure this inaugural season was started and is now heading toward a state championship finale,” Yarbrough said. “All in all, it has been a tremendous new program for the GHSA, and we expect it to be a bigger success next year.”
Yarbrough also thanked the Atlanta Falcons and their community relations manager, Amanda Dinkel, for providing grants and financial assistance to teams getting their programs off the ground. The Falcons largely funded flag football in the state at the club level the previous two seasons.
State finals will be played at noon and 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 28, at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.
Below are the top 20 teams in each classification as ranked by the Maxwell Ratings along with projected margins of victory for the first-round games, which are ordered as they appear on the brackets. Scores used for the ratings are those reported to the GHSA and MaxPreps. Inaccurate W-L records are likely due to reporting errors or omissions.
Class 6A/7A
1. Sequoyah (11-0)
2. Mill Creek (10-0)
3. Grayson (10-1)
4. Woodstock (4-2-1)
5. Allatoona (5-0-1)
6. Marietta (6-1-1)
7. Archer (10-1)
8. Forsyth Central (10-0-1)
9. Cherokee (2-3-2)
10. Mountain View (7-3)
11. McEachern (5-2)
12. Creekview (2-4)
13. Etowah (1-3-1)
14. Meadowcreek (5-1)
15. River Ridge (2-5)
16. Dacula (7-3)
17. Hillgrove (4-2)
18. South Gwinnett (6-4)
19. Richmond Hill (2-2)
20. Newnan (7-3)
Class A/5A
1. Heritage, Conyers (8-0)
2. Columbus (6-1)
3. Harris County (7-1)
4. Pace Academy (7-0)
5. Calvary Day (3-0-2)
6. Portal (2-1-1)
7. Union Grove (5-2)
8. Dutchtown (5-3)
9. Grovetown (7-2-1)
10. Stockbridge (3-2-2)
11. Dodge County (6-2-2)
12. Eagle’s Landing (6-3-3)
13. Pacelli (5-0-1)
14. Greenbrier (7-3)
15. McDonough (2-2-6)
16. Northside, Columbus (4-5)
17. Kendrick (5-3)
18. Rockdale County (7-1-1)
19. Mary Persons (6-5-1)
20. Shaw (4-3-1)
Class 6A/7A
Westlake vs Berkmar -5
Hillgrove vs Brookwood -2
Cherokee vs South Gwinnett -4
*Forsyth Central d. Collins Hill
Woodstock vs Dacula -7
Mill Creek vs Lambert -16
Meadowcreek vs East Coweta -10
Allatoona vs Parkview -12
West Forsyth vs North Gwinnett -2
Grayson vs River Ridge -8
McEachern vs Peachtree Ridge -5
Newnan vs Duluth -13
Marietta vs Discovery -9
Archer vs Northgate -12
Mountain View vs South Forsyth -8
Sequoyah vs Central Gwinnett -25
Class A/5A
Kendrick vs Ola -7
Union Grove vs Richmond Hill -7
Grovetown vs Northside (Columbus) -2
Pace Academy vs Newton -20
Harris County vs Evans -13
Heritage (Conyers) vs Dunwoody -26
*Carver (Columbus) d. Locust Grove
Calvary Day School vs Stockbridge -4
Walnut Grove vs Decatur 0
Greenbrier vs Shaw -3
Dodge County vs Eagle’s Landing 0
Pacelli vs McDonough -1
*Portal d. Dutchtown
Mary Persons vs Jordan -10
Rockdale County vs McNair -7
Columbus vs Lakeside (Evans) -16
*Won first-round games by forfeit.
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