List: Most recent semifinal appearances for remaining 32 teams
Making their first semifinals this week will be Telfair County, which started football in 1967, and Bryan County, which started in 1976. But the football program that has played the most seasons since a semifinal is Perry, which made the Class B semis in 1959 under a coach named Herb St. John, a former Georgia All-American and NFL player who is in the University of Georgia’s Circle of Honor (2004). These are the seasons of the most recent semifinal for each of the 32 teams.
First - Bryan County, Telfair County
1959 - Perry
1988 - Douglas County
1997 - Manchester
2007 - Cook, Thomas County Central
2009 - Camden County
2018 - Rockmart, Savannah Christian, Stockbridge
2019 - Starr’s Mill, Woodward Academy
2020 - Calvary Day, Coffee, Jefferson, Marist
2021 - Brooks County, Carver (Columbus), Creekside, Grayson, Pierce County, Walton
2022 - Benedictine, Bowdon, Cartersville, Cedar Grove, Fitzgerald, Milton, Prince Avenue Christian, Schley County, Swainsboro
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About the Author
Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
