List: Playoff teams that failed to reach postseason in 2020

ACE Charter and Long County are in the playoffs for the first time. ACE started varsity football in 2018. Long County, under first-year coach Mike Pfiester, has fielded teams continuously since 2002 after a couple of starts and stops in the 1980s and 1990s. Of the 254 playoff teams, 212 also qualified in 2020, a retention rate of 83.5%. Here are the 42 new playoff teams with their most recent appearance.

First - ACE Charter

First - Long County

1994 - Duluth*

1998 - Crawford County

2006 - Cass

2009 - Apalachee

2015 - Dade County

2016 - Lambert

2016 - Laney

2016 - Villa Rica

2017 - Dougherty

2017 - Jackson County

2017 - Spalding

2018 - Charlton County, Effingham County, Miller Grove, Pope, Ringgold, South Gwinnett, Stephens County

2019 - Riverwood, Sandy Creek, Schley County, Screven County, Seminole County, Shiloh, South Paulding, St. Francis, Trion, Veterans

*Duluth’s last state-playoff appearance was 1986. The Wildcats played a postseason region playoff game in 1994 during the era of 16-team state playoff brackets.