It’s Benz a few years, but after playing the state championships at Georgia State the past four seasons, the games will again be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with the Class 2A championship scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12.
If you recall, the Benz tried to host the games in 2017 and 2018, but stuff kept getting in the way. And then, the Falcons, who own the stadium, priced the GHSA out and forced it down the road, to play outdoors, in the elements. Some years, that was a good thing. Other years, not so much.
Now, the final 2A teams that reach the championships will play in a venue worthy of their efforts.
Here’s a quadrant-by-quadrant look at the teams that are vying for a championship.
Credit: GHSA.net
Credit: GHSA.net
Upper-left
No. 10 Fitzgerald (7-3), Spencer (7-3), Therrell (9-1) and No. 5 Callaway (7-1) are teams that immediately jump out here. Starting with Fitzgerald, is 7-3 a down year? It’s the most losses they’ve had in a season since 2019, but don’t let the record fool you. This is not a program having a down year. It’s the same Fitzgerald team its been for decades. They’ve been in the playoffs every year since 2000, and only three times since then have they failed to advance, most recently in 2017. That was coach Tucker Pruitt’s first season. The Cane are just as much a threat as any team to come out of this quadrant. Callaway is another perennial contender and, like Fitzgerald, is only a few seasons removed from a 2A title. Their playoff streak extends 17 years, and you have to go back to 2011 to find the last season they failed to advance. Coach Pete Wiggins has been there since 2005.
In addition to the mainstays, Therrell and Spencer are teams trying to break through. The Greenwave Owls are Region 2 champions for the second year in a row, with last year being the first in program history. It was their first year in the playoffs since 2018, and they lost in the first round as a No. 1 seed. They’re looking for their first playoff win since 2015 under third-year coach Joe Kegler. The Panthers also have a third-year coach, B.J. Jamison, and they have the most wins for them since 1979. They’re in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, and they’re seeking the first playoff win for a program founded in 1961. Model (6-3) will be a formidable Round 1 opponent for them.
Lower-left
The Worth County Rams (5-5) at Laney Wildcats (7-2-1), and South Atlanta Hornets (5-5) at North Murray Mountaineers (7-3), are a couple of Round 1 matchups that create intrigue. The Rams are in the playoffs for the second year in a row, a feat last accomplished from 2014-16, with 2016 being the last time they won a playoff game. The Wildcats are in the playoffs a third-straight year, seeking their first playoff win since reachign the 2013 quarterfinals. With a new coach and significant turnover, the Hornets started 1-4, including their region opener to Therrell, 35-8. But they’re 4-1 since then, edging Washington 12-10 in the regular season finale to avoid the No. 4 seed. The Mountaineers have had a winning season and reached the playoffs every year since Preston Poag arrived in 2016, but they haven’t advanced since reaching the 3A quarterfinals with Ladd McConkey in 2019.
The No. 3 Pierce County Bears (9-1) have to be the favorite in the quadrant, followed by the No. 8 Fellowship Christian Paladins (8-2). Since winning the 3A championship in 2020, the Bears reached the 3A semis the following year, and the 2A quarterfinals last year. Under fifth-year coach Ryan Herring, they’ll have their sixth consecutive double-digit win seasons barring an unconscionable first-round loss to ACE Charter. The Paladins reached the 2A semifinals last year, an encore to reaching the A Private semis in 2021. They have a first-year coach in John Thompson, but that phrasing is misleading. He’s a veteran coach from the college ranks, and was on staff under Tim McFarlin before stepping into the head coaching role. The transition has been nearly unnoticeable.
Upper-right
This might be the deepest quadrant, with No. 1 Thomson (9-1), No. 4 Toombs County (9-1) and No. 6 Rockmart (8-2), and either three could emerge here without it causing shockwaves. Thomson is defending champs, and it was profiled earlier this week. Rockmart, under eighth-year coach Biff Parson, has been a model of consistency. The Yellow Jackets have won their region each of the past seven seasons, and are coming off a quarterfinals finish last year. Toombs County has come to be a consistently above-average program starting with the Richie Marsh era, which ran from 2016-2022 and saw it go 46-31. Few could have predicted their giant leap this season under first-year coach Buddy Martin, with their only loss coming 17-14 to Pierce County, one of two teams it shares the Region 3 title with, along with Appling County. Martin served under Marsh the past seven seasons.
The Union County Panthers (7-3) came within a game of being region champions, and they’re in decent position to advance in consecutive seasons for the first time since reaching the quarterfinals in 1972 and 1973. They’ll need to beat a 4-6 ELCA Chargers team that is having a down year by all measures. The Chargers, who have reached the playoffs every year since 1996, are trying to avoid a first-round exit for the first time since 2007.
Lower-right
This is an unusually bottom-heavy bracket because of the way the season shook out. The No. 2 Appling Pirates (8-2) finished in a three-way tie for first place atop Region 3 and, after the tiebreaker, wound up with the No. 3 seed. No. 7 Northeast (8-2), a top-five team for a good chunk of the season, lost to unranked Spencer and had to settle for the No. 2 seed. As a result, Appling County travels to Northeast for Round 1, and the winner gets No. 9 Cook (8-2) in Round 2. With the quadrant’s top three teams playing each other in the first two rounds, one of Athens Academy (6-4), Columbia (7-3), Fannin County (5-5) or North Cobb Christian North Cobb Christian (8-2), all of which are unranked, will advance to the quarterfinals.
Of those four teams, Fannin County most recently reached the quarters in 2020, followed by Athens Academy (2019), North Cobb Christian (2018), and Columbia (1997). The Rebels are in the playoffs for a sixth-straight year, adding to their program record. The Spartans are in the playoffs for the ninth year in a row, and are assured a ninth consecutive winning season. The North Cobb Christian Eagles won their first region title in a program that dates to 2007, and they’re in the playoffs a sixth year in a row. The Columbia Eagles are in the playoffs a third year in a row, their longest string of postseason appearances since 1993-97.
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