High School Sports
High School Sports

GHSA football playoff prediction: Class 6A final could be an all-Gwinnett game

Buford coach Bryant Appling talks to his team after their 32-7 win over Mill Creek on Nov. 1, 2024, that gave the Wolves the region championship.

Credit: Stan Awtery for the AJC

Credit: Stan Awtery for the AJC

Buford coach Bryant Appling talks to his team after their 32-7 win over Mill Creek on Nov. 1, 2024, that gave the Wolves the region championship.
By
Nov 12, 2024

Carrollton is ranked No. 1 entering the Class 6A football playoffs and brings to bear the state’s top quarterback, Julian Lewis, and a wealth of Division I talent around him. The Trojans also are unbeaten. A state title would be the program’s first since 1998 and first ever in the highest class.

Another school that’s never won the highest class is Buford, the No. 2 team. The Wolves’ only loss this season came against Milton, a top-five national team that plays in Class 5A. That was by one point in the opener. Buford leads the state with 10 major Division I-committed players in its senior class.

Buford and Carrollton could meet in the semifinals with a coin toss deciding home team. No. 3 North Gwinnett is also on that side of the draw.

Top contenders in the upper half are No. 4 Douglas County, No. 5 Collins Hill and No. 6 Grayson.

Here’s how this blogger suspects things will play out.

First round

(R8 #2) Collins Hill d. (R2 #3) Westlake

(R1 #1) Colquitt Co. d. (R5 #4) Wheeler

(R7 #3) Norcross d. (R6 #2) Lambert

(R4 #1) Grayson d. (R3 #4) Pebblebrook

(R2 #2) Douglas Co. d. (R8 #3) Mill Creek

(R5 #1) North Cobb d. (R1 #4) Camden Co.

(R7 #2) Brookwood d. (R6 #3) West Forsyth

(R3 #1) Harrison d. (R4 #4) Archer

(R4 #3) South Gwinnett d. (R3 #2) Hillgrove

(R7 #4) Peachtree Ridge d. (R6 #1) North Atlanta

(R1 #3) Valdosta d. (R5 #2) Walton

(R2 #1) Carrollton d. (R8 #4) Dacula

(R4 #2) Newton d. (R3 #3) McEachern

(R7 #1) North Gwinnett d. (R6 #4) Denmark

(R1 #2) Lowndes d. (R5 #3) North Paulding

(R8 #1) Buford d. (R2 #4) East Coweta

Second round

(R1 #1) Colquitt Co. d. (R8 #2) Collins Hill

(R4 #1) Grayson d. (R7 #3) Norcross

(R2 #2) Douglas Co. d. (R5 #1) North Cobb

(R7 #2) Brookwood d. (R3 #1) Harrison

(R7 #4) Peachtree Ridge d. (R4 #3) South Gwinnett

(R2 #1) Carrollton d. (R1 #3) Valdosta

(R7 #1) North Gwinnett d. (R4 #2) Newton

(R8 #1) Buford d. (R1 #2) Lowndes

Quarterfinals

(R4 #1) Grayson d. (R1 #1) Colquitt Co.

(R2 #2) Douglas Co. d. (R7 #2) Brookwood

(R2 #1) Carrollton d. (R7 #4) Peachtree Ridge

(R8 #1) Buford d. (R7 #1) North Gwinnett

Semifinals

(R4 #1) Grayson d. (R2 #2) Douglas Co.

(R8 #1) Buford d. (R2 #1) Carrollton

Final

(R8 #1) Buford d. (R4 #1) Grayson

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.

More Stories

Keep Reading

Grayson players run through their banner before the start of the Class 6A state championship game against Carrollton in December. The top-ranked Rams won 38-24 and begin their quest for a repeat on Friday when they host Norcross. (Jason Getz/AJC 2024)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Everything to know about the 6A first-round playoff matchups

Previewing all 16 Class 6A matchups in the first round of the Georgia high school football playoffs.

Class 4A playoff preview: 3 first-round matchups predicted to be 1-point games

We're previewing every first-round matchup in 4A, including predictions and historical information.

4 GHSA teams end regular season allowing less than a touchdown per game

The Latest

Parkview's Jeff Francoeur gives a stiff-arm to Westside Macon defender John Clark in 2001 quarterfinal playoff action. (AJC File)

Georgia HS football quarter-century team shows wealth of talent in state

Friday football recap: Grayson survives; McEachern, Norcross earn high-class wins

He cut his teeth on Urban Meyer’s staff. Now, he’s making strides in Georgia

Featured

The DeKalb school district is suing to recover money spent on cellphone lockers, plus money spent on implementing social media guidelines and hosting associated events, lost teaching time and to hire extra school counselors. (The New York Times file)

Credit: NYT

DeKalb school district reveals $4M social media addiction problem

The district is suing social media companies to get them to pay for addressing students' addiction to apps like Instagram. The companies argue they aren't to blame.

Atlanta airport sees continued cancellations because of shutdown

More than 115 flight cancellations were recorded on a quieter frigid Tuesday morning, far below Saturday's surge of 370.

For Ossoff and Georgia Democrats, the shutdown fight is the message

The fight over the federal government shutdown has allowed Georgia Democrats, like U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, to show that they have the grit to stand up to Republicans.