The state tournament begins today, and teams will begin playing under the new playoff format dictated by reclassification of the sport. Now with three classifications of 1A-4A, 5A-6A and 7A, there will be 24-team fields in the high and low classes, and a 36-team field in 5A-6A.
There’s a lot to like about the new format. There will be an extra state champion crowned after previously existing as a two-classification sport. More teams qualify for the playoffs than don’t in each class, and the low and high classes have first-round byes. Further, schools on the lower-end of 6A from a student numbers standpoint won’t have to compete with the the larger 7A schools.
GHSA lacrosse director Ernie Yarbrough held virtual meetings with both the boys and girls lacrosse ad hoc committees Sunday.
“Everything that came out of those meetings was pretty positive,” Yarbrough said. “Coaches seem to like the new format with three divisions, because there was a strong feeling that there was a clear delineation when it comes to the power of different classifications.”
One drawback to the new format can be found in 7A, where there are only 36 teams and four areas, the fewest of the three classes. Twenty-four of them qualify for the playoffs, including six from each area. The issue, however, is that not all areas are created equal.
For example, Peachtree Ridge is a Gwinnett County school that competes in Area 4 against mostly non-Gwinnett schools and will miss the playoffs after going 1-8 in area play. However, it went 3-0 against nearby Gwinnett schools from Area 1, all of which will make the playoffs, and one of which will won the area to earn a first-round bye. Not only would Peachtree Ridge likely have made the playoffs had it competed in Area 1, there’s a strong chance they would’ve earned one of the two byes designated for each area in 7A.
Yarbrough said there’s been talk of tweaking the format in 7A for next year’s playoffs to reflect the imbalanced areas. Ideas include automatic bids for only the area’s top four teams, with at-large bids filling the remaining eight slots. That could better ensure a team like Peachtree Ridge, which finished ninth in a 10-team area, has a chance to qualify for the playoffs ahead of an Area 1 team that finished sixth.
After the season the committees, which consist of representatives from each area, will meet to discuss any changes to how teams qualify for the 7A playoffs. Whatever decision is made will be presented to Yarbrough in July for approval.
“What I asked for from the 7A coaches about the possibility of changing the current format is, if that’s what you decide, it has to be something that’s equitable,” Yarbrough said.
On the girls’ side, 7A’s Milton (16-2) won the last five 6A-7A championships and have finished the season as champions in all but two seasons since the GHSA’s inaugural lacrosse season in 2005. Blessed Trinity, in 5A-6A, won 1A-5A the last three seasons. Both enter the playoffs ranked No. 1 in their class and have a chance at continuing their string of titles. In 1A-4A, Pace Academy (15-1) is ranked No. 1 ahead of Columbus (17-1) and No. 3 Fellowship Christian, which it beat 9-8 in overtime in Friday’s regular season finale.
On the boys’ side, Lambert (15-3) won 6A-7A the last two years but are ranked No. 3 behind No. 2 North Paulding (16-2) and top-ranked West Forsyth (17-1), both of which are playing for its program’s first championship. Blessed Trinity (16-1), which won 1A-5A in 2021, is No. 1 in 5A-6A but, after the rankings were released, lost to No. 2 Roswell (15-3) in the regular season-finale for its first loss of the season. In 1A-4A, Wesleyan (15-1) is No. 1, ahead of Benedictine (13-1) and Fellowship Christian (13-4). All three are seeking its program’s first title.
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