GHSA state football finals primer: 4 teams seek 1st titles

TUESDAY: 11 a.m.: Flag Division 3 - Pace Academy vs. Pope; 1 p.m.: Class A-Division I - Toombs County vs. Northeast-Macon; 4 p.m.: Class 2A - Burke County vs. Carver-Columbus; 7 p.m.: Class 5A - Hughes vs. Milton.

WEDNESDAY: 11 a.m.: Flag Division 4 - Lambert vs. McEachern; 1 p.m.: Class Private A-3A - Hebron Christian vs. Prince Avenue Christian; 4 p.m.: Class 3A - Calhoun vs. Jefferson; 7 p.m.: Class 6A - Carrollton vs. Grayson.

Four Georgia football teams can win state championships for the first time, two can win for the third time in a row, and two others can finish undefeated with top-10 national rankings this week as eight championship games are played over three days starting Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Here are some storylines and tidbits worth knowing about the state finals:

For the first time: The four first-time finalists are North Oconee, Northeast-Macon, Toombs County and Hebron Christian. They also are the only participating teams that have never won championships. Northeast and Toombs are playing each other in the Class A Division I final Tuesday, meaning one first-time champion is guaranteed.

Seeking three-peats: Prince Avenue Christian in Class 3A-A private and Bowdon in Class A Division II can win their third consecutive championships. Only 13 teams in GHSA history have done that. Bowdon gets first crack at it when the Red Devils play Brooks County on Monday. Prince Avenue Christian takes on Hebron Christian on Wednesday.

Chasing greatness: Carrollton of Class 6A is ranked in the top 10 of five national polls. Milton of Class 5A is even more highly regarded, ranked in the top 10 of every national poll, with top-five rankings in six of them and ranked No. 2 in three of them (MaxPreps, High School Football America and NationalHSFB.com. Both teams are 14-0. Carrollton plays sixth-ranked Grayson (13-1) on Wednesday, and Milton plays No. 3 Hughes (13-1) on Tuesday.

Surprises: There really aren’t any. Only two teams entered the playoffs ranked outside the top five, and those are blue-blood programs Grayson (No. 6 in Class 6A) and Calhoun (No. 8 in Class 3A). Northeast is the best feel-good story, a program in its 55th varsity season, coached by an alumnus, Jeremy Wiggins, and making the school’s first championship appearance. Northeast also is the first Macon school to play for a state championship since Central won Class 3A, then the highest class, in 1975.