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 next 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.
Beginning Monday, follow scores for games in progress and full coverage of the high school championships
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.
Players to watch: Carrollton quarterback Julian Lewis (signed with Colorado), Milton quarterback Luke Nickel (Miami) and Milton wide receiver C.J. Wiley (Georgia) are the only AJC Super 11 players still playing. Bowdon tight end/linebacker Kaiden Prothro and Grayson linebacker Tyler Atkinson are the consensus Nos. 1-2 junior prospects in Georgia, both rated in the top 25 nationally. ... Northeast running back Nick Woodford has rushed for more than 300 yards two playoff games in a row. ... North Oconee’s Landon Roldan (Georgia) and Toombs County’s Lagonza Hayward (Florida) are elite two-way players at wide receiver and defensive back.
Coaches to watch: One coach, Marist’s Alan Chadwick, is in his 40th season. Another, Brooks County’s Josh McFather, is in his fourth. ... Prince Avenue Christian’s Greg Vandagriff can become the 16th coach in GHSA history with four state titles. Hebron Christian’s Jonathan Gess can become the fifth coach to win a seventh state title. He won the first six at Eagle’s Landing Christian. ... Gess and Carrollton’s Joey King can join a group of 15 coaches who have won state titles at two schools. King won previously at Cartersville.
County pride: Four counties have a pair of teams playing. They are Carroll (Bowdon, Carrollton), Fulton (Hughes, Milton), Gwinnett (Grayson, Hebron Christian) and Oconee (North Oconee, Prince Avenue Christian).
Flag finals: Four flag-football finals, four of them in all, will be the first games of each day. The GHSA first sanctioned flag football as a championship sport in 2020 with 91 teams. There are now 266. The finalists were to be determined Thursday.
Why weekdays? Mercedes-Benz Stadium is available only on weekdays at this time of year, and the GHSA found last year that the weekday schedule does not deter attendance. In fact, the 2023 finals, played at Mercedes-Benz after three seasons at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium, drew a record paid attendance of 49,126. Among other things, the GHSA likes the indoor arena because it ensure good weather inside.
Tickets: Tickets are $20 plus a $3 MBS facility fee and available only on GoFan. They cover all games for the day.
TV/radio/stream: GPB Sports will televise and livestream all games while 680 The Fan (AM 680, 93.7 FM) will provide radio coverage. All games are live on NFHS Network.
