The playoffs kick off Friday and it is time to glance at the brackets to see what teams could make deep runs and threaten for a title.
There is one game between ranked teams has No. 3 Irwin County, which won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020 and lost the championship in 2021, playing at No. 8 Greene County in the top-left quadrant. This is the first game between the programs.
Irwin senior quarterback Luke Snyder is 65-of-113 passing for 1,170 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Senior Shane Marshall leads the run game for with 166 carries for 1,375 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Greene County junior quarterback Landon Garretson, junior back Travez Gibson, senior back Amari Dunham and senior receiver Steve Miller provide much of the offensive production for Terrence Banks’ Tigers.
Here’s the bracket breakdown:
In other top-left quadrant games: No. 7 Trion will play Schley County; Emanuel County Institute will face Telfair County, and Glascock County will play Early County.
Trion quarterback Kade Smith is 141-of-223 passing for 2,138 yards and 19 touchdowns and leads the team with 71 carries for 314 yards and 10 touchdowns. Junior Christian Henderson has 68 carries for 289 yards and eight touchdowns. Senior Ethan Willingham has seven touchdown receptions, a team-leading statistic, ahead of Bryson Roberts (4), Logan Stokes (3), and Conley Harris (2).
In the bottom-left quadrant: Two of the top-5 ranked teams will begin their playoff runs, including back-to-back champion and No. 2-ranked Bowdon, which will play Taylor County before a possible second-round matchup against No. 9 Metter. Before Richard Fendley took over at Bowdon in 2018, the Red Devils had won just two state championship games in 1971 and 1992. Bowdon missed the playoffs in Fendley’s first season in 2018 and advanced to the second round three seasons in a row before winning the titles in 2022 and last season. No. 5-ranked Clinch will play Warren County in the opening round. If Clinch wins, it will face the Pelham-Johnson County winner. No. 9-ranked Metter opens the playoffs against Hawkinsville.
In the top-right quadrant: Wheeler County plays No. 10 Jenkins County, and Washington-Wilkes will face No. 4 Brooks County in ranked-vs.-ranked teams in the quadrant. Greenville opens its playoffs against Macon County, and Miller County will play Wilkinson County.
Brooks County is coming off a Class A Division I semifinals loss last season in Maurice Freeman’s last year at the helm. Josh McFather coached the Trojans to a 6-4 regular-season record. Sophomore quarterback Junior Burrus is 119-of-201 passing for 1,661 yards and 21 touchdowns, and senior Chris Cole has 179 carries for 1,377 yards and 14 touchdowns. Sophomore George Lamons Jr. has 40 receptions for 805 yards and 14 of the team’s 23 touchdown catches.
In the bottom-right quadrant: Top-ranked and last season’s state runner-up Manchester will start at home against Marion County. The Blue Devils have not won a state championship since 1997, which was the program’s first title. Demonta Prather is in his first year as coach after leading the Blue Devils to the state championship basketball game last season. Lincoln County is ranked No. 6 and will play at home against Charlton County. Lincoln County advanced to the semifinals in 2022 and lost in the second round last season. The team has 11 state championships but hasn’t won or played for a title since winning back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006. In the games between unranked teams, McIntosh County Academy will play Wilcox County, and Hancock Central will face Mitchell County. The winner of the McIntosh County Academy-Wilcox County game most likely will play No. 1 Manchester, and the winner of the Hancock Central-Mitchell County game could play Lincoln County in the second round.
The championship is scheduled at 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 4 p.m.
Class A Division first-round schedule
Top-left
No. 3 Irwin County at No. 8 Greene County
Glascock County at Early County
No. 7 Trion at Schley County
Emanuel County Institute at Telfair County
Bottom-left
Warren County at No. 5 Clinch County
Pelham at Johnson County
Taylor County at No. 2 Bowdon
Hawkinsville at No. 9 Metter
Top-right
Wheeler County at No. 10 Jenkins County
Greenville at Macon County
Miller County at Wilkinson County
Washington-Wilkes at No. 4 Brooks County
Bottom-right
McIntosh County Academy at Wilcox County
Marion County at No. 1 Manchester
Hancock Central at Mitchell County
Charlton County at No. 6 Lincoln County
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