As far as upsets go, last week’s first round of the football playoffs was just a warmup for most the state’s best teams.
It’s about to get dicey Friday night, when the round of 16 arrives with 64 games on the weekend schedule, 16 that match top-10 teams.
Here’s a closer look at the second round.
Favorites: Top-five teams from the eight classifications were 35-0 last week, and No. 1 teams were 7-0 by an average score of 51-13. The No. 1′s, all staunchly favored again, are Carrollton (Class 6A), Milton (5A), Marist (4A), Peach County (3A), Carver-Columbus (2A), Toombs County (A Division I), Manchester (A Division II) and Savannah Christian (3A-A private).
Best games: Douglas County is ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, with losses to No. 1 Carrollton and No. 2 Buford. The Tigers will play at seventh-ranked and undefeated North Cobb. Buford is playing at home against Lowndes in a game between 10-1 teams that are among the state’s best-known programs, but never have played each other. Thomas County Central, a 2023 champion, is playing at ninth-ranked Rome in Class 5A. The Wolves have won eight consecutive games after the early-season trauma of a rollover bus crash to find their usual spot in the top 10. Also in 5A, No. 4 Hughes is home against No. 5 Roswell in a game between teams from opposite ends of Fulton County. Toombs County, with a home game against No. 7 Commerce in Class A Division I, is the only No. 1-ranked team facing a top-10 opponent. The computer Maxwell Ratings lists No. 5 Collins Hill at No. 8 Colquitt County in Class 6A as a pure tossup.
Other top-10 matchups: The other games matching ranked teams are No. 7 Coffee at No. 8 Brunswick in Class 5A; No. 5 Eastside at No. 7 Perry in Class 4A; No. 4 Oconee County at No. 3 Jefferson and No. 9 Douglass at No. 8 Calhoun in Class 3A; No. 10 Thomson at No. 6 Hapeville Charter and No. 9 Carver-Atlanta at No. 4 Appling County in Class 2A; No. 10 Dodge County at No. 6 Worth County and No. 2 Bowdon at No. 9 Metter in Class A Division II; and No. 9 Wesleyan at No. 10 Christian Heritage and No. 8 Lovett at No. 3 Hebron Christian in Class 3A-A private.
Top players: Eight of the AJC’s Super 11 players are still playing, five for No. 1-ranked teams. The latter are Carrollton’s Julian Lewis, Manchester’s Justus Terry, Savannah Christian’s Elijah Griffin and Milton’s Luke Nickel and C.J. Wiley. Also still playing are Thomas County Central’s Kendarius Reddick, Houston County’s A.J. Hill and Lee County’s Ousmane Kromah, all from the same Region 2 in Class 5A. Out are Camden County’s Elyiss Williams, Warner Robins’ Isaiah Gibson and Schley County’s Zayden Walker, beaten in the first round.
Regulars: Buford is in the second round for the 25th consecutive year, meaning the Wolves are 25-0 in first-round games this century. Others with long streaks are Ware County (17), Prince Avenue Christian (14), Callaway (12), Benedictine (12), Cartersville (12), Woodward Academy (11) and Grayson (10).
Missing: Cedar Grove, the Class 3A champion in five of the past eight seasons, didn’t get through the first round for the first time since 2012. Rabun County, also beaten in the first round, had made 10 consecutive rounds of 16. Walton and Warner Robins are missing for the first time since 2016.
Newcomers: King’s Ridge Christian, Ola and Providence Christian won playoff games last week for the first time. Jasper County is making its first round-of-16 appearance since 1992. It also has been a long while for Temple (2005) or Lakeside-Evans (2009) to be in a second-round game.
Cinderella: Luella won as a 21-point underdog last week against Class 3A’s No. 9 team, Westover. Archer, with a 3-7 record, beat Region 3-6A champion Harrison as a 15-point underdog. Bleckley County, despite a 4-6 record and seventh-place finish in its 10-team region, beat Class A Division I’s No. 5 seed, Social Circle.
What’s next: The quarterfinals represent the first time that region champions and other same-seeded teams can meet. In those instances, the teams listed lower on the draw got a random home assignment because of the GHSA’s universal coin toss. Potential matchups include No. 3 North Gwinnett at No. 2 Buford in Class 6A, No. 1 Marist at unranked Central of Carrollton in Class 4A and No. 1 Manchester at No. 6 Lincoln County in Class A Division II. Also in Class 4A, No. 2 Cartersville could play at No. 3 North Oconee, and No. 4 Blessed Trinity could play at unranked Ola.
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