21 games between top-10 teams headline second round of GHSA playoffs
Two of south Georgia’s best football teams will be in Gwinnett County for blockbuster games tonight as the football playoffs resume with 64 second-round games in eight classifications.
In Class 6A, the highest, No. 6 Lowndes is playing at No. 8 North Gwinnett while No. 9 Colquitt County plays at No. 1 Grayson.
No. 8 Lee County, another south Georgia power, will be at No. 1 Hughes in Fairburn for a Class 5A game.
In Class 4A, No. 9 Blessed Trinity plays at No. 6 Marist in a game between elite metro Atlanta Catholic school teams.
Ranked teams skated through the first round, as 76 of the 80 advanced, but 21 are guaranteed to lose Friday. The 21 is the number of games between top-10 teams. Another 55 top-10 teams will take their chances against unranked opponents.
The second-round storylines also include nine teams trying to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
Here’s a closer look at the second round.
*Teams to beat: The No. 1-ranked teams won by a 54-8 average score last week. They are Grayson (6A), Hughes (5A), Creekside (4A), Sandy Creek (3A), Carver-Columbus (2A), Worth County (A Division I), Lincoln County (A Division II) and Hebron Christian (3A-A Private). Grayson, Hughes and Worth County are playing top-10 opponents this week.
*Top players: Seven AJC Super 11 players are still playing. They are Grayson’s Tyler Atkinson, Cambridge’s Craig Dandridge, Buford’s Tariq Green, Douglas County’s Aaron Gregory, Central-Carrollton’s Jonaz Walton, Gainesville’s Xavier Griffin and Bowdon’s Kaiden Prothro. North Oconee’s Khamari Brooks is out for the season with an injury, but his undefeated team plays on.
*Regulars: Buford is in the second round for the 27th consecutive season. Other long streaks belong to Ware County (19), Callaway (14), Benedictine (14), Cartersville (14), Woodward Academy (13) and Grayson (12).
*Newcomers: Jackson County (school opened in 1980) and Miller Grove (2005) won their first playoff games last week and are in the round of 16 for the first time. Others breaking second-round droughts of 10 years or more are Lithonia (1994), Wheeler County (1999) and Hawkinsville 2014).
*Missing: Irwin County’s streak of 12 second-round appearances ended this season. Norcross (seven), Perry (six) and Lovett (five) also are unexpectedly absent.
*History seekers: Sumter County, Wheeler County and Whitefield Academy are favored in the Maxwell Ratings to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. Six others can reach their first quarters, but as underdogs. They are Jackson County, Miller Grove, Centennial, King’s Ridge Christian, Mount Vernon and Social Circle. Jasper County is favored to reach the quarters for the first time since 1992. Lithonia is favored to reach the quarters for the first time since 1994.
*Cinderellas: Berrien and East Coweta are still going despite 4-7 records. Berrien upset 36-point favorite Lamar County last week in Class A Division I. East Coweta beat Denmark and earned a home game this week against Walton (5-6), which upset No. 4 McEachern last week.
*Load the buses: The average second-round road trip is 139 miles one way. Four will exceeded 300 miles. They are Christian Heritage at Savannah Christian (335.0), Gainesville at Brunswick (318.7), Berrien at Rabun County (304.0) and Cass at Benedictine (301.7).
*What’s next: Next week’s quarterfinals represent the first time that region champions and other same-seeded teams can meet. In those instances, the teams listed lower on the bracket will be at home because of the GHSA’s universal coin toss held Monday. That means No. 1-ranked Grayson and Hughes could be on the road. But they have to win tonight.
Games between top-10 teams:
Class 6A
No. 6 Lowndes at No. 8 North Gwinnett
No. 9 Colquitt County at No. 1 Grayson
No. 10 Harrison at No. 3 Carrollton
Class 5A
No. 5 Houston County at No. 7 Rome
No. 8 Lee County at No. 1 Hughes
Class 4A
No. 8 Cambridge at No. 7 Central (Carrollton)
No. 9 Blessed Trinity at No. 6 Marist
No. 10 Cass at No. 4 Benedictine
Class 3A
No. 5 Troup at No. 9 Cairo
No. 7 Hapeville Charter at No. 10 Appling County
No. 8 LaGrange at No. 4 North Hall
Class 2A
No. 10 Peach County at No. 6 Jenkins
No. 6 Callaway at No. 8 Thomson
Class A Division I
No. 10 Bleckley County at No. 1 Worth County
No. 5 Thomasville at No. 2 Toombs County
No. 7 Swainsboro at No. 4 Northeast
No. 8 Fitzgerald at No. 9 Dublin
Class A Division II
No. 5 Brooks County at No. 4 Johnson County
No. 10 Emanuel County Institute at No. 2 Clinch County
Class 3A-A Private
No. 7 Holy Innocents’ at No. 5 Athens Academy
No. 9 Aquinas at No. 10 Whitefield Academy