Cedar Grove's controversial loss in the 2022 Class 3A final ultimately led to the adoption of instant replay in championship games. Now the Saints are back in the finals and will get another shot at a title when they meet Savannah Christian at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In Class 2A, Pierce County seeks its second title in four years when in faces Rockmart at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Creekside and Coffee will meet in the Class 5A final Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the only championship game this year between No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams. Coffee is ranked No. 1 this season for the first time. There will be a first-time champion in Class 4A, where Stockbridge and Perry will be making their first appearances in the state finals.

Class 7A Walton of Cobb County and Milton of Fulton will battle at Mercedes-Benz Stadium next Wednesday in the first championship game in the highest classification without a Gwinnett County or South Georgia team since 1985. In Class 6A on Tuesday, Woodward Academy and Thomas County Central are both seeking their first state tiles in more than 20 seasons.

The two highest-ranked teams in Class 3A - No. 1 Calvary Day and No. 2 Cedar Grove - will battle for a spot in the state final when they meet Friday night at Buck Godfrey Stadium in Decatur. The winner will face Savannah Christian or Carver of Columbus for the championship at 1 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In the Class 2A semifinals, Fitzgerald will travel to Pierce County and Cook will play at Rockmart.

The Class 5A playoffs have played out according to form as the top four ranked teams - Coffee, Creekside, Jefferson and Cartersville - survived the first three rounds to reach the semifinals. In Class 4A, Stockbridge will try to take down two-time defending champion Benedictine this week, and Perry will face Starr’s Mill for a shot at the state final.

Benedictine and North Oconee, the top two teams in the Class 4A rankings since the beginning of the season, will face off Friday night as the GHSA playoffs hit the quarterfinal round. Class 5A will move on without defending champion Ware County, which lost to Warner Robins on a last-second field goal in the second round.

Three games between ranked teams headline the second week of the postseason in classes 7A and 6A. No. 8 Westlake travels to No. 3 in Class 7A, while the Class 6A games include No. 9 Houston County at No. 10 Woodward Academy and No. 4 Hughes at No. 6 Rome. Collins Hill and Camden County will try to keep the momentum going after upsets last week.

The past two champions of Class 5A will face off in the second round of the playoffs when Ware County travels to Warner Robins. The teams have played each other each of the past four seasons, with each team winning twice. Two-time defending state champion Benedictine will host LaGrange in a Class 4A game.

Parkview visits Colquitt County for a Class 7A game Friday night in what is perhaps the marquee matchup of the first round, a north-south Georgia battle between an undefeated blue blood and a Gwinnett County team that played for a region title last week. The question is whether Parkview has fuel in the tank after losing to Grayson 41-14.

Numerous games around the state this weekend will determine region championships. Among them are 1-7A (Valdosta at Colquitt County), 1-6A (Lee County at Thomas County Central), 2-5A (Jones County at Warner Robins), 7-5A (Dalton at Cartersville), 2-4A (Perry at Spalding) and 2-3A (Mary Persons at Upson-Lee). Others, like Rabun County at Commerce in 8-A Division, will go a long way in deciding the champions.

Sole possession of first place is at stake in several regions in Week 10, including 2-7A (Westlake vs. Carrollton), 4-6A (Marist vs. North Atlanta), 6-5A (Greater Atlanta Christian vs. Kell), 2-2A (Spencer vs. Northeast), 8-A Division I (Commerce vs. Elbert County) and 6-A Division II (Manchester vs. Schley County). And Sandy Creek meets Cedar Grove in a rematch of the controversial 2022 Class 3A final.

The headline game for Week 9, and perhaps the season, will take place Friday night when Buford travels to Mill Creek for a Region 8-7A showdown. It will be the 10th regular-season game in GHSA history between No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the highest classification. Mill Creek was involved in the most recent one in 2021, when the Hawks lost to No. 1 Collins Hill, the eventual Class 7A champion.