National title at stake in Class 6A final; Bowdon seeking rare four-peat
Teams and coaches will make history, players will shine, and a few underdogs will have their day today through Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, site of the eight Georgia high school football championships.
Anticipating those moments, here are 10 storylines to watch as the season approaches its final chapter.
*National champions: Class 6A finalists Buford and Carrollton are for playing for a national championship. Buford is the consensus No. 1 team with top rankings in USA Today, ESPN and The Sporting News. Carrollton is No. 1 in MaxPreps and hsratings.com (formerly CalPreps). Georgia’s most recent national champion was 2015 Colquitt County (High School Football America). Its most recent consensus national champion was 1991 LaGrange.
*Blue bloods rising: Buford can win its 15th state title. Only Valdosta, with 24, has more. Lincoln County can win its 12th title, or 15th for those counting old Lincolnton High’s three in the 1960s. Carrollton can become one of six schools to win eight state titles. Thomas County Central can become one of nine to win seven. Bowdon can become one of 14 to win six. Benedictine and Sandy Creek can win their fifth titles, all since 2009.
*Historic coaches: Benedictine’s Danny Britt can become the 10th coach in GHSA history to win five state titles. Cartersville’s Joey King and Hebron Christian’s Kenny Dallas can join the 16 GHSA coaches who have won state titles at two schools. King won previously at Cartersville. Dallas won at Trinity Christian. Three coaches are in their first seasons with their schools. They are Dallas, Jarvis Jones of Carver of Columbus and Jason Cameron of Calvary Day. Seven rookie coaches have won since 2000, the most recent Cedar Grove’s John Adams in 2022.
*Player of the year: Nine of the past 10 AJC all-classification players of the year made their final argument winning state championships. The exception was Sammy Brown of 2023 Class 5A semifinalist Jefferson. Some leading candidates playing this week are Bowdon wide receiver/defensive back Kaiden Prothro, Sandy Creek running back Amari Latimer, Gainesville linebacker Xavier Griffin, Thomas County Central running back Deuce Lawrence, Hebron Christian running back Devon Caldwell, Buford running back/defensive back Tariq Green and Carrollton lineman Zykie Helton.
*Four-peat: Bowdon is trying to become the fourth school in history to win four consecutive championships. Those that have done it are West Rome (1982-85), Buford (2007-10) and Eagle’s Landing Christian (2015-19).
*Long time: Only Calvary Day among the 16 finalists has never won a state title. Worth County, the No. 1-ranked team in Class A Division I, is trying to win its first state title since 1987. Carrollton has lost in four finals since its last championship in 1998. Lincoln County is going for its first championship since 2006, when Georgia’s all-time winningest coach, Larry Campbell, was on the Red Devils’ sidelines. All others have won championships since 2011.
*Repeat champions: Four teams are defending their titles. They are Hebron Christian (Class 3A-A Private), Carver (Class 2A), Worth County (A Division I) and Bowdon (A Division II). Since 1948, when the GHSA first staged statewide playoffs in all classes, 22.7% of champions have won again the next year. The frequency is increasing, up to 27.8% over the past 10 seasons.
*Seminoles on a roll: Creekside is already the highest-scoring team in state history with 803 points. With another decisive victory, the Seminoles could become the second team in history, first since 1971 Valdosta, to defeat every opponent by 20 points or more. Creekside’s Class 4A opponent is four-time former champion Benedictine.
*City school dominance: Four finalists are from city school districts. They are Carrollton, Buford, Gainesville and Jefferson. Georgia has only 20 city districts with a single high school. They historically outperform county systems, causing the GHSA to make rules to level the playing fields, but this has been an especially strong season for the city dwellers. Other city schools that have top-five rankings or made the semifinals this season are Calhoun, Cartersville, Rome, Thomasville and Valdosta. Carrollton and Buford can win their first state titles in the highest class, and one will be the first city school to do so since Marietta in 2019.
*More with less: Buford played in a new $62 million stadium this season. Thomas Central unveiled a $25 million multi-purpose indoor facility in October. Gainesville built a three-level facility for $20 million in 2022. Hapeville Charter doesn’t have a stadium. Its single practice field is a big dirt patch. Hapeville is a Fulton County school that has produced several SEC players, including current lineman Chris Booker to Alabama, all under one coach, Winston Gordon, also the school’s athletic director and assistant principal. Hapeville can win its second title since 2017 in the Class 2A final against No. 1-ranked Carver.