Nick Woodford of Northeast, Aaron Philo of Prince Avenue Christian and Jaden Gibson of Rabun County are the GHSA’s regular-season yardage champions. Woodford finished with a 242-yard rushing effort in his final game, a 51-13 victory over Rutland, and had 2,262 yards for the regular season. Philo had 3,143 yards passing, and Gibson had 1,576 yards receiving.

The GHSA playoffs begin this weekend with 127 games around the state. Among the best of those games are three high-profile matchups between teams from regions 1 and 2 in Class 7A (East Coweta at Camden County, Lowndes at Carrollton, Valdosta at Westlake) and regions 3 and 4 in Class 4A (Burke County at LaGrange, Trinity Christian at Wayne County and Whitewater at Benedictine).

The first of five rounds of the playoffs begin this week with 127 games, five of them matching top-10 teams. More than 60% of the GHSA’s 412 football-playing schools are alive, so the first round provides safe passage for most elite teams. Here’s a closer look at the playoffs, which will be played this weekend in 73 of Georgia’s 159 counties and cover every region of the state.

Swainsboro’s Demello Jones and Brunswick’s Terry Mitchell turn in big nights in their teams’ region-clinching victories, and John Milledge Academy’s Briggs Eady did it all on both sides of the ball as the Trojans tied Buford’s state record for consecutive wins with 47.

Buford, Hughes, Cedar Grove and Prince Avenue Christian have maintained their top rankings since preseason, and Ware County, Cedartown, Fitzgerald and Bowdon will join them as No. 1 teams entering the playoffs this week. It’s about to get dangerous, though. In 2021, only three No. 1 teams from the end of the regular season went on to win state championships, and that’s typical attrition across five playoff rounds.

Keyjuan Brown of South Atlanta and Keegan Stover and Jaden Gibson of Rabun County are the GHSA’s leaders in rushing, passing and receiving yards through week 11, but while they sit this week out, others are poised to make a move on the final week of the regular season.

Region champions, playoff berths and playoff seeding will be at stake in every classification this weekend in the final week of the regular season. In Class 3A, Cedar Grove and Carver of Atlanta will face off in a rematch of the 2021 state championship game.

Claxton this week is playing its final regular-season game at the Pecan Grove, a 76-year-old stadium that is one of Georgia’s most charming and unusual venues. The stadium was built on a pecan grove, and trees rise above the bleachers on both sides. Six pecan trees are growing up through the concrete stands on the home side. 

Decatur quarterback Harrison Hannah and Gainesville wide receiver put up big numbers in their teams’ region-clinching victories, and South Atlanta running back Keyjuan Brown rushed for 327 yards and three touchdowns in a 46-12 victory over Washington to put him at 2,139 yards for the regular season.