The Class A Division II championship game, closer than the score suggested, turned in Bowdon’s favor in the final two minutes of the first half when Brooks County suffered a poor snap to its punter from its backup center. Bowdon, trailing 14-7, recovered on the Brooks County 13-yard line and scored in five plays.

Kenzie Horton threw two touchdown passes and the Greenbrier defense held North Oconee to 47 total yards (minus-14 rushing) Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the Wolfpack won a state championship for the second consecutive season.

Southeast Bulloch tied the game with 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter and won it 13-6 in overtime on a 10-yard run by Emma Cate Barron to capture its fourth consecutive state championship in the small-school division Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Four Georgia football teams can win state championships for the first time, two can win for the third time in a row, and two others can finish undefeated with top-10 national rankings this week as eight championship games are played over three days starting Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Northeast and Toombs County of Class A Division I are making their first appearances in the finals and will meet Tuesday in the only title game this season that guarantees a first-time state champion. Burke County and Carver of Columbus, the Class 2A finalists, are traditionally strong programs, but neither has won a state title in more than a decade.

Marist and North Oconee of Class 4A will meet Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the only state championship game this season matching undefeated teams. It will be a contrast in styles, pitting Marist's option running game against North Oconee’s pass-fueled attack. Jefferson and Calhoun will face off in the Class 3A final Wednesday.

Carrollton and Milton will put their top-10 national rankings on the line when GHSA champions are crowned next week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Carrollton will face Grayson in the Class 6A game on Dec. 18, and Milton will take on Hughes in the Class 5A game on Dec. 17.

The 16 head coaches in the state finals have won 1,704 games in Georgia, lost only 466, and have a winning percentage of .785. Ten have played for state titles as head coaches, and eight are former champions with claims to 20 titles overall. It’s likely cyclical, but that’s a big contrast to last season, when the 16 coaches had only 993 wins and five total state titles.

The state football finals are back for another year at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will host championship games in all eight classifications and the flag football finals in four divisions on Dec. 16-18. Here’s a recap of last week’s 16 football semifinals and the significance of the results for both the winning and losing teams.

The field is down to two teams in each classification of the GHSA playoffs. Here are the scores from the 16 semifinal games played Friday night. If you have corrections, please contact us.