Unranked Walton, Berrien and Washington-Wilkes beat heavily favored top-10 opponents Friday night, and Centennial won as a 36-point underdog in the first-round’s biggest upset. Walton’s 28-24 victory over undefeated McEachern resonated loudest around the state, as McEachern, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, had won nine of its 10 games by 21 points or more, and Walton had lost to the Indians 50-17 in the opening game.

The Georgia high school football playoffs kicked off Thursday with the first two of 119 first-round games to be played from the Chattanooga suburb of Fort Oglethorpe to the Atlantic harbor town of Brunswick. The first round often simply culls the herd – the computer Maxwell Ratings correctly forecast 104 of 119 games last year – but it takes only a few upsets and history-makers to make it special.

Bowdon’s quest for a fourth consecutive state championship kicks into high gear Friday night when the Red Devils open the Class A Division II playoffs with a home game against Wilcox County. Bowdon has won its first-round game each of the past six seasons and is 16-9 all-time in the round of 32. Brooks County, last year’s runner-up is making its 18th consecutive playoff appearance and will host Taylor County in the first round.

The first round of the Class 2A playoffs will match some unfamiliar foes, as 13 of the 16 games will be between teams that have never met. Among the teams playing an opponent for the first time are No. 1 seed Carver-Atlanta (vs. Butler), No. 3 seed Carver-Columbus (vs. Redan) and No. 5 seed Appling County (vs. Hart County). On the other hand, No. 3 seed Morgan County will face Westside-Macon in a rematch of a regular-season game.

The Georgia High School Association placed its 454 member schools into regions for the 2026-28 academic years Monday. Schools have one week to request a move into a different region in the same classification. The GHSA’s reclassification committee will hear those appeals Nov. 17. Seventeen schools won appeals Monday to play in lower classifications than they were assigned last week.

The Class 4A bracket is filled with playoff regulars. Among the teams with long streaks of postseason appearances are Ware County (24 consecutive seasons), Tucker (19), Kell (18), Benedictine (15), Blessed Trinity (15), Warner Robins (15) and Cartersville (14). No one, however, has more than Marist, which is in the playoffs for the 32nd consecutive season. The War Eagles face Starr’s Mill at home Friday night.

Top-ranked Grayson will begin the defense of its 2024 Class 6A championship when it meets playoff regular Norcross in the first round of the playoffs Friday night. This is Grayson's 12th consecutive playoff appearance. The Rams won their first-round game each of the past 11 seasons and are 19-1 all-time in the round of 32.

West Laurens’ Ty Cummings, North Hall’s Alex Schlieman and Calhoun’s Justin Beasley are the regular-season rushing, passing and receiving champions, respectively. Cummings became the state’s lone 2,000-yard rusher by finishing strong, rushing for 267 yards in West Laurens’ 27-3 victory over Westside of Augusta for the Region 4-3A championship.

GHSF Daily explores the Georgia High School Association’s Post Season Rankings and an alternative, the Extended Standings, created by rankings expert Loren Maxwell. Maxwell argues in today’s Four Questions that the Extended Standings are more accurate even though the calculations are more involved. The PSR is popular for its simple formula based on winning percentage and opponent winning percentage.