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closeSome head coaches like Baldwin’s Jesse Hicks or Peach County’s Chad Campbell can rest easy tonight.
Sure, both coaches want to win their games, but both have also already led their teams to region championships. No matter what happens tonight, they already know their seeding for the playoffs. They can rest starters and get ready for the second season.
Others, like Northside’s Conrad Nix or Northeast’s Bruce Mullen also know their teams are playoff bound. But unlike Hicks or Campbell, coaches in the same boat as Nix and Mullen still have seedings at stake tonight. Both Northside and Northeast can win region championships with wins, but they could also fall as far as the No. 3 seed in their region.
Then there is the final category — those coaches fighting for their playoff lives.
Some of those coach’s schools — Greene County, Johnson County, Warner Robins and West Laurens — can simply clinch a playoff spot with a win. Others like Mary Persons and Southwest need a win and some help. And then there’s Jones County, which needs a mathematical equation to tell you that the Greyhounds still have a shot, if a lot goes their way.
One week away from the start of the playoffs, certainty, confusion, prayers and hope are running through the minds of players and coaches in different situations. But all share one emotion tonight, one week before the start of the state playoffs — excitement.
Already decided
Baldwin (7-2)
Seed: No. 1 from 3-AAA
Opponent: vs. Northside-Columbus
Forecast: The Braves shouldn’t have a tough time with Northside next week. The two have common opponents in Troup and Carver-Columbus. Baldwin beat Troup 20-13, while Troup beat Northside 48-7. Baldwin lost to Carver, while Northside plays Carver this week. Baldwin would likely face Cairo, Woodward Academy or Woodland-Stockbridge in the second round, but the Braves’ biggest test could come from No. 3 St. Pius X in the quarterfinals.
Griffin (9-0)
Seed: No. 1 from 4-AAAA
Likely Opponent: Bainbridge/Hardaway/Harris County/Jones County
Forecast: Some are calling this one of the best Griffin teams in recent memory. The Bears should be able able to coast for two rounds before likely squaring off against either undefeated Apalachee or Marist in the quarterfinals.
Jackson (9-0)
Seed: No. 1 from 4-AAA
Likely Opponent: Monroe-Albany or Worth County
Forecast: The Red Devils will play the Monroe-Worth County loser in the first round. The second round would present a tough test with LaGrange being the likely opponent. Undefeated Eastside, either Carrollton or Ridgeland and Creekview will all be in the Red Devils’ quadrant.
Peach County (9-0)
Seed: No. 1 from 1-AAA
Likely Opponent: Spalding or Woodward Academy
Forecast: Because AAA is loaded, even an undefeated Trojans team will face some strong competition early. The first round will be a test, but the second round holds a matchup with either Troup or Washington County. Top-ranked Gainesville would be waiting in the quarterfinals.
Twiggs County (8-1)
Seed: No. 1 from 2-A
Likely Opponent: to be determined
Forecast: The Cobras will face the No. 4 seed from 3-A, which could range from a number of teams because that region has crossover region playoffs. They could see a very good Treutlen team or perhaps a Savannah Country Day team that beat Wilkinson County, which gave Twiggs its only loss. Chattahoochee County would be the likely second-round opponent, with Darlington in the quarterfinals. The Cobras could potentially see Lincoln County in the semifinals.
Washington County (8-1)
Seed: No. 2 from 3-AAA
Opponent: Troup
Forecast: The Golden Hawks will match up with a Troup team it already beat 48-6 this season. A big test would come in the second round when WACO would likely travel to Peach County.
Westside (8-1)
Seed: No. 2 from 1-AAAA
Opponent: Mt. Zion-Jonesboro
Forecast: Mt. Zion (8-2) was a quarterfinalist last year, but this Bulldogs team isn’t as good as last year’s. Westside would either play a down Statesboro team or Lakeside-Evans or Evans in the second round. The Seminoles would face a huge test at Sandy Creek in the quarterfinals.
Wilkinson County (7-2)
Seed: No. 2 from 7-A
Likely Opponent: Bremen or Bowdon
Forecast: The Warriors would play the Bremen-Bowdon loser in the first round. If they get past that game, Wilkinson County would probably face Holy Innocents’ (9-1) in the second round.
Fighting for seeding
Dublin (7-2)
Opponent: Jefferson County
Highest seed possible: No. 3 in 3-AA
Lowest seed possible: No. 4
Scenario: If Dublin can beat Jefferson County or Bleckley County beats Vidalia, the Irish would claim the third seed. A loss to Jefferson County combined with a Vidalia win drops Dublin to the fourth seed and likely sends them to play an undefeated Charlton County team in the first round.
Fitzgerald (9-0)
Opponent: Thomasville
Highest seed possible: No. 1 in 1-AA
Lowest seed possible: No. 2 in 1-AA
Scenario: The Fitzgerald/Thomasville winner claims the No. 1 seed.
Hawkinsville (5-4)
Opponent: at Turner County
Highest seed possible: No. 3
Lowest seed possible: No. 4
Scenario: A win gives the Red Devils the third seed no matter what. With a loss and an Irwin County win, Hawkinsville falls to the fourth spot. Hawkinsville could be the No. 3 seed with a loss and an Irwin County loss.
Lamar County (6-3)
Opponent: Manchester
Highest seed possible: No. 2
Lowest seed possible: No. 4
Scenario: Lamar County claims the second seed with a win over Manchester. A loss coupled with a Heard County win over Crawford County pushes Lamar County to the fourth seed. The Trojans would be the third seed with a loss and a Crawford County win over Heard County.
Northeast (6-3)
Opponent: Greene County
Highest seed possible: No. 1
Lowest seed possible: No. 3
Scenario: Northeast claims the region title with a win coupled with a Putnam County loss to Central and a Henry County loss to Monticello. They would also win the title with a win, a Putnam County win and a Henry County. They would also claim the title if all three teams win or all three teams lose. A Northeast loss with Putnam and Henry wins pushed the Raiders to the third seed. Northeast would be the second seed with a win, a Henry win and a Putnam.
Northside (8-1)
Opponent: Colquitt County
Highest seed possible: No. 1
Lowest seed possible: No. 3
Scenario: Northside wins the region championship with a win over Colquitt County at home because it holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Lowndes. A loss to Colquitt County, and Northside falls to No. 3, while Lowndes wins the region title and Colquitt County finishes second.
Putnam County (7-2)
Opponent: at Central
Highest seed possible: No. 1
Lowest seed possible: No. 3
Scenario: Putnam County wins the region title with a win and losses by Northeast and Henry County. It wins the region title with a win, a Henry County win and a Northeast loss. It falls to the second seed if all three win or all three lose. It falls to the second seed with a win, a Northeast win and a Henry loss. It falls to the No. 3 seed with a loss and wins by Northeast and Henry.
Vidalia (6-3)
Opponent: at Bleckley County
Highest seed possible: No. 3
Lowest seed possible: No. 4
Scenario: Vidalia claims the No. 3 seed with a win and a Dublin loss to Jefferson County. The Indians are the fourth seed with a loss or a Dublin win.
Wilcox County (7-2)
Opponent: at Irwin County
Highest seed possible: No. 2
Lowest seed possible: No. 4
Scenario: Wilcox County gets the No. 2 seed with a win. A Wilcox loss coupled with a Hawkinsville loss to Turner County would push the Patriots to the No. 3 seed. A Hawkinsville win coupled with a Wilcox loss would send the Patriots to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
Work left to do
Central (3-6)
Opponent: Putnam County
They get in with: A win against Putnam County and a loss by Greene County.
Greene County (4-5)
Opponent: at Northeast
They get in with: A win over Northeast or a loss by Central.
Johnson County (8-1)
Opponent: Savannah Country Day
They get in with: a win over Savannah Country Day in a region playoff game.
Jones County (5-4)
Opponent: Upson-Lee
They get in with: Jones County needs to beat Upson-Lee and get a lot of help in two different scenarios. 1) The Greyhounds win and need a Harris County win over Americus-Sumter with losses by Bainbridge to Thomas County Central and Hardaway to Westside. Or, the more unlikely scenario: 2) Jones County wins and needs a Hardaway win over Westside and losses by Bainbridge and Harris County. If either happens, Jones County play against two others in a three-team playoff on Monday.
Mary Persons (6-3)
Opponent: Jackson-Atlanta
They get in with: The Bulldogs need a win over Jackson-Atlanta and losses by Woodward Academy to Woodland-Stockbridge and Spalding to Jackson. In that scenario, Mary Persons would claim the third seed because it has the best record against non-region teams from the same classification (MP beat Morgan County while the other two didn’t play non-region games against AAA opponents). Woodward would then claim the fourth seed with Spalding missing the playoffs.
Southwest (4-5)
Opponent: Howard
They get in with: Southwest only gets in with a win over Howard and losses by Central to Putnam County and Greene County to Northeast. The Patriots would win the three-team tiebreaker because it has the only non-region, same-classification win (Albany) of the three.
Spalding (5-4)
Opponent: Jackson
They get in with: a win over Jackson. With a loss to Jackson, Spalding still gets in with a loss by Mary Persons to Jackson-Atlanta or if Woodward Academy beats Woodland-Stockbridge.
Treutlen (7-2)
Opponent: at Claxton
They get in with: a win over Claxton in a region playoff game.
Warner Robins (6-3)
Opponent: at Lowndes
They get in with: The Demons get in with a road win over Lowndes or if Houston County beats Valdosta.
West Laurens (5-4)
Opponent: Burke County
They get in with: a win over Burke County.
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