After all the back-and-forth, upsets, thrillers and statement-making wins, the final week of the regular season of the 2017 high school football schedule is finally upon us.
And as is the case every year, more than a few northeast Georgia area teams are still fighting for their playoff lives while still others are looking to solidify or even improve their positioning. Four teams -- Buford and Flowery Branch in 8-AAAAA, White County in Region 7-AAAA, Dawson County in 7-AAA -- can still claim region titles.
Below is a region-by-region synopsis of possible playoff scenarios as we enter the conclusion of another exciting season:
Region 5-AAAAAAA
South Forsyth (8-1, 4-0 Region 6-AAAAAAA) can clinch the region outright with a win over West Forsyth regardless of any other outcomes. Milton (7-2, 3-1 Region 6-AAAAAAA) can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win over North Forsyth (5-4, 2-2 Region 6-AAAAAAA) and a South Forsyth victory. In that scenario, West Forsyth would then take the No. 3 seed and the Raiders would take fourth.
However, a West Forsyth victory and a North Forsyth victory would give the Wolverines the region title, South Forsyth would take second, North Forsyth third, and Milton fourth.
If West Forsyth and Milton both win, the region title and top three seeds would be decided by a +13/-13 tiebreaker system with North Forsyth being the No. 4 seed. If South Forsyth and North Forsyth win, the War Eagles win the region with West Forsyth taking second, North Forsyth third, and Milton is fourth.
Region 6-AAAAAAA
North Gwinnett (8-1, 5-0 Region 6-AAAAAAA) clinched the region title last week while Mountain View (8-2, 4-2 Region 6-AAAAAAA) closed out its regular season with two straight wins, including an upset win over Mill Creek (6-3, 3-2 Region 6-AAAAAAA) on Oct. 20 and sits in second place.
However, Mill Creek can still grab a first round home playoff game by beating Duluth (3-6, 1-4 Region 6-AAAAAAA) and having Collins Hill (5-4, 3-2 Region 6-AAAAAAA) knock off Peachtree Ridge (2-7, 2-3 Region 6-AAAAAAA). That would put all three teams in a tie for second with the Hawks getting the No. 2 spot, Mountain View taking third, and Collins Hill will be the No. 4 seed based on point-differential.
However, a Mill Creek loss and a Collins Hill win makes the Eagles the No. 2 seed, Mountain View third, and Mill Creek fourth. A Mill Creek win and a Peachtree Ridge win would give the Bears the No. 2 seed based on head-to-head, Mill Creek third, and Peachtree Ridge would finish fourth.
A Mill Creek loss and a Peachtree Ridge win would give Mountain View the No. 2 seed and put the Hawks, Lions, and Collins Hill in a three-way tie for the final two spots. But Mill Creek beat both the Lions and Eagles and would take the No. 3 seed with Peachtree Ridge grabbing the No. 4 seed.
Region 8-AAAAAA
The four playoff teams -- Dacula, Gainesville, Lanier and Winder-Barrow -- were officially decided last week when Winder-Barrow beat Habersham Central. There are several scenarios where three-way ties for either first or second could occur. In the event of any three-way tie, seedings will be determined by MaxPreps rankings.
As things stand heading into the final week in the MaxPreps rankings, Dacula is ranked 78th, Winder-Barrow is 132nd, Lanier is 156th, and Gainesville is 184th.
However, Lanier (5-4, 2-2 Region 8-AAAAA) can finish no better than second place because the Longhorns have two losses, while first place Dacula (5-4, 4-0 Region 8-AAAAA) is undefeated in region play.
No. 8 Winder (8-1, 3-1 Region 8-AAAAA) plays host to Dacula, while Lanier travels to Gainesville (4-5, 3-1 Region 8-AAAAA). The easiest seeding is that Dacula can win the region outright with a victory over Winder-Barrow. If the Bulldoggs win and Gainesville wins, that sends it to MaxPreps rankings to determine the top three seeds with Lanier taking fourth.
The Bulldoggs can win the region with a win and a Gainesville loss. In that scenario Dacula would be second, Lanier third by virtue of its head-to-head win over Red Elephants, and Gainesville would take the No. 4 seed.
A Dacula win and a Lanier win gives the Falcons the region title with the Nos. 2-4 seeds determined by MaxPreps rankings, which obviously will change after Friday’s outcomes.
Region 8-AAAAA
This one is fairly simple. The top three teams have been decided with Clarke Central (7-3, 4-2 Region 8-AAAAA) locked into third no matter what happens on Friday. The Gladiators wrapped up their regular season last week.
Class AAAAA No. 3 Buford (7-1, 5-0 Region 8-AAAAA) and No. 9 Flowery Branch (8-1, 5-0 Region 8-AAAAA) will meet in Flowery Branch on Friday for the region title with the loser taking the No. 2 seed. Cedar Shoals (5-4, 2-3 Region 8-AAAAA) will play host to Walnut Grove (2-7, 1-4 Region 8-AAAAA) in Athens with the winner taking the No. 4 seed.
Region 7-AAAA
The four teams have been known for weeks -- Marist, Blessed Trinity, White County, West Hall -- but nothing else has been settled. The top four teams are all playing each other and several scenarios exist.
Class AAAA No. 2 Marist (9-0, 3-0 Region 7-AAAA) heads to Cleveland to take on White County (7-2, 2-1 Region 7-AAAA) and No. 6 Blessed Trinity (7-2, 2-1 Region 7-AAAA) travels to West Hall (5-4, 1-2 Region 7-AAAA). The simple scenario is that Marist and Blessed Trinity both win with Marist taking the region title and the Titans grabbing the No. 2 seed. That would leave White County third and West Hall as the No. 4 seed.
However, White County has a shot at the region title but would need to beat Marist AND get a West Hall win over Blessed Trinity to grab the crown. That would leave Marist taking second, West Hall third, and Blessed Trinity fourth.
A White County win and a Blessed Trinity win would hand the region crown to the Titans based on tiebreakers with White County taking second, Marist third, and West Hall fourth.
A Marist win and Blessed Trinity loss would give Marist the region title and send the other three teams to a tiebreaker that would depend on a +12/-12 point system based on final scores. West Hall could still finish second in this scenario if the Spartans win by at eight points.
Region 8-AAAA
St. Pius (4-5, 4-0 Region 8-AAAA) clinched the region last week with its win over North Oconee (1-8, 0-4 Region 8-AAAA) and everyone else is still alive for a playoff berth except for North Oconee, which was eliminated last week.
Jefferson (7-2, 3-1 Region 8-AAAA) currently sits alone in second and will play host to Oconee County (5-4, 2-2 Region 8-AAAA), which is tied with Madison County (4-5, 2-2 Region 8-AAAA) for third. The Red Raiders play host to St. Pius. Stephens County (4-5, 1-3 Region 8-AAAA) is mathematically still alive in fifth but needs a lot of help.
The Indians can still grab the No. 4 spot, BUT they will need to beat North Oconee, have Jefferson beat Oconee County AND hope that Madison County can knock off St. Pius. Any other scenario knocks the Indians out of the playoffs for the first time since 2009. If that happens, Jefferson would take the No. 2 spot, Madison County would be third, and the Indians would take fourth due to their head-to-head win over Oconee County.
The Dragons will clinch the No. 2 seed outright with a win because they already have wins over Madison County and Stephens County. However, an Oconee County win would give the Warriors the No. 2 spot with Jefferson taking third, and Madison County, regardless of whether the Red Raiders win or not, would take fourth.
Region 7-AAA
The four teams have been known for a couple of weeks. However, Greater Atlanta Christian (8-1, 5-0 Region 7-AAA) and Dawson County (7-2, 5-0 Region 7-AAA) will play in Norcross on Friday for the region title with the loser taking the No. 2 seed. North Hall (4-6, 4-2 Region 7-AAA) earned the No. 3 seed last week with its win over East Hall (5-4, 2-3 Region 7-AAA). The Vikings are the No. 4 seed.
Region 8-AAA
The top two seeds are already settled with Morgan County (8-1, 4-0 Region 8-AAA) claiming the region crown last week with a win over Franklin County (2-7, 1-3 Region 8-AAA). Monroe Area (8-1, 3-1 Region 8-AAA) is the No. 2 seed by virtue of its loss to the Bulldogs earlier in the year. Monroe Area also owns head-to-head wins over Jackson County (5-4, 2-2 Region 8-AAA) and Hart County (2-7, 2-2 Region 8-AAA).
The Panthers sit fourth but can finish third with a win over Morgan County AND a Hart County loss to East Jackson (1-7, 0-4 Region 8-AAA) on Friday night. Either a Jackson County loss or a Hart County win gives the Bulldogs the No. 3 seed and the Panthers fourth place.
Region 8-AA
Rabun County (9-0, 5-0 Region 8-AA) has clinched its fourth straight region title, and Banks County (5-4, 4-1 Region 8-AA) and Elbert County (7-2, 4-1 Region 8-AA) also are in and will battle in Homer on Friday night for second place. The loser will be the No. 3 seed. Putnam County (5-4, 2-3 Region 8-AA) and Monticello (2-7, 2-3 Region 8-AA) are tied for fourth with Social Circle (2-7, 1-4 Region 8-AA) right behind. Putnam, which already owns a win over Monticello, plays host to Social Circle this week and can clinch the final spot with a win. However, a Social Circle win and a Monticello loss to No. 5 Rabun County would put the three teams in a tie and send it to tiebreakers.
Region 8-A
Five teams are in the top 24 in the Private ratings with one week left. Lakeview Academy, which is still seeking its first-ever playoff invite, is now 28th after being as high as 23rd two weeks ago. The Lions are 1.4 points (a significant distance at this point in the season) behind fellow 8-A foe and No. 24 Athens Christian.
In the Public ratings, Commerce (7-2) dropped to 10th after last week’s loss to Athens Academy, which is third in the Private rankings. However, the Tigers are just .08 points behind No. 8 Trion and .04 behind No. 9 Jenkins County as they battle for a first round bye in the playoffs which is awarded to the top 8 teams in the final power ratings. Towns County (4-5) meanwhile, which has never made a playoff appearance, dropped one spot to 25th despite a big win over Lakeview Academy last week. The Indians are .08 points behind No. 24 Telfair County (4-5) and need a win over Providence Christian and hope for a Telfair loss to Clinch County, which is 7th in the power rankings.
