The early part of the high school basketball season has produced a little of everything as teams prep for the holiday tournament season.
There have been upsets -- including the East Hall boys knocking off Class AAA No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian in Region 7-AAA -- as well as signature wins -- the Flowery Branch girls defeated Ossining, the No. 1-ranked team in New York, in a tournament in Florida this week.
Some teams are already surpassing early-season projections. The White County girls already have more wins before the tournament season than the Lady Warriors managed all of last campaign. And the Union County boys are one of a handful of teams in Cass AAA still unbeaten.
But not every region has begun region play with fierce battles expected to begin after the New Year.
Following is a brief synopsis of each region in our northeast Georgia coverage area and where things stand heading into the Christmas break:
(Regions lised by largest classification and then region).
Region 5-AAAAAAA:
On the girls side, North Forsyth is tied with South Forsyth and Milton after the opening week of region play. The Lady Raiders' eight wins are tied for fifth-most in the state’s largest classification. For the boys, North Forsyth dropped its region opener to Lambert. Region play will resume after the New Year
Region 8-AAAAAA:
Lanier's girls team (8-2) made a big early statement, knocking off last year’s region champ Winder-Barrow in both teams’ region openers and is tied for the third-most wins in Class AAAAAA in the early part of the season. The Lanier boys (7-2), meanwhile, have jumped out to a quick start, already amassing half as many wins before the Christmas tournament season as the Longhorns had all of last year. Gainesville (2-5) the defending region champion, has battled a brutally-tough non-region schedule. The Red Elephants and Dacula (3-3), the two teams expected to battle for the region title by season’s end, will open their region schedule at the Gainesville gym on Jan. 5 in a huge early showdown. The rest of the region also will open play after the New Year.
Region 8-AAAAA:
It has been a competitive opening first two weeks on the girls side. Buford is the only unbeaten team in region play after knocking off Flowery Branch last week. The top five teams in the region all have at least two region wins and are separated by just one game in the standings. For the boys, No. 1 and defending state champion Buford is off to a solid 2-0 start in the region with Flowery Branch, Cedar Shoals, and Clark Central right behind at 2-1. The Wolves knocked off Cedar Shoals two weeks ago and held off a spirited upset-bid by Flowery Branch last week. Johnson is the only team that does not have a region win yet. Region play will get back under way after the New Year with the biggest game on tap coming back having the Falcons play host to Clarke Central on Jan. 5.
Region 7-AAAA:
Region play began last week with the Marist and White County girls sitting tied with 1-0 7-AAAA records, while West Hall and Chestatee are 0-1. The Lady Spartans, however, lost just 46-44 to Marist. The Lady Warriors (7-3) already own more wins than all of last season. For the boys, White County and Marist opened region play last week with wins over Chestatee and West Hall. The Warriors’ only losses have come Franklin County and East Jackson. Region play will not resume until after the New Year.
Region 8-AAAA:
Region play opened last week with Jefferson and Stephens County girls both dropping their openers. In the boys standings, Jefferson, Oconee County, and St. Pius all opened region play with wins while Stephens County, Madison County, and North Oconee took the losses. But region play will not pick up again until after the New Year.
Region 7-AAA:
The girls standings are logged-jammed at the top after the first week of region play. GAC is 2-0, North Hall is 2-1, with Dawson County, Lumpkin County, Union County, and East Hall all sitting at 1-1 so far. In the boys standings, Dawson County, Union County, and East Hall all are off to strong 2-0 starts in region play, including the Vikings big upset of GAC. The Panthers, meanwhile, are one of just five unbeaten teams still left in Class AAA. The first week in January will be crucial for both the girls and boys standings as North Hall, Dawson County, and East Hall all will take on each other.
Region 8-AAA:
Franklin County (9-0) is one of just three unbeaten teams left and is tied for the second-most wins in AAA on the girls side. For the boys, East Jackson (10-1) leads all of Class AAA in wins and Morgan County and Monroe Area are among the five unbeaten teams in AAA. Expect a battle right out of the gate when region play gets under way after the New Year.
Region 8-AA:
In the girls standings, Banks and Rabun County have yet to play a region game but Putnam County and Rabun County are both 7-0 on the season, two of just five unbeaten teams left in Class AA. For the boys, Banks County, which is a perfect 7-0 so far on the season, opens region play on Tuesday at Monticello. The Leopards are one of just three unbeaten teams left in Class AA. Rabun County, which is winless on the season, opens 8-AA on the road against Putnam County.
Region 8-A:
For the girls, Towns County has the early lead with a 2-0 record. Lakeview Academy, George Walton, and Prince Avenue are all 1-0. For the boys, Lakeview Academy and Hebron Christian are tied for the early region lead at 2-0 each. Towns County and a surprising Riverside Military Academy are just one-half game behind at 3-1. Teams will not resume region play until after the New Year. Lakeview and Hebron will meet on Jan. 2 to get things restarted in the first battle for first place on the boys side.
