With the final week of the regular season upon us, nine northeast Georgia area teams already have punched their playoff tickets. Several others, however, face do-or-die situations in their respective regions if they want to advance to the postseason.
Teams like Habersham Central, Johnson, and Riverside MIlitary Academy are looking to get back to the playoffs after long droughts. Others like Gainesville are looking to extend long playoff runs.
Below is a region-by-region breakdown of who is in, who is still alive, and what each team faces in order to continue playing past Friday night.
REGION 8-6A
(The region uses +12/-12 system to eliminate one team in three-way ties then the final two teams in the tiebreaker are determined by head-to-head play.)
Dacula and Lanier both have officially qualified for the playoffs. The Falcons clinched the region title last week with a win over Lanier. The Longhorns sit second going into Friday night and can drop no lower than third, depending on outcomes.
Apalachee, Gainesville, and Habersham Central are still alive for the final two playoff spots.
Habersham Central (plays host to Apalachee on Friday):
-- Habersham is IN with a win and will clinch the No. 3 seed;
-- The Raiders would be OUT with a loss to Apalachee and a Gainesville win over Lanier. Gainesville would be the No. 2 seed, Lanier third, and Apalachee fourth.
-- If a three-way tie for No. 3 seed with loss to Apalachee and Gainesville loss to Lanier the Raiders would be IN under current points tally. Apalachee would be the No. 3 seed, Habersham takes fourth, and Gainesville is out.
Gainesville (travels to Lanier):
-- Qualifies for a playoff spot with a Habersham Central win, would take the No. 4 seed regardless of outcome with Lanier;
-- Could finish as No. 2 seed with win at Lanier and a Habersham Central loss to Apalachee. Lanier would be the No. 3 seed and Apalachee fourth.
-- Three-way tie for No. 3 seed with loss to Lanier and Apalachee win at Habersham Central, Red Elephants would be OUT under current points tally. Apalachee would be the No. 3 seed and Habersham takes fourth.
REGION 8-5A
(Three-way ties settled drawing out of a hat for the highest spot then the other two are settled by head-to-head competition.)
Buford, Clarke Central, and Cedar Shoals all have locked up playoff spots. The only question is who will finish where. The easiest scenario is that Buford clinches the title with a win over Clarke Central at Tom Riden Stadium. If the Gladiators are able to knock off the Wolves, and Cedar Shoals beats Walnut Grove, they would force a three-way tie.
The region will decide ALL three-way ties by pulling teams out of a hat for the top playoff spot then use head-to-head with the remaining two teams.
Buford (plays host to Clarke Central):
-- Clinches the region title with win vs. Clarke Central. A Buford loss to the Gladiators and a Cedar Shoals win over Walnut Grove forces three-way tie for the top spot sending it to a draw for the region title.
Johnson (plays host to Loganville):
-- The Knights must beat Loganville and get a Walnut Grove loss to Cedar Shoals to force a three-way tie with Walnut Grove and Loganville sending it to a draw for fourth.
REGION 7-4A
(The region uses +12/-12 system to eliminate one team in three-way ties then the final two teams in the tiebreaker are determined by head-to-head play.)
Blessed Trinity already has clinched the region title with Marist finishing as the No. 2 seed. Flowery Branch has clinched a playoff spot but could finish either third or fourth depending on Friday’s outcomes.
Denmark and White County are still alive for the final playoff spot. West Hall can finish in a tie for fourth but is eliminated in all tiebreaker scenarios.
Flowery Branch (plays host to Denmark):
-- The Falcons take third with a win over the Danes or fourth with a loss.
-- A Demark win gives the Danes the No. 3 seed, Branch the fourth seed, and eliminates White County.
White County (travels to No. 1 Blessed Trinity):
-- Clinches the No. 4 spot with a win over Blessed Trinity and Denmark loss to Flowery Branch;
-- Can force three-way tie for fourth with a loss to Blessed Trinity, a Denmark loss to Flowery Branch, and a West Hall win over Chestatee. The Warriors would be IN as the No. 4 seed under current points tally and by virtue of their win over West Hall.
REGION 7-3A
Nothing to see here, except for what should be a titanic battle for second place in Dawsonville between Dawson County and North Hall.
Greater Atlanta Christian wrapped up the region title and Fannin County secured the No. 4 spot last week. The winner of the Tigers and Trojans will take the No. 2 seed and get the home field advantage in the first round. The loser will be the No. 3 seed.
REGION 8-3A
Everything is settled here as well, except for who will be the Nos. 3 and 4 seed.
Monroe Area will be the No. 1 seed with Jefferson as the runner-up. Hart County will play host to Morgan County with the winner taking the No. 3 seed and the loser finishing fourth.
REGION 8-2A
(The region uses +12/-12 system to eliminate one team in three-way ties then the final two teams in the tie are determined by head-to-head play.)
Rabun County and Union County already have clinched playoff spots and will put on a mountain showdown in Tiger for the region title. The loser will be the No. 2 seed.
Banks County, Elbert County, and Monticello are all still alive for the final two spots.
Banks County (plays host to Elbert County):
-- The Leopards would take the No. 3 seed with a win over Elbert County and a Monticello lose to Social Circle. Elbert County would be the No. 4 seed;
-- A Banks County win AND a Monticello win would force a three-way tie for the No. 3 seed with Elbert County and Monticello. The Leopards would be IN under current points tally;
-- Banks County is eliminated with a loss, no matter what happens to Monticello because they lost to the Hurricanes head-to-head.
REGION 8-A
(Class A Public and Private gives outright region winners an automatic berth in the playoffs. Other teams are determined by power rankings to set the 24-team brackets.)
Class A Public and Private take the eight region winners as part of a 24-team field for each bracket.
The only two area teams with realistic chances to make the playoffs are Commerce and Riverside Military Academy.
The Tigers sit seventh in Class A Public while the Eagles are 22nd in Class A Private. Towns County, with its loss to Lakeview Academy last week, dropped from 26th to 34th in Class A Public and Lakeview Academy sits 34th in Class A Private heading into the final week.
Commerce travels to Athens Academy on Friday for the Region 8-A title. The winner gets the automatic berth.
Riverside heads to Prince Avenue (No. 4 in Class A Private power rankings) on Friday. The Eagles lost to the Wolverines 56-12 earlier in the regular season.
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR NOV. 2
Apalachee at Habersham Central*
Chestatee at West Hall*
Clarke Central at Buford* -- Radio: WDUN AM 550
Commerce at Athens Academy
Denmark at Flowery Branch*
East Hall at Lumpkin County*
East Jackson at Jackson County*
Elbert County at Banks County*
Gainesville at Lanier* -- Radio: 94.5 FM The Lake
Lakeview Academy at Athens Christian
Loganville at Johnson*
North Hall at Dawson County* -- Radio: WDUN FM 102.9
Riverside Military at Prince Avenue
Towns County at Providence Christian
Union County at Rabun County*
White County at Blessed Trinity*
*-Denotes region game
