Once again, northeast Georgia proved to be a powerhouse soccer area in Georgia in 2024. Well more than two dozen teams made the postseason (14 girls, 14 boys) with 20 advancing to the second round or beyond.
Four girls teams (Buford, Habersham Central, Jefferson, Cherokee Bluff) and three boys teams (Habersham Central, Johnson, East Jackson) captured region titles.
However, despite some deep playoff runs, it did not translate into titles.
Five girls teams did make it to the semifinals, with Buford advancing to the Class 7A championship game. Only one boys team, Johnson, made it past the second round, with the Knights also falling in the finals in Class 4A.
And with new classifications and regions being created in the latest round of reclassification, there will be some interesting region battles in store around the area.
Region 6-3A on both the girls and boys side will be juggernauts. As will Region 8-3A.
In Region 6-3A, the Johnson boys, along with Dawson County and Lumpkin County, all made the playoffs with the Knights having made the state finals the past three seasons and five of the past seven overall with three titles. And that’s not counting perennial playoff teams Chestatee and GAC, both of whom did not make the playoffs last season.
Johnson coach Frank Zamora said he expects a challenge the entire season -- inside and outside the region.
“We have not played most of the teams in our region in the last few years,” Zamora said. “Traditionally, Chestatee and GAC have been very strong in the past. Region games are always important for everyone...and can get very competitive.
“Class 3A has some great teams and will be very competitive. We will need to play well every game. Whitewater, Islands, Chestatee, Calhoun, Northwest Whitfield, Oconee County, Cherokee Bluff, East Hall, West Hall are just a few of the (state title) contenders.”
The Knights looked ready with a 3-0 win over perennial powerhouse Southeast Whitfield in a preseason match on Friday.
But the girls may be even stronger in 6-3A. Five of the seven teams made the playoffs, with Dawson County coming off a semifinal run in 2024. GAC won the Class 5A state title in 2024.
Region 8-3A on both sides also figures to be a slugfest. For the girls four of the six teams made the playoffs and advanced to the second round or better. The Oconee County girls are coming off a state title in 2024 with both Jefferson (Class 5A) and Cherokee Bluff (Class 4A) making semifinal runs in 2024.
Jefferson coach Molly McCarty said there won’t be any easy matches. And she is hoping her squad has grown from last year’s experience.
“Our region alone will have top quality players and teams (from top to bottom),” McCarty said. “I believe all of our teams in (Region 8-3A) are front-runners. We are very aware that we will play each other once during the season, but with the new playoff system we will more than likely meet up again in the playoffs.
“Making it to the Final 4 last year and then to lose in a PK shootout to the state champion (GAC) is something that we will build upon going into this season.”
The Cherokee Bluff girls also made the Class 4A semifinals in 2024 and do return national standout Bristol Kersh in 2025. The Lady Bears won Region 8-4A in 2024 and lost to eventual state champion Lovett. They and are locked in 8-3A with Jefferson, which should make for a fantastic showdown later in the season.
The 8-3A boys are similar in that five of the six teams made the playoffs last season, with Oconee County advancing to the semifinals in Class 3A. East Hall, a perennial playoff team, is the lone team that did not make the playoffs last year and will be a factor as well.
The Buford girls in Region 8-6A are the other semifinal team from 2024 and are now in Region 8-6A, which is essentially the same from last year.
The Lady Wolves also lost to an eventual state champion, dropping a heartbreak in PKs to West Forsyth after holding the lead late into the second half.
They return six starters from last year’s squad and coach Megan Hill is anticipating another deep run.
“While we fell just short of our ultimate goal (last year), that has only fueled our passion to come back stronger,” Hill said. “Being in the highest classification again this year will always be a challenge competing with schools that have a much larger pool of talent than ourselves. A lot of those Forsyth schools will again be powerhouses, along with teams like (defending Class 7A state champion) West Forsyth, Walton, North Gwinnett, Brookwood, and Harrison.”
The season officially kicks off on Monday.
