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Region championships, playoff spots to be decided on taut final week of regular season

Posted 11:29PM on Tuesday 3rd November 2015 ( 9 years ago )

Friday is it -- the last chance for high school football teams to make an impression on the 2015 regular season.

Welcome to Week 11 of the campaign -- and there is plenty left to play for for a number of northeast Georgia-based programs.

Regions 7-AAAAAA, 6-AAAAAA, 8-AAAA and 8-AAA will crown their champions, while just about every other region will determine their final playoff seedings -- and the family of Jacobs Media will be on hand to cover all the angles.

Region 8-AAAAA may have already decided its winner -- repeat champ Lanier -- but seeds two-four are still up for grabs among a handful of teams, and Gainesville and Flowery Branch will battle with plenty on the line on Friday at City Park.

The game, broadcast live on 1240 AM ESPN Radio and streamed on AccessWDUN.com, will feature a Red Elephants (6-3, 6-2 Region 8-AAAAA) team looking to seal the No. 2 seed -- which it can do with a win -- battling a Falcons (6-3, 5-3) squad that must win to stay in the postseason race. The Branch will also need help to get back to the playoffs after a one-year absence, and the scenarios are myriad and tangled:

Assuming the Falcons win, they need either Winder-Barrow (5-4, 5-3) to lose at Heritage (1-8, 1-7) -- a scenario that would see Gainesville, Flowery Branch and Loganville drawing lots to determine seeding -- or both Winder and Loganville (7-2, 6-2), which is playing at Clarke Central (4-5, 4-4), to win -- which would then necessitate mini-game between the Red Elephants, Falcons and Bulldoggs the following Monday. Should Winder win and Loganville lose on Friday, the Falcons would be eliminated regardless.

Don’t lose your mind yet -- there’s lots more key games to highlight, including the Region 8-AAAA championship.

Buford and Stephens County have both navigated the 8-AAAA schedule without a blemish -- the Wolves (8-1, 6-0 Region 8-AAAA) have dominated, while the Indians (8-1, 6-0) have produced a couple of one-point escapes and will now get their shot against the defending Class AAAA champs in a game broadcast live on WDUN AM 550. The winner finishes No. 1, the loser will still take the No. 2 seed for next week’s first round of state.

Elsewhere in the region, North Hall (5-4, 4-2) will battle White County (3-6, 3-3) in a game filled with implications. The Trojans can seal a No. 3 seed in 8-AAAA with a win, while the Warriors must win by 12-plus points to clinch their fourth straight state berth. The game will be broadcast live on wrwh.com.

Remember the mess Region 7-AAA was just two weeks ago? With five teams in with a shot to win the title. Well, Dawson County cleared all that up last week, winning its first-ever league title. East Hall also clinched the No. 2 seed from 7-AAA, sealing its first home playoff game since 2000. And yet there’s still much to sort out, including four teams battling for the two remaining playoff spots.

Banks County, Fannin County, Franklin County and West Hall are still alive in the playoff race and will all play games this weekend.

East Hall (5-4, 4-1 Region 7-AAA) will travel to Banks County (5-4, 2-3) in a contest broadcast WDUN 102.9 FM. The Leopards need a win -- but so do Franklin County (5-4, 3-2) and Fannin County (4-5, 2-3), and the Rebels and Lions will face off on Friday in Blue Ridge. West Hall also needs a victory, and the Spartans (4-5, 2-3) will head to Lumpkin County (2-7, 0-5) to compete in a game broadcast live on northgeorgiasportslink.com. The tiebreakers at play in 7-AAA come Friday night will also be hot and heavy. Stay tuned.

Perhaps the most-anticipated contest of the night will come in Region 7-AAAAAA. Mill Creek is already in the midst of its most successful ever regular season, but the fifth-ranked Hawks (9-0, 6-0 Region 7-AAAAAA) still need one more win to claim their first-ever region title. It won’t come easy, however, as Mill Creek plays host to ninth-ranked Peachtree Ridge (7-2, 6-0) on Friday in Hoschton. Both teams feature stout defenses and talented offenses, making this one of the biggest battles in the state.

Meanwhile, Jefferson is looking to snare its second straight Region 8-AAA crown on Friday. But the Dragons (8-1, 7-1 Region 8-AAA) will need some help to do so after last week’s surprising double overtime loss at Oconee County. Jefferson will play host to Hart County (7-2, 4-1) knowing it must win, but the Dragons also need Elbert County (8-1, 4-1) to win at Oconee County (8-1, 4-1) in order to finish as a No. 1 seed. All four teams involved are alive for the region title, meaning a taut Week 11 in two stadiums.

Sounds like a great way to finish a regular season -- and similar scenarios will play out all across northeast Georgia. AccessWDUN and Friday Game Night will be on top of all of the action and will bring it all to you on Friday night.

WEEK 11 AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, NOV. 6 

Buford's Brandon Marsh, left, surges downfield in a game played earlier this season.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/11/346999/region-championships-playoff-spots-to-be-decided-on-taut-final-week-of-regular-season

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