How Week 10 Results Impacted Upcoming Brackets
Deep into region play of the 2022 Georgia high school football season, several playoff races remain wide open. At this stage of the season, every game matters. Some region champions have already been decided, but the remaining three seeds in those regions remain largely undetermined. Week 10 games on October 21 provided some clarity, but a number of results left the playoff picture as uncertain as ever.
Class 7A
Barring any significant upsets, North Cobb will face Mill Creek and Walton will travel to Buford in the second round of the playoffs. These are huge matchups whose probabilities of occurring increased with wins by all four teams on Friday.
Valdosta and Parkview both suffered stunning losses against region foes, opening the door for three-way ties for second place. Those tiebreakers are decided by the individual regions themselves and could have massive impacts on the first round of playoffs.
Class 6A
A wild ending to the Northside-Warner Robins game at Lee County sent shockwaves throughout the Georgia landscape. Lee County led 20-0 in the fourth quarter, but a furious Eagles rally and a 40-yard scoop-and-score on the last play of regulation helped Northside stun the Trojans.
As of now, Lee County sits at second place in that region, meaning that a highly anticipated showdown with Langston Hughes would come in the semifinals, not the state championship. That matchup would arrive one round earlier if Thomas County Central defeats Lee County this week.
Class 5A
The de facto region championship between Jefferson and Loganville held major playoff value. The Dragons’ huge win places them into the most favorable quadrant of the bracket, avoiding contenders like Creekside, Cartersville, Warner Robins, Coffee, Calhoun, and Ware County en route to the semifinals.
Speaking of Calhoun, they still control their own destiny despite A loss to Hiram. The only way Cartersville could win the region is by winning the rest of their games and Calhoun losing to Cass. A similar situation is present as Dutchtown still leads the region race over Warner Robins.
Class 4A
The Georgia high school football playoff picture for Region 4 became more chaotic with LaGrange’s 18-point upset win over Trinity Christian. With Starr’s Mill and Whitewater yet to play, the Grangers are still in playoff contention.
The possibility of three teams from that region winning in the first round is still largely intact. North Oconee has barreled through its region schedule, but Madison County’s win over East Forsyth complicates the playoff seeding for the five contenders. Will the Broncos sneak in during just their second season of existence?
Class 3A
If Cedar Grove can handle business against Carver-Atlanta, 2022 playoff brackets will be set for one of the most dangerous regions in Georgia high school football. There is a real possibility that those two teams along with Sandy Creek could end up in the semifinals, especially considering Thomasville’s upset win over Dougherty (which previously was likely play Carver-Atlanta in the quarterfinals).
The No. 3 seed in Region 8 is a coveted one, as it likely has the easiest path to the semifinals of any 3-seed in the state. With a win over Monroe Area, Oconee County now holds that position. That may change with a pivotal matchup between the Warriors and Stephens County this Friday.
Class 2A
Callaway’s massive win over ELCA earns the Chargers another region championship. This nearly guarantees a potential matchup between them and Fellowship Christian in the second round. Dodge County shocked Cook with a 47-37 road victory, but they still remain in third. That will change if Fitzgerald defeats Cook, causing the Hornets to slip to third.
Another head-turning upset, Spencer over Northeast, almost certainly gives the Greenwave their first region championship in school history. This bumps Northeast into a thrilling first-round playoff bout against either Cook or Dodge County.
Class A-D1
Another edition of Irwin County vs. Brooks County went the Indians’ way, securing them the region championship. A big win by Dublin keeps them tied for first in their region with Swainsboro. The third seed in this stacked region would align with Brooks County for an action-packed first-round tilt.
St. Francis’s win over Whitefield Academy may be good enough for a region title, the Knights’ first in school history. That could set them up for an easier second-round matchup against Commerce rather than undefeated Darlington.
Class A-D2
Barring any historic upsets, Schley County has clinched its first-ever region championship with a win over Manchester. Their road to the semifinals was made exponentially easier with Wilcox County’s blowout upset of Dooly County. The Bobcats are now staring at a playoff path that includes Early County and Bowdon rather than Mitchell County and Schley County.
McIntosh County Academy scored an important, region-clinching win over Emanuel County Institute, but that likely won’t improve their 2022 Georgia high school football playoff odds, as they will face the winner of Clinch County vs. Charlton County in the second round. ECI will face the loser of that matchup.
