Each of Georgia high school football’s eight playoff brackets contains eight No. 1 seeds, one from each region. However, in five of the eight classes, at least one top-ranked team was upset by a No. 4 seed on Friday and Saturday.
In Class 7A, nearly all No. 1 seeds cruised to opening-round victories. North Gwinnett, North Cobb, and Grayson won by an average of 30 points, while Buford thumped Peachtree Ridge, 63-6. Two top-five teams, Colquitt County and Carrollton, also won big, with the Trojans handing Lowndes their first opening-round playoff exit since 2015.
Milton’s 14-point win over Cherokee turned some heads, but it was Parkview that stole the spotlight with a six-point upset of top-seeded North Paulding. The Panthers rode the momentum of an upset win over Grayson last week to overcome the Wolfpack on the road.
The trend of the 4-over-1 seed upset continued in 6A with Houston County winning a thriller in overtime over Brunswick, which currently holds a 22-game regular-season win streak. No other Georgia high school matchup was relatively close, as all other No. 1 seeds scored over 40 points against their respective 4-seeds.
Woodward Academy, despite winning its game against Riverwood by four touchdowns, may be the only 6A top seed to be listed as an underdog this week, as they will play host to the Lee County Trojans, who are fresh off a 50-point win over Effingham County.
Class 5A featured the roughest first rounds for Georgia high school No. 1 seeds. Cambridge struggled to stave off Jackson-Atlanta, but finally got the job done with a touchdown victory. The same can be said for Northside-Columbus, who impressed with their first nine-win regular season in school history. Calhoun needed late first-down carries by Caden Williams to seal a narrow two-point win over Eastside.
The most improbable upset of a top seed in any classification came when Cass stunned Jefferson 27-17. The Dragons, one of the best teams in 5A, were picked as finalists in several brackets. Cass had faced three ranked opponents prior, but had lost by more than one score each time.
Class 4A is the first classification with all top seeds advancing to the second round. The four on the left side of the bracket won with ease, allowing only a combined 32 points. The right side was less lopsided, with Benedictine struggling early with Whitewater, Stockbridge stiff-arming Hapeville, and Troup County barely escaping a New Hampstead upset bid. Troup County missed the chance at an undefeated regular season by losing to LaGrange last week, but their 36-29 win helped them narrowly avoid a season-ending shocker.
None of 3A’s first-round matchups were relatively close. That includes Monroe Area’s upset of Dawson County. The Purple Hurricanes, a popular underdog selection in the first round, rolled to a 35-13 victory after jumping out to a 28-7 halftime lead.
That region’s top seed, Stephens County, faced no trouble with Wesleyan, setting up a showdown with Sandy Creek next weekend. Peach County and Thomasville advanced with wins of about 20 points, while Adairsville, Cedar Grove, and Calvary Day used offensive explosions to race past their opponents.
By far, 2A’s best first-round game ended up as the only 4-seed upset, as Berrien knocked off region champions Spencer, 43-36. The Greenwave turned heads with a region-clinching upset over Northeast earlier this season, but now find themselves on the losing side of an upset against previously six-win Berrien.
Offense was the overall theme of successful Georgia high school No. 1 seeds in 2A, as Rockmart and Appling County notched 65 points apiece and Fitzgerald, Callaway, South Atlanta, and Fellowship Christian topped 40 points. Thomson chose the alternate path, using suffocating defense to stifle Tattnall County, 26-0.
Neither of the 1A classifications had a No. 1 seed upset. In fact, the A-D1 top seeds won by an average margin of 39.9 points, the most of any classification. The closest matchup was a 21-point victory by Lamar County over Claxton, but the Trojans’ style of offense rarely permits for 40-or-more point victories.
In A-D2, only seven top seeds played, as Lincoln County received a bye. Wilcox County and McIntosh County Academy struggled to put away their less-talented opponents, but eventually won with late scores. Most surprisingly, Johnson County struggled with Chattahoochee County despite having one of the state’s best rushing attacks.
Overall, Georgia high school No. 1 seeds posted an impressive 58-5 record in the first round. Although not perfect, the win total is relatively impressive, considering last year’s total came to 59 wins. While most of those five losses came in predictable upsets, Cass’s win over Jefferson is by far the most surprising. This marks back-to-back seasons that the Dragons have entered the playoffs as the 6th-ranked team in their classification and lost to an unranked opponent. Will we see any more stunning losses by highly ranked teams next weekend?
