Playoff Position for Most Teams Decided on Final Week of 2025 Regular Season
The 2025 Georgia high school football regular season is over, and all of the speculation of who could be playing whom in which round of the GHSA state playoffs is over.
Just about every region in Classes 1A-Division II, 4A, 5A, and 6A held some level of mystery as to the final seeding order of its top four teams and their playoff fates. With the final horn signaling the end of one of the most exciting regular seasons in Georgia high school football history this past Friday, we now know who is playing whom and where.
There will be no GHSA playoffs until Nov. 14, so we have a lot of time to dissect the playoffs up one side and down another. We start by taking a look at some of the more interesting first-round playoff games in Class 5A and Class 6A.
Class 6A Playoffs
Notable Matchups in Round 1
As predicted, it took a tiebreaker to determine the final playoff seeds from Region 1-6A, as Valdosta, Colquitt County, and Lowndes each finished with identical region records.
Valdosta defeated Lowndes in the Winnersville Classic and in the process earned the tiebreaker over the Vikings and Packers.
With Valdosta having the top seed, they also earned what appears to be a likely path to the second round. The Wildcats will host the Dacula Falcons in Round 1, a game in which the Cats are heavily favored. Winning Region 1-6A may give Valdosta an opportunity to advance even further, with a chance to host multiple playoff games.
If you missed it, check out my recent story in which state championship winning head coaches Jeff Herron and Rush Propst explained how and why winning the southernmost region in the state’s highest classification can make the difference in winning a state title – or not.
The remaining three teams, Lowndes, Colquitt County, and Richmond Hill, head into their first-round playoff matchups as the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 seeds, respectively. Lowndes will host Collins Hill, the No. 3 seed from Region 8-6A, while Colquitt County will travel to play Mill Creek, which finished behind the region’s top seed, Buford. Speaking of the Wolves, whom many consider as one of the favorites to win the Class 6A state title this season, they’ll host Richmond Hill in Round 1.
As the No. 1 seed in Region 4-6A, the defending Class 6A state champion Grayson Rams will host Norcross, the No. 4 seed from Region 7-6A.
Carrollton, which routed Douglas County in their regular season finale to win the No. 1 seed in Region 2-6A, will host North Forsyth in Round 1 of the 2025 GHSA football state playoffs.
McEachern, a team that I predicted could make some noise in Class 6A this year, has done just that so far. The Indians are the region champs from Region 3-6A and will host Walton, the No. 4 seed from Region 5-6A, in the first round. I like the Indians to continue making noise in this postseason.
Potential Upset
Peachtree Ridge, the No. 3 seed from Region 7-6A, will defeat the higher-seeded Newton Rams, who are the No. 2 seed from Region 4-6A.
Class 5A Playoffs
Region 2-5A and Region 7-5A are considered by many to likely produce the classification’s state champion, although it’s way too early to do any chicken-counting.
After all, there are the Hughes Panthers, who coasted to the Region 3-5A No. 1 seed with an undefeated season. They advanced to the state title game last year and could have the team to make it again. Hughes will host East Paulding, the No. 4 seed from Region 5-5A, in Round 1 of the 2025 GHSA football state playoffs.
I wouldn’t bet against any of the playoff teams from the two regions. They could each make some noise in these 2025 playoffs.
Region 2-5A Playoff Teams
No. 1 seed Thomas County Central will host Woodstock in the first round of the Class 5A football state playoffs. Most observers who have seen head coach Justin Rogers’ team play this season will tell you they simply look and play a bit differently than any other team.
No. 2 seed Houston County, whose only loss was to the TCC Yellow Jackets, will host Creekview, the No. 3 seed from Region 6.
Despite finishing as the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds from Region 2-5A, Lee County and Coffee may be among the toughest road teams in these playoffs. The two programs have won three state championships in the past seven seasons, and a win by either or both teams won’t surprise anyone.
Lee County, the No. 3 seed, will travel to Sprayberry, which finished as the No. 2 seed in Region 6.
Coffee, the No. 4 seed, will travel to face Sequoyah, the top seed in Region 6, in Round 1 of the Class 5A football state playoffs.
Region 7-5A Playoff Teams
The Roswell Hornets earned their region title with exciting, last-minute victories over Gainesville two weeks ago and then last Friday over two-time defending state champion Milton.
Each of those three teams, along with Seckinger, will prepare their programs for the first round and possibly a longer run through the Class 5A playoffs.
No. 1 seed Roswell will host Chamblee, the No. 4 seed from Region 4. No. 2 seed Gainesville will host Dunwoody, the No. 3 seed from Region 4. No. 3 seed Milton will travel to Shiloh, the No. 2 seed from Region 4. No. 4 seed Seckinger will travel to Woodward Academy, the No. 1 seed from Region 4.
Roswell, Milton, and Gainesville will each likely advance, but don’t count out Seckinger in its game at Woodward Academy.
Worth Watching
Head coach John Reid and his Region 5 champion Rome Wolves will host first-round state playoff opponent Lovejoy, the No. 4 seed from Region 3-5A, in what could be one of the more interesting one versus four playoff games.
Reid and his Wolves will win and take their first step toward making it back to the Class 5A state championship game, which has eluded his team since winning back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.
Potential Upset
Newnan, the No. 3 seed from Region 3-5A, will travel to New Manchester, the No. 2 seed from Region 5-5A, and pulls the road upset in Round 1.
