Grayson didn't receive the top seed due to an early loss, but it is still the favorite to win the 6A title.
Photo by Dennis Carter
Georgia 6A State ChampionshipsBracket: linkTop seed: Lassiter (Marietta) (10-0) is the No. 1-ranked team in every poll but has never won a state championship. Missouri-bound QB
Eddie Printz is chasing a state record for career passing yards.
Our pick: Grayson (Loganville) (9-1) A preseason contender for national championship, Grayson was upset by Parkview 22-7 on Sept. 14. Since that wake-up call, the Rams have won seven straight games by an average score of 48-7. They have the state's most celebrated player, defensive end
Robert Nkemdiche, and several other major Division 1 prospects, mostly on a defense that is allowing a mere 33 yards rushing per game.
Next in line: Norcross (10-0) Norcross has victories over five other playoff teams. The Blue Devils are led by RB
Alvin Kamara, one of the nation's top uncommitted prospects. Though a traditionally strong program, Norcross has never advanced past the quarterfinals.
Sleeper: Colquitt County (Moultrie) (7-3) Colquitt is a No. 4 seed from powerful Region 1 but consistently produces in the playoffs under coach Rush Propst, reaching the semifinals or better each of the past three seasons. Colquitt stunned nationally ranked Camden County 13-12 last week.
Defending champion: Georgia expanded to a sixth classification this season. Grayson (9-1) won the highest classification in 2011.
Comment: The top quarter of the draw contains four Top 10 teams in Grayson,
North Gwinnett (Suwanee),
Lowndes (Valdosta) and
Lovejoy. All are 9-1.
Georgia 5A State ChampionshipsBracket: linkTop seed: Northside (Warner Robins) (10-0) Northside extended its state record to 15 straight seasons of at least 10 victories. The Eagles are 33-2 under third-year coach Kevin Kinsler.
Tucker is the defending Class 4A
champion, but how will it fare in 5A?
Photo by Cecil Copeland
Northside.
The Eagles lost to eventual champion Tucker 17-16 in the 2011 Class 4A quarterfinals. WR/RB
Keshun Hill is one of the South's most underrated players.
Next in line: M.L. King (Lithonia) (10-0). MLK is known for developing college prospects but falling short in the playoffs. This year's team might have its best shot after moving down from the highest classification.
Sleeper: Flowery Branch (8-2) The Falcons have won eight straight games after losing to West Forsyth (9-1) from 6A and Northside (10-0). They beat Gainesville 35-34 last week in a dramatic finish to claim the Region 8 championship. They've reached the quarterfinals or better four times since 2005.
Defending champion: Tucker (8-2) Technically Tucker won 4A last season, but 5A is now the second-highest classification. Tucker has a new head coach in Bryan Lamar, as Franklin Stephens left for Lamar County, but remains dangerous. The Tigers' losses are to top-10 teams in Stephenson (7-2) and M.L. King (10-0).
Comment: Tucker and Northside have won two state titles apiece since 2007, but most of the rest of the top contenders are perennially good teams seeking their first championships. Those include Stephenson, M.L. King, Gainesville, Kell and Flowery Branch.
Georgia 4A State Championships
No. 1 seed Sandy Creek is the favorite in Class 4A.
Photo by Stan Prophitt
. Ranked No. 1 in every poll and the only unbeaten team in AAAA, the Patriots are 52-3 over the past five seasons and are loaded with major D-1 prospects in CB
Shaquille Wiggins (Georgia commit), OL
Alan Knott (South Carolina) and WR
Demarre Kitt.
Our pick: Sandy Creek
Next in line: Marist (Atlanta) (9-1) Marist's only loss came to 5A Thomas County Central 21-17. Marist is 46-3 in home playoff games under 300-game winner Alan Chadwick, who has been winning consistently with one of Georgia's last surviving wishbone offenses since 1985.
Sleeper: Cairo (8-2) The Syrupmakers, aside from having one of the nation's best nicknames, have made the semifinals or better three of the past five seasons. Cairo's record this season is marred by seeking out better competition against 5A schools Bainbridge and Thomas County Central.
Defending champion: Burke County (Waynesboro) (9-1) Won 3A last season and is the closest thing to a defending champion here as the 4A champion from 2011, Tucker, moved to 5A. Back from that team is QB
Donquell Green, a contender for state player of the year.
Comment: Three of the top five teams in most of the state's polls are in the same quarter of the draw, which could lead to No. 3 Burke County facing No. 5 Griffin in the second round with the winner to face No. 1 Sandy Creek in the quarterfinals.
Georgia 3A State ChampionshipsBracket: linkTop seed: Thomson (10-0) The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the polls for the first time since 2000, the year of the most recent of five state titles.
Our pick: Buford (7-3) Two of the Wolves' losses are forfeits that overturned victories after Buford reported the inadvertent use of an ineligible player. This is a team that graduated all but three starters off a Class 2A runner-up, but the school's tradition — seven state titles since 2000 — can't be ignored.
Next in line: Carver (Columbus) (9-1) Carver won its sixth straight region championship with a mild upset of then No. 1-ranked Peach County. Carver, the alma mater of All-America LB Jarvis Jones, doesn't have many big-name players this season but is rolling along. The school has made five semifinals since 2006 and won the Class 3A championship in 2007.
Sleeper: St. Pius X Catholic (Atlanta) (8-2) St. Pius has lost to No. 1 Thomson, 21-14, and later Woodward Academy, 20-14, on a last-second desperation pass. Defensive backs
Nick Ruffin and
Nick Glass are SEC recruits.
Defending champion: None. In Georgia's move to six classifications, Burke County moved to 4A. No team in 3A won a state title in 2011.
Comment: Buford wound up a No. 2 seed from its region because of the forfeits. That gave the Wolves a tougher draw but also opened the door for perennial state power Peach County (9-1). Peach is the only ranked team in its quarter of the draw.
Georgia 2A State Championships
Calhoun, the defending 2A champion, is the favorite to win again this year.
Photo by Cecil Copeland
Calhoun has been the state's No. 1 team in every poll since preseason.
Our pick: Calhoun. The defending AA champion has won 63 of its last 66 games, losing three state finals to Buford, which is now in AAA. Brooks County (10-0) had an early-season upset of AAAAAA Valdosta.
Taylor Lamb, the nephew of head coach Hal Lamb, has thrown for 2,364 yards and 25 touchdowns after leading the state with more than 3,500 passing yards in 2011.
Next in line: Brooks County (Quitman) (10-0) Brooks shocked Class 6A Valdosta in an early-season game and completed its first 10-0 season in history, which began in the 1950s. QB
Malcom Parrish has thrown for 2,309 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for 639 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Sleeper: Lovett (Atlanta) (6-4) Lovett scheduled six ranked opponents from higher classifications and went 2-4, then swept through its region undefeated. The Lions beat Greater Atlanta Christian 31-30 when
Corey Erdoes blocked an extra point in the final seconds.
Defending champion: Calhoun. It was Calhoun's first title since 1952 after losing in three straight finals to Buford.
Comment: No. 1 Calhoun and No. 2 Brooks County are seeded to play each other in the quarterfinals. Calhoun is the only team in the draw that has won a state title in 2A or above since 2002.
Georgia 1A State ChampionshipsTop seeds: Private school
Athens Academy (Athens) (10-0) and public school
Lincoln County (Lincolnton) (9-1) finish first in the Georgia High School Association's new points system that seeds each 16-team playoff draw.
Our picks: Eagle's Landing Christian Academy (McDonough) (9-1) Lost to Class 3A Washington County in the opener and has destroyed the rest of its schedule. RB
Keyante Green is a beast with 1,036 yards rushing (12.33 per carry) despite missing two games and half of most others due to injuries and blowouts. On the public side,
Lincoln County (Lincolnton) (9-1) is seeking its 12th state championship under legendary coach Larry Campbell.
Next in line: Aquinas (Augusta) (8-2) and
Emanuel County Institute (Twin City) (9-1) Aquinas RB/LB
Brendan Douglas rushed for 300 yards, scored five touchdowns and made 17 tackles in a 42-14 victory over First Presbyterian last week. ECI had been questioned for its weak schedule until pounding 2011 Class 1A champion Savannah Christian 48-14 last week.
Sleepers: Athens Academy (Athens) (10-0) and
Walker (Marietta) (10-0) are undefeated, but if the 1A private tournament isn't won by Eagle's Landing Christian, it will be a major surprise. It would be no surprise if
Wilcox County (Rochelle) (8-2) won the public division. The passing combo of QB
Makail Grace and WR
Jonathan Howard is perhaps the best in any Georgia classification.
Defending champion: Savannah Christian (Savannah) (7-3). Won Georgia's last Class 1A title with public and private schools together. The Raiders should be a factor this season but suffered heavy graduation losses.
Comment: Georgia split its lowest classification into public and private divisions for the playoffs only and developed a complicated points system to determine which teams qualified. It led to controversy when some teams that were left out finished higher in region standings than some teams that made it.
