Georgia prep football playoff picture [photos]

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/14/16. Ridgeland High School's Grayson Moore (34) dodges a tackle by Heritage High School's Austin Ferguson (21) during the first half of play at the Panthers' home field on Friday, October 14, 2016.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/14/16. Ridgeland High School's Grayson Moore (34) dodges a tackle by Heritage High School's Austin Ferguson (21) during the first half of play at the Panthers' home field on Friday, October 14, 2016.

It's the time of year when high school football coaches spend as much time mulling over playoff scenarios as they do game plans.

For some this season, things are pretty cut and dried. For others it means sifting through a lot of "what-if" thoughts - from games in the past, present and future. Tonight's games will go a long way in clearing things up in northwest Georgia's five regions, even in the experiment that is Region 6-AAA.

From the start there was always the possibility of the playoff race in 6-AAA turning somewhat chaotic. After all, an odd system was put into place in the subdivided league in which the No. 1 seeds in each subregion face the No. 4 seeds in the other in game 10, with the No. 2 seeds facing the No. 3 seeds.

Each of the four winners makes the playoffs, meaning four teams from one subregion can move on while a subregion champion stays home.

"We all believed if you win the subregion you should be able to play the other subregion champion to determine the true region champion," said Murray County coach Chad Brewer, speaking of North subregion coaches. "Now even if you win week 10 we will have to meet and determine what our seeds will be. The bottom line is we just need to win this week and week 10."

Got it? Well, here's a closer look at each region, from the wildest to the most clear-cut, as the regular season winds down.

Region 6-AA

- The road so far: The defining moment in the North subregion came when North Murray defeated Haralson County in a crossover game. Each team plays two such games against teams from the other subregion, and they only come into play in case there is a tiebreaker needed.

Well, unless a major upset occurs, the Mountaineers will earn the top seed because of the win over the 1-8 Rebels. North Murray, Murray County and Ringgold have split games, with the Indians and Tigers each losing both of their crossover games.

The South subregion is much clearer.

- On the line tonight: Calhoun and Sonoraville will, again barring major upset, decide the South top seed tonight, while Bremen and Adairsville play in a game that will decide the third and fourth seeds. Murray and North Murray face Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Coahulla Creek, teams with a combined one win, while Ringgold is off.

- The road ahead: Everything comes down to game 10, where the South subregion teams will host the play-in games.

"It's crazy, and it's not what we all wanted, but if you don't win you don't deserve to get in," Ringgold coach Robert Akins said. "I guess what bothers me the most is that luck of the draw plays too big a part of it as far as the crossover games are concerned."

Region 7-AA

- The road so far: This region has lived up to its preseason billing as one of the more wide-open AA leagues in the state. Pepperell holds the clear edge at 4-0 in the league, already owning wins over Rockmart and Model.

Things got interesting, though, when Chattooga defeated Model last week, creating the possibility of a three-way tie for the top. Rockmart handed Chattooga its only region loss.

"That win over Model certainly helped us," Chattooga coach Charlie Hammon said. "I don't know how it's going to shake up because we've still got a lot of football to play before the playoffs, but we're in the hunt."

- On the line tonight: There are no marquee games tonight, though if any of the three leaders should be upset all scenarios will change.

- The road ahead: Two very important games remain, each in the final week. Chattooga will travel to Pepperell, while Model will host Rockmart. Wins by Chattooga and Model would result in the Indians earning the region title, while Chattooga and Rockmart wins likely would create the three-way tie.

Coosa, which still has games remaining against Rockmart and Model, could jump into the race by winning out.

Region 6-AAAAAA

- The road so far: There is so much to be decided in this top-heavy region. The biggest wins so far are Harrison's victory over Allatoona and Dalton's defeat of Sequoyah, with the Hoyas and Catamounts atop the league at 4-0.

- On the line tonight: The leaders meet tonight at Harmon Field, and though the winner will have the inside track to the title, it won't necessarily be decided. Sequoyah and Allatoona - the 5A state champion last season - also meet, with each having just one league loss.

"We've got a lot on the line, to be sure," Dalton coach Matt Land said. "We'll find out how good we really are Friday night."

- The road ahead: Wins by Harrison and Allatoona will all but sew up the league title for the Hoyas. Should Dalton and Allatoona win tonight, the game 10 meeting between them would be large. In such case a Dalton win would win the title, while an Allatoona win would create the dreaded three-way tie. Two wins by Sequoyah and Dalton could also create a three-way tie with Harrison.

Region 6-AAAA

- The road so far: Unbeaten Ridgeland has earned the top spot to this point with big wins over Northwest Whitfield and Heritage. Northwest's Bruins are a solid No. 2 after defeating Heritage and Pickens.

- On the line tonight: Barring huge upsets in its final two games, Ridgeland can sew up the region title with a win at Pickens tonight. Should Pickens win, however, all bets are off, with a three-way tie involving the Dragons, Ridgeland and Northwest likely.

Also tonight, Heritage can go a long way to earning a state berth with a win over LaFayette, while the Ramblers' slim hopes can stay alive with an upset win.

- The road ahead: The Heritage-at-Pickens game Nov. 4 likely will decide the No. 3 seed. Southeast Whitfield can really turn the region upside down with week nine and 10 upsets over Northwest and Ridgeland.

Region 6A-A

- The road so far: Things are different in Class A, where only the region champion is guaranteed a playoff spot, with the rest of the teams determined by the GHSA's power ratings after the conclusion of the regular season. The good news this year is that the postseason fields have expanded to 24 teams on both the public and private sides.

The big win in the A subregion so far was Mount Zion's three-overtime win over Darlington.

- On the line tonight: A Trion upset over Mount Zion would boost the Bulldogs' rating, which needs a boost as they currently sit at 27th.

- The road ahead: This region has crossover play-in games for game 10, one last chance for Trion, Gordon Lee (21st in rating) and Christian Heritage (31st on the private side) to improve their standings. Gordon Lee's game at Trion next week could well be for a playoff berth.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.

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