Friday Night Lights Preview: Georgia High School Playoffs Kickoff Tonight
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The Georgia High School football regular season officially wrapped up last weekend and solidified the final teams who made it into the State Playoff tournament. In this Friday Night Lights Preview, we cover which Bulldog commits will kickoff their playoffs tonight.
*The GHSA Football Playoffs First Round will take place Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11. You can follow live updates of scores and finals here.*
7A
One of the most exciting matchups for Georgia fans will take place tonight in Metro Atlanta between 4-seed Mountain View and Justin Greene vs. 1-seed Walton and Daniel Calhoun. Calhoun is one of the state's best offensive tackles and has had his way against defensive ends throughout the entire season, but Justin Greene isn't the ordinary high school defensive end. A preview of what will take place every day in Athens during the 2024 season if the two stay committed to the G. The winner of this game will go on to face the winner of No. 2 North Forsyth v. No. 3 North Gwinnett.
Within Greene's region is the No. 2 seed in their part of the 7A bracket, Jaden Perlotte, Dylan Raiola, and Buford. The Wolves have the opportunity to host the 3-seed from Calhoun's region, Wheeler. Calhoun and Walton had their way with Wheeler earlier in the season, but it is playoff time, and that means each team has a whole new attitude and look. Wheeler will do everything they can to send the powerhouse of Buford home tonight.
Wrapping out the 7A bracket for Georgia Bulldogs is 2025 TE commit Elyiss Williams and Camden County. The Wildcats got the 3-seed and face 2-seed Newton this weekend. For context, the 1 and 2 seed from Williams' region is Colquitt County, which easily has the most intriguing game versus Parkview, and then Valdosta, who plays Archer. Williams and Camden have been through a gauntlet to finish their season; Newton has also, though, fairing well in a region that is home to Grayson, Parkview, and Archer. It should be a good game this weekend between these two teams.
6A
Since the reclassifications began four years ago by the GHSA, the strength of 6A competition isn't as competitive as what 7A is now, but it still bolsters plenty of talented programs. One of these programs is the home of another 2025 TE commit, Ethan Barbour. He and Alpharetta High School got the 3-seed and play 2-seed Sequoyah. Sequoyah is evenly matched with Alpharetta outside of Barbour, so it should be a good game. The winner will take on either Habersham Central or Douglas County.
2025 UGA RB commit Bo Walker.
5A
Malachi Toliver and Cartersville won their hefty region; therefore, they nabbed the one seed in their portion of the 5A bracket. They will take on 4-seed Centennial tonight. Centennial has a 3-7 record but won all of those games in the region. Cartersville should likely win this game, and if they do, they will take on the winner between Chapel Hill and Eastside.
After having a bye week and hoping they would find themselves into the playoffs this week, Sacovie White and Cass captured the 4-seed and will travel to take on a tough Kell High School program. Kell is usually one of the top programs within the 5A classification and is a dominant program during November. They will give White and Cass a run for their money this weekend and take on the winner of our next matchup.
Quntavious Johnson and Mays were able to nab the 2-seed out of their region and get the opportunity to host a tough Loganville Red Devils team. Loganville is a solid program but comes into this game having given up 30-plus points in seven total games. They will have to stop Johnson, who plays on Mays' defensive line but also takes reps at quarterback and running back. Metro Atlanta will have plenty of pads popping tonight in this game.
4A
Moving down the classification, the 4A playoff bracket will feature Tae Harris and Cedartown. They got the 2-seed in their portion of the 4A bracket and will take on 3-seeded Holy Innocents. Cedartown comes in with a 7-3 record, while Holy Innocents has an 8-2 record. Two good teams will face each other in a tough 4A playoff bracket, and the winner will face either North Oconee or Pace Academy.
3A
Cedar Grove and Bo Walker won their region in 3A play, so they got the 1-seed and will be hosting 4-seeded Hebron Christian. This will probably be the most competitive game for any Dawg commits tonight because Hebron has the better record, coming in at 6-4, while Cedar Grove is 5-5. The difference in their seeding was region play. Hebron had five region games they had to play and ended up 3-2 in that stretch. Walker and his squad only had three region games, in which they went undefeated, which gave them the one seed for their region.
1A Div2
Justus Terry and Manchester tore up competition in 1A Division 2, which is filled with 1A public schools, and earned themselves the two seed in their part of the bracket. They nabbed the 2-seed and will be taking on Mt. Zion Carroll, the 3-seed in this part of their bracket. Mt. Zion Carroll has a 3-7 record, while Terry and his crew come in with a 7-2 record. Manchester has a good shot at winning a state championship this season but will need to get past Mt. Zion Carroll and find out if they will play Wash-Wilkes or Johnson County.
1A Div1
Finally, Demello Jones and Swainsboro played well in 1A Divison 1. usually run by Brock Vandgriff's alma mater and his father's program, Prince Avenue. Gunnar Stockton also competed in this division, so the competition should not be taken lightly. Jones and Swainsboro get to play Metter High School this weekend for a rematch of the opening game for their 2023 season. Swainsboro won that first game convincingly, but they have been on a two-game losing skid to end the season. They need to turn things around if they want to face either Bacon County or Lamar County next week.
Important games are being played on the gridiron all over the Peach State this weekend. From each classification throughout the GHSA Football Playoffs to the SEC, where No. 9 Ole Miss comes to Athens to take on the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs.
Georgia's 2024 recruiting class
- Dylan Raiola, QB
- Ellis Robinson IV, DB
- Dwight Phillips Jr., RB
- NiTareon Tuggle, WR
- Malachi Toliver, OL
- Marcus Harrison, OL
- Demello Jones, S
- Drew Miller, P
- Sacovie White, ATH
- Ryan Puglisi, QB
- Jaden Reddell, TE
- Quintavius Johnson, DL
- Justin Greene, DL
- Chauncey Bowens, RB
- Jordan Thomas, DL
- Nnamdi Ogboko, DL
- Michael Uini, OL
- Daniel Calhoun, OL
- Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, DL
- Nyier Daniels, OL
- Marques Easley, OL
- Justin Williams, LB
- Kristopher Jones, LB
- Luke Raab, LS
- Nate Frazier, RB
- Ondre Evans, DB
Georgia 2025 Recruiting Class
- Elyiss Williams, TE
- Micah Debos, OT
- Justus Terry, DL
- Jadon Perlotte, LB
- Jabree Wallace-Coleman, RB
- Tae Harris, DB
- Ethan Barbour, TE
- Bo Walker, RB
Other Georgia News:
- Georgia's Remaining Schedule - Who Could Be The Troublesome Game?
- Player Profile: How Can Oscar Delp Contribute to Georgia's Success?
- Reminder of What Georgia Has With Delp, Luckie, and Spurlin
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