Stratford, John Milledge, Windsor top seeds as GIAA football playoffs begin

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          There were no surprises regarding Central Georgia teams when the GIAA announced state football playoff bracket on Sunday.

          One team was really hoping for some, though.

          Tattnall is on the outside looking in as the No. 9 team just missing the eight-team Class 4A field, the Trojans dropping expectedly after losing to Stratford on Friday.

          The Trojans’ rating on MaxPreps dropped from 36.68 to 34.71, while George Walton slipped ahead, improving from 34.53 to 35.50.

          Mount de Sales finished 11th with a 25.88 rating.

          Piedmont sweated it out and stayed put to make it at No. 8 in Class AA, having dropped a spot after its loss to Gatewood barely squeezing in.

          The Cougars, as per MaxPreps, have a rating of 22.72, topping Pinewood Christian’s 20.46.

          The GIAA again splits teams and classifications from the regular season to the playoffs. So one region can have two state champions, as Region 6 did last year, with region champ John Milledge winning 3A and runner-up Stratford winning 4A, which could easily happen again this year.

          The split still leads to issues even with the improvement of decreasing participation.

          Two years ago, 70 percent of all eligible football teams made the playoffs in one of four classifications. It’s dropped a bit, to 63.6 percent, 28 of 44 teams.

          This year, three classes have eight-team fields, but Class A has only four eligible teams, so top seed Windsor plays winless Robert Toombs.

          Covenant moved up from 8-man to 11-man football last December only to suspended football this season back in July, but the GIAA’s website hasn’t removed the Rams from the field of five playing for four spots.

          Georgia Southern is again hosting the finals as well as an all-star game.

The first round starts Friday. The Class AAA championship game is Nov. 20 with A, AA, and 3A on Nov. 21.

Class AAAA

No. 8 George Walton, 6-4, at No. 1. Stratford, 9-1

No. 5 St. Anne-Pacelli, 6-4, at No. 4 FPD, 6-4

Class AAA

No. 8 Lakeview, 4-5, at No. 1 John Milledge, 10-0

No. 7 Terrell, 6-4, at No. 2 Westfield, 7-3

Class AA

No. 7 Southland, 4-6 at No. 2 Brentwood, 7-3

No. 6 Gatewood, 5-4, at No. 3 Southwest Georgia, 9-1

No. 8 Piedmont, 3-7, at No. 1 Valwood, 8-2

Class A

No. 4 Robert Toombs, 0-10, at No. 1 Windsor, 9-1