In Region 1, Cairo (3-1) and Worth County (4-0) face off with the region title and No. 1 seed, on the line. The loser of the matchup will clinch the two seed. The winner of the Thomas County Central (3-1)-Bainbridge (2-2) receives the No. 3 seed and the loser takes the No. 4 seed.

Region 2 presents a peculiar situation as five teams vie for the four seeds. Mary Persons (5-0) takes on West Laurens (4-1) in a region title matchup, while Baldwin (3-2) faces off with

Photo by Erin Sheppard

un-contending Howard. A Baldwin victory matched with a West Laurens loss would clinch Baldwin the No. 2 seed with West Laurens getting the third seed. Upson-Lee carries a 3-2 region record into their game against Veterans (2-3). A Veterans' victory gives them the tiebreaker over Upson-Lee and a playoff berth, while a loss eliminates Veterans. 

An Upson-Lee win, alongside a Baldwin loss, gives Upson-Lee the No. 3 seed and Baldwin the No. 4 seed. If Upson Lee and Baldwin gain victories alongside a West Laurens loss, there will be a three-way tie for the number two seed.

 Region 3 has a cleaner look with their playoff picture. Wayne County (4-0 region) has clinched the No. 1 seed while the winner of Burke County-Thomson, each with a 2-1 region record, clinch the No. 2 seed. The No. 4 seed has already been clinched by Liberty County (1-3).

Region 4 will see Griffin (8-0) strive for their second straight undefeated season in their region title matchup at Eastside. The loser of that matchup gains the No. 2 seed. Eagles Landing (3-2) visits Spalding (3-2) and Jonesboro visits Locust Grove.

In Region 5, Sandy Creek (3-1) takes on Fayette County (2-2) while Woodward Academy (3-1) visits Carrollton (2-2). Whitewater (2-2) has a matchup with, out-of-contention, Troup. A victory by both Sandy Creek and Woodward Academy gives Woodward Academy the region title due to their prior win against Sandy Creek. However, a Sandy Creek loss matched with a Carrollton victory will see a three-way tie alongside Woodward Academy for the region title. A Carrollton win matched with a win by Sandy Creek guarantees Carrollton the No. 2 seed, while Woodward and Fayette County take the three and four seeds, respectively. A loss by Carrollton eliminates the Trojans from the playoffs and will give Whitewater and Fayette the three and four seeds.

 St. Pius X already clinched the Region 6 title and Marist will carry the No. 2 seed out of the region into the playoffs. The remaining two seeds will be determined by Arabia Mountain (4-3) versus Columbia (5-2) on Saturday. Lithonia's (4-4) playoff hopes are the line. An Arabia Mountain victory earns the Rams a No. 3 seed and Columbia would take the fourth seed. However, a loss by Arabia Mountain allows Lithonia to sneak in with the final seed.

Cartersville (6-0) and Pickens County (5-1) battle for the Region 7 title while Gilmer (4-2) takes on Heritage (3-3). The loser of the title game gets the second seed. Southeast Whitfield (3-3) is on the bubble in their game with Northwest Whitfield. A Gilmer win over Southeast Whitfield solidifies its spot at No. 3. If Southeast Whitfield wins their matchup with Gilmer and Heritage loses, Southeast Whitfield gains the final seed. A Heritage win with a loss by Southeast Whitfield gives Heritage the No. 4 seed. 

Buford (6-0) visits Stephens County (5-1) for the Region 8 championship. North Oconee (5-1) facing off with Madison County (3-3) and White County (3-3) visits North Hall (2-4) to settle the remaining playoff berths. A win by both Stephens County and North Oconee sees a three-way tie with Buford for the No. 1 seed. 

 In Class AAAAA, Sequoyah protected its No. 1 status with a 3-2 win over Columbus in the state championship. Columbus jumped from No. 3 to No. 2 with their hard-fought finals match

Photo by GHSA

with the Chiefs. River Ridge lost to Sequoyah in the playoffs but beat the Chiefs in the Area championship earlier and jumped to No. 3. Dunwoody fell from No. 2 to No. 4 after its loss to Columbus in the semifinals. Cambridge cracked the top 5 for the first time this season after pushing Columbus to a fifth set in an outstanding quarterfinals matchup.

 Marist edged Buford for the Class  AAAA title and returns to No. 1. Marist's jump from No. 3 to No. 1 sent pre-playoff No. 2 Sandy Creek to No. 3. In Class AAA, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe debuts at No. 10 and East Hall jumped Decatur and for No. 6. Lovett reclaimed Class AA's No. 2 with a 3-1 semifinals victory over Wesleyan. The Wolves replace Lovett at No. 3. Lamar County replaces Model for No. 9 in the poll.

In Class A, Hebron Christian won its first state title and protected its No. 1 pre-playoff status. Landmark Christian pushed Hebron Christian to four sets and jumped Mount Paran to No. 5. Calvary Day made a leap from No. 10 to No. 8.

SEE LEFT PANEL FOR RANKINGS

Chris Griffin of Flowery Branch High School located in Flowery Branch, GA has been selected as this week's Atlanta Falcons High School Coach of the Week presented by Ford. Coach Griffin enters his third season at Flowery Branch and is coming off a 7-6 victory over Salem High School last Friday night. 

The Falcons are 5-4 on the season and conclude the regular season against rival Gainesville. Since taking over the program, Griffin hosts coaching clinics for all of the junior teams in Flowery Branch program. Coaches are schooled on how to teach proper tackling and how to fit kids with equipment.

Griffin has also built a strong sense of family at Flowery Branch. The Falcons were struck with tragedy when former player Keaton Coker passed away from cancer after graduating in May. Griffin, his staff, and the players have rallied together and honored Coker with a patch on their jerseys. A special jersey was worn on Oct. 3 with "Coker" on back of every jersey and His number was retired that night in a ceremony with the family.
 

Each week of the season, the winner of this award will receive a personalized certificate from the NFL, a commemorative game ball and a $1,000 grant from the NFL's Youth Football Fund to his school's athletic department. 

To submit a nomination for the Atlanta Falcons Coach of the Week program, please visit: http://www.atlantafalcons.com/coach