Nineteen of the 33 high school football teams in our coverage area are on their way to — or in some cases, already involved — in postseason play.
Four of those 19 teams come from Richmond County and Columbia County school districts. Several schools, such as Aquinas and Augusta Christian will represent the private school sector. The Lions and Edmund Burke Academy have already played first round games in their respective private school leagues. Edmund Burke will pursue a second straight state championship.
Some intriguing first round matchups exist, including New Manchester at Lakeside, which could be arguably the toughest of the first round draws.
Defending state champion Cedar Grove will pay a visit to Harlem in the first round as well. The Saints’ 2023 state championship under former coach John Adams was the school’s fifth since 2016 and the second in three years. But the program has taken a step back with a 3-6 record under first-year coach Roderick Moore.
In other notable matchups, Laney will travel to South Atlanta, while Westside gets a tough draw against Oconee County. Lincoln County will put its undefeated record on the line against a scrappy Charlton (5-5) team, and Thomson will host a Pike County squad that started the season strong before falling in four of its last five games.
Below is a complete list of each of our coverage area teams in action next weekend. All games are Friday Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise notified.
We’ll have a more complete breakdown of each first round matchup later in the week.
Richmond County
Laney (6-4) at South Atlanta (5-5), 7:30 p.m.
Oconee County (6-4) at Westside (8-2), 7:30 p.m.
Columbia County
Cedar Grove (3-6) at Harlem (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
New Manchester (8-2) at Lakeside (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
Augusta-Area Private
Holy Innocents (5-5) at Aquinas (6-4), 7:30 p.m.
Augusta Christian (4-6) at Hammond (11-0) TBA
Edmund Burke Academy vs. Robert Toombs (Nov. 22, state championship game)
Westminster (7-0) vs. Georgia Christian (10-1), 7 p.m.
Georgia CSRA
Cook (3-7) at Burke County (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
Charlton (5-5) at Lincoln County (9-0), Saturday, Nov. 16, 4 p.m.
Pike County (5-5) at Thomson (7-3), 7:30 p.m.
Warren County (6-4) at Clinch County (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
Washington County (6-4) at Jeff Davis (7-3), 7:30 p.m.
South Carolina CSRA
Thurmond (7-3) at Chester (5-5), 7:30 p.m.
Fox Creek (4-5) at Oceanside (6-3), 7:30 p.m.
Silver Bluff (2-8) at Hanahan (5-5), 7:30 p.m.
South Aiken (6-4) at Bishop England (8-2), 7:30 p.m.
Midland Valley (5-5) at Darlington (5-5), 7:30 p.m.
Airport (2-8) at North Augusta (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
Sports writers Justin Gray and Cam Ruiz contributed to this report.
