A rare Wednesday night game between No. 6 Burke County and New Hampstead in Waynesboro Oct. 26 signaled the beginning of the end of the region race for area teams. Those on the South Carolina side of the border will finish Friday night, after which seeding will be set for the state playoffs that will begin the following Friday, Nov. 4 in the Palmetto State. As of this morning only No. 6 Strom Thurmond and Silver Bluff know for sure where that journey will begin as the region champion Rebels and the runner up Bulldogs will start the playoffs at home as the top two seeds in class 2A, region 3.
Right now, absolutely nothing is completely set in stone on the Georgia side, but the picture will be made much clearer this Friday when No. 4 Thomson and No. 10 Lincoln County get the chance to clinch region championships, Laney and Putnam County duel for the right to host a playoff game, and numerous others jockey for playoff positioning this week and next before the playoffs kick off on Nov. 11 in Georgia.
Below is a breakdown of the various region races and the remaining games that will impact who makes the playoffs (the top four teams in each region), who will host at least one playoff game (the top two teams, unless otherwise noted) and who will get to add “region champion” to their 2022 resume.
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Class 6A, Region 2
Effingham County (4-0), Brunswick (4-0), Glynn Academy (3-2), South Effingham (1-3), Lakeside (1-3), Evans (1-3), Grovetown (1-4)
This Week:
No. 9 Brunswick at Evans – Thursday
South Effingham at Grovetown
Effingham County at Lakeside
Three Columbia County schools and South Effingham are fighting for the one remaining available playoff spot. Evans can help itself immensely by upsetting No. 9 Brunswick at home Thursday night after the Knights surrendered a 21-8 lead at Glynn Academy last Friday. The stat line from that game for Rayshaun King came in too late for Monday’s “Best of the Best” column. But King’s rushing output (13 carries for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns) certainly deserves mention.
Grovetown topped Lakeside last week to finally get in the region win column. Its last chance to make a bid for the playoff will come Friday when the Warriors will host South Effingham. They’ll need further help to earn the fourth spot though.
Class 5A, Region 1
Ware County (3-0), Coffee (3-0), Statesboro (2-1), Jenkins (1-2), Greenbrier (0-3), Bradwell Institute (0-3)
This Friday:
No. 4 Coffee at Greenbrier
A difficult season for the Wolfpack will continue Friday when the Wolfpack hosts class 5A’s No. 4 team one week after a 44-0 loss on the road against No. 1 Ware County.
Class 4A, Region 6
Benedictine (3-0), Wayne County (2-1), New Hampstead (2-1), Burke County (1-1), Southeast Bulloch (1-2), Islands (0-4)
This Week:
New Hampstead at No. 6 Burke County – Wednesday
No. 9 Wayne County at Southeast Bulloch – Thursday
No. 5 Benedictine at Islands
Weeks ago, weather issues caused the end of Burke County’s regular season schedule to be especially odd as the Bears will play three important region games during the final ten days. Wednesday’s result wasn’t ready before the release of this column, but check our social media to find out if No. 6 Burke County prevailed in the Bear Den to set up a clash with No. 9 Wayne County Monday that could decide which team gets to host a playoff game.
South Carolina Class 4A, Region 4
North Augusta (3-0), South Aiken (2-1), Midland Valley (2-1), Aiken (1-2), Airport (0-4)
This Friday:
Midland Valley at North Augusta
South Aiken at Aiken
What’s neat to consider for region 4 about the final Friday of the regular season is that the four teams that have already qualified for the playoffs are squaring off in a kind of “Aiken County region tournament.” North Augusta can clinch a region championship with a win. And that result paired with a win for South Aiken would make those two victors hosts when the playoffs begin the following Friday.
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But what’s more messy to calculate is the seeding if Friday results in wins for both Midland Valley and South Aiken. In that scenario the region will end in a three-way tie that will be decided according to which teams would have allowed the fewest points when the three went head-to-head. Depending on the North Augusta-Midland Valley score Friday, the three teams could finish one through three in any order. But North Augusta’s 24-20 win over South Aiken on September 29, and South Aiken’s 52-49 victory against Midland Valley last Friday give North Augusta a major advantage in the event of a tie breaker that gets decided by points allowed.
Of course, Aiken will be eager to defend its home field Friday and make its archrival South Aiken the region’s fourth seed. That result and a Midland Valley win would make the Mustangs the outright champion, of course.
Class 3A, Region 6
Harlem (3-0), Morgan County (3-0), Hephzibah (1-2), Richmond Academy (1-2), Salem (1-2), Cross Creek (0-3)
This Week:
Hephzibah at Richmond
Morgan County at Cross Creek
Salem at Harlem
This Friday, Hephzibah and Richmond will sort out which team will almost certainly be seeded third and which will be fourth come playoff time. And Harlem and Morgan County are expected to be victorious this Friday before they battle each other seven days later in Madison for the region championship.
Class 2A, Region 4
Thomson (5-0), Putnam County (4-1), Laney (4-1), Washington County (3-2), Butler (1-4), Westside (1-4), Josey (1-4), Glenn Hills (1-4)
This Friday:
Laney at Putnam County
No. 4 Thomson at Glenn Hills
Washington County at Josey
Butler at Westside
No. 4 Thomson is clicking on all cylinders coming off wins over Laney (15-14) and Putnam County (27-3) in the past two weeks. After the win over Putnam County, fifth year head coach Michael Youngblood raved about his team’s defense, which surrendered only 97 yards of total offense, including a paltry 12 rushing yards, to the then No. 9 ranked War Eagles. Combine that kind of dominant defense with an offense that averages 40.8 points per game (fifth in class 2A) and it becomes all but impossible to imagine the Bulldogs failing to clinch a region championship on the road against Glenn Hills Friday.
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What’s completely uncertain is which team, Laney or Putnam County, will grab the region’s second seed and earn the chance to begin the playoffs with a game at home. We use the state rankings provided by the Georgia High School Football Daily Newsletter. But GPB’s latest weekly list labels Putnam County No. 8 and Laney No. 9 heading into Friday’s game between the two teams in Eatonton that will settle the region’s second and third spots. I’ll be there reporting, so look for a game report early Saturday morning.
South Carolina Class 2A, Region 3
Strom Thurmond (4-0), Silver Bluff (3-1), Saluda (2-2), Batesburg Leesville (2-2), Fox Creek (1-3), Pelion (0-4)
This Friday:
Fox Creek at No. 6 Strom Thurmond
N0. 9 Saluda at Batesburg-Leesville
Silver Bluff at Pelion
The only suspense left in this region is whether or not No. 9 Saluda will grab the third seed by defeating Batesburg-Leesville, as expected. The third seed from this region will also host a first-round playoff game.
Class 1A (Division II), Region 8
Lincoln County (3-0), Greene County (2-1), Washington-Wilkes (2-1), Aquinas (1-2), Towns County (1-2), Warren County (0-3)
This Friday:
Warren County at No. 10 Lincoln County
Washington-Wilkes at Towns County
Aquinas at Greene County
No. 10 Lincoln County can clinch a region championship with a win because the Red Devils are coming off wins over Washington-Wilkes, Aquinas and Greene County, respectively in the last three weeks. The main question now is how seeds 2-4 will play out. Aquinas and Washington-Wilkes will both get a shot at Greene County before things are fully decided.
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South Carolina Class 1A, Region 4
Calhoun County (4-1), Wagener-Salley (5-0), Denmark-Olar (3-2), Ridge Spring-Monetta (3-2), Blackville-Hilda (2-4), Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (1-4), Williston-Elko (0-5)
This Week:
Calhoun County at Wagener-Salley – Region Championship Game – Thursday
Denmark-Olar at Williston-Elko
Ridge Spring-Monetta at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler
Class 1A (Division I), Region 2
Swainsboro (2-0), Dublin (2-0), Bleckley County (2-1), East Laurens (0-2), Jefferson County (0-3)
This Friday:
Bleckley County at No.2 Swainsboro
No. 10 Dublin at East Laurens
South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA)*
*The independents determine playoff seeding by the rankings generated by MaxPreps and other entities
Cardinal Newman (4-5) at Augusta Christian (2-7)
Georgia Independent Athletic Association (GIAA)
This Friday:
Thomas Jefferson (8-0) at Robert Toombs Christian Academy – Class 1A
Augusta Prep (3-5) at Edmund Burke (4-4) – Class 2A
Chad Cook is a sports columnist who is known on the field and court as AugBball. Follow him on Instagram @AugBBall
