STATE FOOTBALL SEMIFINAL GAMES START TODAY

Sixty-four Georgia high school football teams are still playing in December, but they’re not celebrating yet — they have to win two more games to reach the finish line.

“At this point, we do not look at the semifinals as an accomplishment,’’ said Thomasville coach Zach Grage, whose Class AA team is having its best playoff run since 1993. “We are just trying to focus on the next challenge of the next game, which is going to be a very difficult one.’’

Thomasville is at home today against Dublin, the team that eliminated the Bulldogs last season.

Oconee County coach Travis Noland has a similar outlook. His Warriors are playing a home semifinal for the first time in school history, against Sandy Creek in AAAA.

“Reaching the semifinals is awesome for our kids to see the fruits of their labor,’’ Noland said, “but it is not the ultimate goal.’’

Teams to beat: Only three No. 1-ranked teams remain — Lowndes (AAAAAAA), Dacula (AAAAAA) and Irwin County (A-Public). They are among seven undefeated teams. The others are Harrison (AAAAAAA), Woodward Academy (AAAA), Fellowship Christian (A-private) and Holy Innocents’ (A-Private). Defending champions Blessed Trinity (AAAA), Cedar Grove (AAA), Eagle’s Landing Christian (A-Private) and Clinch County (A-Public) are trending after early season setbacks.

Newcomers: Richmond Hill opened in the 1930s, but didn’t field a football team until 1986. The Wildcats are in the semifinals for the first time in their history after beating storied Valdosta 16-14 last week. Holy Innocents’, which started varsity football in 2006, also is appearing in its first state semifinal.

Droughts broken: Jones County is in the semifinals for the first time since 1961, when it was a Class C school. Others in the semis for the first time in more than 10 seasons are Thomasville (last appearance 1993), Marietta (1994), Oconee County (1999), Harrison (2000), Parkview (2004) and Dublin (2007).

Regulars: Eagle’s Landing Christian (2011-19), Cedar Grove (2015-19) and Clinch County (2015-19) are among 15 schools in GHSA history to reach five consecutive semifinals. Buford has been there 12 of the past 13 seasons. Ten of the 32 semifinal teams are back from last year.

Best matchup: No. 2 Harrison plays at No. 1 Dacula in AAAAAA. Both are undefeated. Both set school records with their 13th victories last week. Neither has won a state title, nor played for one since Harrison was a runner-up in 2000. They are the highest-scoring teams in their classification.

Next: The 16 winners will advance to the finals Dec. 13-14 at Georgia State.