The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Six finalists lucky to land host berths
Shift from Atlanta an added subplot for tonight’s games.
After a week’s delay, the high school football season is ready to kick off for the last time tonight with six championship games.
Two of the eight championship games beat the snow and went as planned last week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The other six were farmed out to high school stadiums across the state, and not without controversy.
The six teams that will play on the road are not happy, and several pleaded unsuccessfully to the Georgia High School Association this week for neutral sites.
But the six home teams couldn’t be more pleased, especially North Gwinnett, Lee County, Rabun County and Irwin County. Those schools have never put on a state-championship game before. That opportunity was eliminated when the GHSA first moved to neutral sites for the finals in 2008 — until a snowstorm changed the plans, at least for one night, in places like smalltown Ocilla.
“To be able to host the state-championship game is a great moment for our school and community,’’ Irwin County coach Buddy Nobles said. “This will be the seventh state championship that Irwin County has been in — and the first at home. This will also probably be the last one for a while. Our kids realize how special this is.’’
The other two finals will be played at Warner Robins and Marist.
Here are facts, figures and storylines worth noting about the finals:
Already crowned: Calhoun (Class AAA) and Eagle’s Landing Christian (Class A-private) won state titles last week. Calhoun beat Peach County 10-6 for its third title in seven seasons. ELCA beat Athens Academy 41-3 for its third consecutive title.
Never crowned: Two of tonight’s finals guarantee a first-time state champion when Lee County plays Coffee (AAAAAA) and Rabun County meets Hapeville Charter (AA). North Gwinnett and Blessed Trinity also will be gunning for their first state titles.
Low metro turnout: Only five of the 16 state finalists are from metro Atlanta — Marist, Blessed Trinity, Hapeville, North Gwinnett and ELCA. That’s the first time it has been less than a third of teams since 2009, when only Buford and Sandy Creek were among 10 finalists. From 2010-16, nearly half — 45 of 92 — were metro teams. In the previous century, a low metro turnout wasn’t unusual. In 1999, no metro teams made the finals.
Near worst is near first: Warner Robins is the 28th team of 648 state finalists in state history to reach a championship immediately after a losing season. The Demons, 3-8 in 2016, will play Rome at home for the AAAAA championship today. Only six teams have won state titles after a losing season. The last to do it was Chattahoochee in 2010.
Catholic Bowl: The AAAA final between Marist and Blessed Trinity marks the first time that two Catholic schools have played each other for a football state championship in Georgia. Marist (1989, 2003) is among five Catholic schools that have won state titles in football. It would be Blessed Trinity’s first.
Winding road to Atlanta: Colquitt County of AAAAAAA is the 11th team in Georgia history to reach the state finals by winning the first four rounds of the playoffs away from home. Now, the Packers can become the first to win five consecutive games on the road with its unexpected trip to North Gwinnett. Colquitt County has won at Pebblebrook, Walton, Archer and Brookwood.
Best players: Most of the state’s more highly recruited players are finished, and the state player-of-the-year award is there for the taking. The only four-star or higher prospects still playing are Rome defensive end Adam Anderson, Colquitt County linebacker J.J. Peterson, Lee County safety Otis Reese, North Gwinnett offensive lineman Warren Ericson, Hapeville Charter cornerback Chris Smith and Marist tight end/defensive end John FitzPatrick.
Credit to coaches: Lee Shaw of Rabun County and Robby Pruitt of Coffee are the most recent of 31 Georgia head coaches who have led two schools to state-championship games. Shaw led Flowery Branch to a final in 2008, and Pruitt led Fitzgerald to a final in 2000. Tim McFarlin of AAAA finalist Blessed Trinity also is in the club, although he joined with the Titans’ first trip to the finals in 2015. McFarlin had taken Roswell to the finals in 2006. Only 14 have won state titles with two schools. McFarlin could join that group with a victory.
All-region finals: Three state finals — Coffee vs. Lee County (1-AAAAA), Blessed Trinity vs. Marist (7-AAAA) and Clinch County vs. Irwin County (2-A) — are between teams from the same region. This has happened 15 previous times since 1990, when the GHSA expanded the playoffs beyond just region champions and made such meetings possible. The region champion or No. 1 seed is 11-4 in those games.
Demanding a rematch: The Coffee-Lee County, Blessed Trinity-Marist and Clinch County-Irwin County finals are part of a larger sample of state finals that are rematches from the regular season. Lee County beat Coffee 23-7 on Nov. 3. Marist beat Blessed Trinity 25-24 on Oct. 20. Irwin County beat Clinch County 21-7 on Sept. 15. There have been 24 previous state-title games that were rematches. The original winner is 14-8, but the original loser has won five of the past six, including Clinch County over Irwin County in 2015. (Two of the original games were ties.)
How to watch: Tickets are $20 and available only at the gate. Tickets purchased for last week’s games will be honored. Georgia Public Broadcasting will televise and live-stream the North Gwinnett-Colquitt County game. The rest will be livestreamed by the NFHS Network.