North Oconee, Toombs County and Hebron Christian are No. 1 in final AJC/GHSF Daily rankings for the first time after winning their first state championships this week. Milton and Bowdon repeated as champions, while Grayson, Calhoun and Carver of Columbus added to their numbers.

Grayson sacked Carrollton star quarterback Julian Lewis five times, intercepted him twice, forced him to fumble and made his team one-dimensional, holding the No. 1-ranked Trojans to 43 rushing yards in a 38-24 victory. Grayson won its fourth state title, first since 2020, and improved to 4-0 in championship games.

Calhoun scored on its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead and held Jefferson to 225 total yards while forcing four turnovers in winning its fifth state championship, first since 2017 and first under sixth-year coach Clay Stephenson.

Hebron Christian scored on five straight possessions in the first half to take a 35-7 lead and won its first state championship in its 17th varsity season. Devon Caldwell rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Tom Stallworth passed for 172 yards and rushed for 84 and scored four touchdowns.

McEachern capped off its undefeated season with its first state championship after losing in the quarterfinals the past three seasons. “We finally finished the mission,” coach Jake Burgdorf said. “That’s been our motto this season - unfinished business - and we found a way to get it done.”

Milton set a state finals record with 671 total yards while producing a 400-yard passer (Luke Nickel), two 100-yard receivers (Ethan Barbour, Tristen Payne) and one 200-yard rusher (T.J. Lester) in a 56-35 victory over Hughes in the Class 5A championship game Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The game was close after one quarter, but Zay Billingsley’s 18-yard return of an intercepted screen pass gave Carver a 17-7 lead with 11:17 left in the second quarter set the 52-14 rout into motion in the Class 2A championship game Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Mike Polke caught a touchdown pass, intercepted a pass and returned a kickoff for a touchdown, all in the first half for No. 1-ranked Toombs County in a 38-18 victory over Northeast in the Class A Division I championship game Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The title is the first for Toombs County.

Abbey Bensman threw two first-half touchdown passes to lead Pope to a 19-6 victory over Pace Academy and its second consecutive state championship. Pope became the third team in two days to repeat as flag champions, joining Monday’s winners Southeast Bulloch (fourth straight) and Greenbrier (two).

Quarterback Harrison Faulkner scored on a 2-yard run with 3:58 left to break a 7-7 tie at the end of a 78-yard, 13-play drive to give North Oconee a 14-7 victory over Marist in the Class 4A championship game Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was the first football state title in school history for the Titans.

The Class A Division II championship game, closer than the score suggested, turned in Bowdon’s favor in the final two minutes of the first half when Brooks County suffered a poor snap to its punter from its backup center. Bowdon, trailing 14-7, recovered on the Brooks County 13-yard line and scored in five plays.

Kenzie Horton threw two touchdown passes and the Greenbrier defense held North Oconee to 47 total yards (minus-14 rushing) Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the Wolfpack won a state championship for the second consecutive season.

Southeast Bulloch tied the game with 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter and won it 13-6 in overtime on a 10-yard run by Emma Cate Barron to capture its fourth consecutive state championship in the small-school division Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Four Georgia football teams can win state championships for the first time, two can win for the third time in a row, and two others can finish undefeated with top-10 national rankings this week as eight championship games are played over three days starting Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Northeast and Toombs County of Class A Division I are making their first appearances in the finals and will meet Tuesday in the only title game this season that guarantees a first-time state champion. Burke County and Carver of Columbus, the Class 2A finalists, are traditionally strong programs, but neither has won a state title in more than a decade.

Marist and North Oconee of Class 4A will meet Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the only state championship game this season matching undefeated teams. It will be a contrast in styles, pitting Marist's option running game against North Oconee’s pass-fueled attack. Jefferson and Calhoun will face off in the Class 3A final Wednesday.

Carrollton and Milton will put their top-10 national rankings on the line when GHSA champions are crowned next week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Carrollton will face Grayson in the Class 6A game on Dec. 18, and Milton will take on Hughes in the Class 5A game on Dec. 17.

The 16 head coaches in the state finals have won 1,704 games in Georgia, lost only 466, and have a winning percentage of .785. Ten have played for state titles as head coaches, and eight are former champions with claims to 20 titles overall. It’s likely cyclical, but that’s a big contrast to last season, when the 16 coaches had only 993 wins and five total state titles.

The state football finals are back for another year at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will host championship games in all eight classifications and the flag football finals in four divisions on Dec. 16-18. Here’s a recap of last week’s 16 football semifinals and the significance of the results for both the winning and losing teams.

The field is down to two teams in each classification of the GHSA playoffs. Here are the scores from the 16 semifinal games played Friday night. If you have corrections, please contact us.