GHSA heads back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for state finals
Walton, Coffee, Stockbridge and Perry will try to win their first football state championships this week in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is home again to the GHSA finals after a four-season hiatus.
Woodward Academy, Thomas County Central, Rockmart, Swainsboro and Manchester hope to win for the first time in more than 20 years. Prince Avenue Christian and Bowdon will attempt to defend their 2022 championships.
The eight finals will be played Monday through Wednesday instead of the weekend, which is unusual, and they will feature video replay, which is unprecedented. Replay is a new GHSA allowance designed to avoid the controversy of 2022, when a last-minute winning touchdown stood despite falling a yard short of the goal.
Here’s a closer look at the games, along with the three flag football championships, that will bring the 2023 season to a close.
*Back in the Benz: The finals are being contested in the Atlanta Falcons’ stadium for the first time since 2018. Played the past four years at Georgia State’s open-air and less-expensive Center Parc Stadium, the average attendance was 27,442, peaking last year at 34,653. In 2018 at Mercedes-Benz, the eight championships drew 40,462 when also played during weekdays. Seeing how well they did mid-week, the GHSA gladly settled for that as its only option, as the Benz was booked for the weekend.
*Video review: For the first time in finals history, video review will be available to change on-field calls. Head coaches will be given two challenges per half and get one back on a successful challenge. A press-box official also may initiate a review. Only in championship football games is video review now allowed.
*Newcomers: Perry and Stockbridge are the only first-time finalists, and they’ll play for the Class 4A title Tuesday. Perry is in its 70th season, a record wait for a first-timer. Stockbridge is in its 60th season. Perry and Stockbridge join Walton in 7A and Coffee in 5A as schools that can win their first state championships. Others that haven’t been in a championship game in a long time are Woodward Academy (1980), Manchester (1997) and Thomas County Central (2002). Swainsboro, a 2022 runner-up, hasn’t won since 2000. Rockmart hasn’t won since 1950.
*Defending champions: Class A contenders Prince Avenue Christian of Division I and Bowdon of Division II are the only defending champions in the finals and the only teams ranked No. 1 in the preseason. There are no real longshot finalists this year as all 16 were ranked in preseason.
*How they got here: Most of the 16 semifinals were won decisively, but three depended on fourth-quarter touchdowns. Bowdon’s Kyler McGrinn threw a 35-yard TD pass to Devan Powell with 5:00 left in a 35-31 victory over Schley County. Perry’s Colter Ginn threw a 61-yard TD pass to Kory Pettigrew with 8:46 left in a 28-24 victory over Starr’s Mill. Swainsboro’s Demello Jones scored on a 61-yard run with 7:30 left in a 24-17 victory over Brooks County.
*Top players: Jones, a running back/defensive back committed to Georgia, and Prince Avenue’s Aaron Philo, a quarterback committed to Georgia Tech, are the only AJC Super 11 players whose teams are in it. In fact, only four of the state’s consensus top-50 senior recruits are still playing. The others are tackle Daniel Calhoun (Georgia) and linebacker Wendell Gregory (South Carolina), both of Walton. Several top-50 juniors are playing. Those include the top three: Savannah Christian defensive lineman Elijah Griffin, Schley County linebacker/running back Zayden Walker and Manchester defensive lineman Justus Terry.
*Best game: Walton and Milton, the finalists in the highest classification, have several major Division I prospects, including their quarterbacks, Walton’s Jeremy Hecklinski (Wake Forest) and Milton’s Luke Nickel (Miami), each with about 3,700 yards passing. Walton is in the top 25 of seven national polls, the first Georgia team in each. Milton is ranked top 25 in two. It’s the first final in the highest classification since 1985 that doesn’t include a Gwinnett County or south Georgia team.
*Tidbits and trivia: Philo needs 301 yards to break Trevor Lawrence’s career passing record of 13,902. ... Two quarterbacks have a chance to finish with 2,000 yards both rushing and passing. They are Bowdon’s McGrinn (1,965/1,908) and Pierce County’s Caden McGatha (1,911/1,876). It’s believed that only Troup’s Taeo Todd, in 2022, has achieved that double in Georgia. … Only Walton, Thomas County Central and Coffee are undefeated, each at 14-0. ... Swainsboro is the 12th team in Georgia history to reach the state finals by winning four playoff games away from home. … The Manchester-Bowdon Class A Division II final is a rematch of a regular-season game that Manchester won 21-20. … Cedar Grove seeks to become the fifth team in history, first since 2018 Bainbridge, to win a state title after a 5-5 or worse regular season. … Creekside’s Maurice Dixon is the only head coach in the finals working for his alma mater. … Walton can become the first Cobb County Schools team to win the highest class.
*Flag finals: A flag football championship will serve as the opener each day. The finalists are North Oconee and Southeast Bulloch in A-4A (Monday’s game), Greenbrier and Lithia Springs in 5A-6A (Tuesday) and Allatoona and Pope in 7A (Wednesday). The sport remains one of the GHSA’s fastest-growing. The number of teams in four seasons has grown from 91 to 188 to 223 to now 247. Lithia Springs and Southeast Bulloch are defending champions. Southeast Bulloch is 62-0 all-time.
*TV/radio/stream/tickets: GPB Sports will televise all games. GPB.org and NFHS Network will stream them. 680 The Fan will provide radio coverage. The GHSA encourages fans to buy tickets ($20) online through GoFan Digital. They can be bought by credit card at the gate.