Maxwell Ratings’ projected brackets for 7A through 4A
It’s too soon to know who’ll finish where in each region, but the GHSA brackets are set. That is, it’s predetermined which regions will face off against each other in the first round and beyond.
Below are the computer Maxwell Ratings’ projected first-round matchups in classes 7A through 4A. Some coaches might cringe at seeing their teams predicted to win their regions with four weeks left in the regular season, but the point here is to anticipate potential matchups that are built into the bracket. They could render Grayson vs. Colquitt County in the second round, or North Oconee vs. Perry in the third.
A report on Class 3A-A will come next Wednesday.
Class 7A
Maxwell has Mill Creek ahead of Buford in Region 8, and Parkview ahead of Grayson in Region 4, and that’s counter to GHSF Daily’s rankings, but regardless of how those regions play out, the eventual No. 2 seed will be held accountable for its shortcomings. The Buford-Mill Creek region runner-up is bracketed to play potential Region 5 champion North Cobb on the road in round two, while the Parkview-Grayson second seed would play at projected Region 1 winner Colquitt County. Maxwell also thinks No. 10 Kennesaw Mountain and No. 8 Lowndes will be traveling in round one on account of tough regions. Maxwell sees Colquitt County-Mill Creek and Buford-Valdosta in the semifinals, with Colquitt winning.
R5 #3 Kennesaw Mountain at R6 #2 Milton
R8 #4 Mountain View at R7 #1 Norcross
R3 #3 Marietta at R4 #2 Grayson
R2 #4 Pebblebrook at R1 #1 Colquitt County
R6 #3 Denmark at R5 #2 Walton
R7 #4 Peachtree Ridge at R8 #1 Mill Creek
R4 #3 Brookwood at R3 #2 McEachern
R1 #4 Camden County at R2 #1 Carrollton
R1 #3 Lowndes at R2 #2 Westlake
R4 #4 South Gwinnett at R3 #1 North Paulding
R7 #3 Meadowcreek at R8 #2 Buford
R6 #4 South Forsyth at R5 #1 North Cobb
R2 #3 East Coweta at R1 #2 Valdosta
R3 #4 Harrison at R4 #1 Parkview
R8 #3 Collins Hill at R7 #2 North Gwinnett
R5 #4 Wheeler at R6 #1 Lambert
Class 6A
All eight projected region champions are in GHSF Daily’s top nine in the rankings, so the 6A bracket has nice balance, but the lower quarter is set up to be the deepest with potential Houston County-at-Marist and Blessed Trinity-at-Rome matchups in the second round. The best first-round road team is projected to be No. 7 Thomas County Central, picked to finish third in Region 1 behind Lee County and Houston County. Maxwell believes the semifinals will be Lee County vs. Gainesville and Hughes vs. Houston County, with Lee County winning.
R5 #3 Douglas County at R6 #2 Sequoyah
R8 #4 Jackson County at R7 #1 Roswell
R3 #3 Mundy's Mill at R4 #2 St. Pius
R2 #4 Lakeside (Evans) at R1 #1 Lee County
R6 #3 River Ridge at R5 #2 South Paulding
R7 #4 Sprayberry at R8 #1 Gainesville
R4 #3 North Atlanta at R3 #2 Lovejoy
R1 #4 Northside (Warner Robins) at R2 #1 Brunswick
R1 #3 Thomas County Central at R2 #2 Effingham County
R4 #4 Dunwoody at R3 #1 Woodward Academy
R7 #3 Alpharetta at R8 #2 North Forsyth
R6 #4 Creekview at R5 #1 Hughes
R2 #3 Glynn Academy at R1 #2 Houston County
R3 #4 Morrow at R4 #1 Marist
R8 #3 Shiloh at R7 #2 Blessed Trinity
R5 #4 Paulding County at R6 #1 Rome
Class 5A
Look at all the new faces projected to win region titles. Northside of Columbus could win its first in its 19-season history. Cambridge needs to win on the road at No. 5 Kell this week but could win its first in history. Chamblee can win its first since 1982. Loganville last won in 2008. Class 5A is the most wide open and unpredictable of the eight. The second quarter is ripe for Cinderella as neither Loganville nor Dutchtown has reached a state semifinal. Maxwell has Ware County-Dutchtown and Warner Robins-Coffee in the semifinals, with Ware County winning its first state title in history.
R5 #3 Villa Rica at R6 #2 Kell
R8 #4 Clarke Central at R7 #1 Calhoun
R3 #3 McIntosh at R4 #2 Decatur
R2 #4 Jones County at R1 #1 Ware County
R6 #3 Greater Atlanta Christian at R5 #2 Lithia Springs
R7 #4 Cass at R8 #1 Loganville
R4 #3 Tucker at R3 #2 Northgate
R1 #4 Statesboro at R2 #1 Dutchtown
R1 #3 Jenkins at R2 #2 Warner Robins
R4 #4 Arabia Mountain at R3 #1 Northside (Columbus)
R7 #3 Dalton at R8 #2 Jefferson
R6 #4 Centennial at R5 #1 Creekside
R2 #3 Ola at R1 #2 Coffee
R3 #4 Harris County at R4 #1 Chamblee
R8 #3 Eastside at R7 #2 Cartersville
R5 #4 Jackson (Atlanta) at R6 #1 Cambridge
Class 4A
Seven top-10 teams are projected to share the top half of the draw, and No. 2 North Oconee and No. 3 Perry, if they win their regions, would be in the same quarter. Cedartown could be dealing with current top-10 teams Trinity Christian, Bainbridge and Wayne County in the top quarter. The best draw for any team in this class, or any covered today, is the Region 4 winner, currently predicted to be No. 4 Troup. There are no other ranked teams projected in the bottom quarter. Maxwell predicts semifinals of Perry-Cedartown and Benedictine-Troup, with Cedartown winning its first state title since 1963.
R5 #3 Pace Academy at R6 #2 Westminster
R8 #4 Walnut Grove at R7 #1 Cedartown
R3 #3 Wayne County at R4 #2 Trinity Christian
R2 #4 Baldwin at R1 #1 Bainbridge
R6 #3 Holy Innocents’ at R5 #2 Lovett
R7 #4 Northwest Whitfield at R8 #1 North Oconee
R4 #3 Starr's Mill at R3 #2 Burke County
R1 #4 Hardaway at R2 #1 Perry
R1 #3 Westover at R2 #2 Westside (Macon)
R4 #4 Whitewater at R3 #1 Benedictine
R7 #3 Sonoraville at R8 #2 East Forsyth
R6 #4 Hapeville Charter at R5 #1 Stockbridge
R2 #3 Spalding at R1 #2 Cairo
R3 #4 New Hampstead at R4 #1 Troup
R8 #3 Cedar Shoals at R7 #2 Heritage (Ringgold)
R5 #4 Hampton at R6 #1 Stephenson