Georgia’s four hottest football teams, each ranked in the top 25 nationally, will go head-to head in two games tonight when the playoffs resume with 16 semifinals. Carrollton, the consensus No. 7 team from nine national polls, is playing at No. 9 Buford in Class 6A, while No. 25 Lee County is playing at No. 4 Milton.

Keith Maloof, who led Norcross football to 210 wins and two state championships in 26 seasons, retired Wednesday. He is the all-time winningest coach in Gwinnett County. Corey Richardson, a Norcross assistant for 23 seasons, will be Maloof’s successor, the school announced. Maloof, 62, became Norcross’ coach in 1999.

Three games this week will match teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in their classifications, and one will be in Class A Division I, where Toombs County visits Dublin for a trip to the championship game against Fitzgerald or Northeast. Burke County takes on Rockmart and Appling County faces Carver of Columbus in Class 2A semifinals.

Four region champions will go head to head in the Class 4A semifinals Friday night. Top-ranked Marist will be at home to face Creekside, while Blessed Trinity will travel to North Oconee. In Class 3A, the top two ranked teams have been eliminated, and the teams that beat them (LaGrange and Calhoun) are still alive.

North Cobb Christian and Calhoun upset No. 1-ranked opponents in the quarterfinals last week, and North Cobb Christian made further news as one of four teams making the semifinals for the first time. The other first-time semifinalists are Toombs County and Northeast in Class A Division I and Hebron Christian in 3A-A private.

The Georgia high school football playoffs are down to 64 teams playing for eight state championships. The quarterfinals were the round of wreckage a year ago, when Mill Creek, Buford, Colquitt County and Carrollton – all ranked in the top 25 of USA Today’s and MaxPreps’ national polls at the time – were taken out.

The only game in any classification between undefeated teams, a game between a defending champion and a No. 1-ranked opponent, and a rematch of longtime rivals headline this weekend's quarterfinal schedule in classes 4A, 3A and 2A. Sixty-four teams remain in the GHSA playoffs, each with an eye on the state championships Dec. 16-18 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Cambridge and Cherokee Bluff made history by reaching the football quarterfinals for the first time, and Sprayberry, Jenkins County and Southeast Bulloch are back in a final eight after absences of more than 40 years. Unranked teams LaGrange, Stephens County and Aquinas victimized Sandy Creek, Callaway and Athens Academy, respectively, in the second round’s biggest upsets.

As far as upsets go, last week’s first round of the football playoffs was just a warmup for most of the state’s best teams. It’s about to get dicey Friday night, when the round of 16 arrives with 64 games on the weekend schedule, 16 that match top-10 teams.

Three games matching top-10 opponents and three rematches from the regular season headline the second-round schedule in Class A Division II and the 3A-A private playoffs this weekend. The top-10 battles are No. 2 Bowdon at No. 9 Metter in A Division II and No. 8 Lovett at No. 3 Hebron Christian and No. 9 Wesleyan at No. 10 Christian Heritage in 3A-A private.

Four games matching ranked opponents highlight the second-round schedule in Class 2A and Class A Division I this weekend. In Class 2A, No. 10 Thomson travels to No. 6 Hapeville Charter and No. 9 Carver of Atlanta visits No. 4 Appling County. The Class A Division I games include No. 10 Dodge County at No. 6 Worth County and No. 7 Commerce at top-ranked Toombs County.

A couple of Class 3A rematches from the regular season will be among the high-profile games this weekend in the second round of the GHSA playoffs. Top-seeded Jefferson will try to avenge a 32-30 loss to Oconee County in the teams’ regular-season finale on Nov. 1. Sandy Creek will seek to beat LaGrange for the second time this season after winning 27-7 on Aug. 30.

Unranked Sequoyah, Cambridge and Luella defeated top-10 teams, and Archer, Peachtree Ridge, Houston County and Bleckley County eliminated region champions in highlights of last week’s first round. The opening round was light on upsets, which is the norm. The computer Maxwell Ratings pegged 104 of 119 games correctly.

New Hampstead’s Rashawn Truell finished first in regular-season passing yards with his 500-yard performance last week in the team’s season finale against Ware County, a 48-41 victory. Teammate Kamari Maxwell had 271 receiving yards in the game and took the Class 4A lead with 1,344 and fell five yards short of the statewide leader, Jaylen Elder of Morgan County.

The GHSA playoffs begin this weekend with 119 games across the state to be played Friday and Saturday in the first of five postseason rounds. Among the high-profile matchups are Camden County at North Cobb and Mill Creek at Douglas County, with the winners to square off in the second round.

Calvary Day’s Mark Stroud, whose 272 victories rank second behind Marist’s Alan Chadwick among active GHSA coaches, will step down after the playoffs and give way to offensive coordinator Jason Cameron. Stroud held a press conference Tuesday to announce the news. His win total ranks 17th in GHSA history.

Apalachee running back Favian Williford provided a bright spot in a rough season, running for 269 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Loganville. New Hampstead QB Rashawn Truell passed for 500 yards and five touchdowns in an upset victory over Ware County, and Telfair County’s Bradyn Cook ran for 216 yards and two TDs in a region-clinching victory over Wilcox County.

Carver of Columbus is the new No. 1 football team in Class 2A, marking the first time the Tigers are atop the AJC rankings since current Georgia State head coach Dell McGee was the Tigers’ coach in 2010. Carver didn’t play last weekend but got the promotion when previous No. 1 Appling County lost to Fitzgerald 21-16.