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.

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.