Class 5A blog: A look at the first round of the 5A football playoffs

The final week of the season ended how it was expected. No. 6 Houston County (9-1, 4-1) came away with a 34-28 win over No. 9 Lee County (7-3, 3-2). The victory marked the Bears’ first-ever win over the Trojans and broke an 11-game winning streak by Lee County dating back to 2010. Houston County will now host its first playoff game since 2015 and is two wins away from tying the school record for wins in a season. In the first round of the playoffs, Houston County will play host to Creekview (5-5, 5-2). Lee County will be going on the road in the first round of the playoffs, traveling up to Cobb County to face Sprayberry (9-1, 6-1).

In Region 7, No. 3 Roswell (9-1, 6-0) beat rival No. 5 Milton (7-3, 4-2) for the first time since 2018. The Hornets came away with a 41-39 victory. The win gave Roswell the region title and sent Milton on the road in the first round of the playoffs. Roswell will host Chamblee (4-6, 4-3), while Milton travels to Shiloh (6-4, 6-1).

In the first round of the playoffs, No. 9 Lee County will travel to Sprayberry. The game will be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal matchup that saw Lee County dominate, 64-0. The Trojans play in one of the toughest regions in the state, causing them to go on the road. Sprayberry may be even better than last year. Sitting at 9-1, the Yellow Jackets’ only loss came to a very good Sequoyah team. Both teams have high-end players. Sprayberry is led by 5-star Alabama cornerback commit Jorden Edmonds. Lee County, on the other hand, is led by 4-star Stanford cornerback commit Lasiah Jackson. Both are long, and rangy shutdown defenders who will be hard to throw against.

Another big game will be Newnan (8-2, 5-2) and New Manchester (8-1, 6-1). Newnan has one of the top offenses in the class. Led by junior 3-star quarterback Brodie Campbell, the Cougars have scored no less than 34 points in any of their wins. New Manchester is having one of the best seasons in school history and has already tied the school record for wins in a season. The Jaguars are led by their own 3-star quarterback, FIU commit D.J. Alexander. They have been a force offensively as well, scoring over 37 points per game this season. Together they will create an explosive matchup.

Class 5A Round 1 Schedule

R1 #3 Statesboro at R8 #2 Habersham Central

R7 #4 Seckinger at R4 #1 Woodward Academy

R5 #3 Villa Rica at R3 #2 Northgate

R6 #4 Woodstock at R2 #1 Thomas County Central

R8 #3 Clarke Central at R1 #2 Effingham County

R4 #4 Chamblee at R7 #1 Roswell

R3 #3 Newnan at R5 #2 New Manchester

R2 #4 Coffee at R6 #1 Sequoyah

R2 #3 Lee County at R6 #2 Sprayberry

R5 #4 East Paulding at R3 #1 Hughes

R4 #3 Dunwoody at R7 #2 Gainesville

R8 #4 Winder-Barrow at R1 #1 Brunswick

R6 #3 Creekview at R2 #2 Houston County

R3 #4 Lovejoy at R5 #1 Rome

R7 #3 Milton at R4 #2 Shiloh

R1 #4 Glynn Academy at R8 #1 Jackson County

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