Class 5A Blog: At long last, TCC and Gainesville will try for the title

The Red Elephant are looking to finish its magical run to the championship after nearly having their season ended after a brawl with Brunswick in the second round of the playoffs.

The teams will meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Gainesville will have its toughest task yet facing off with Thomas County Central, the team that has been at the top of the ranking since the preseason and one of the most dominant teams in the state. The Yellow Jackets enter the matchup as the lone undefeated team in the class, standing at 14-0. They are only two years removed from an undefeated championship run in 2023. Gainesville enters the championship at 12-2. The Red Elephants come in riding four dominant playoff wins, outscoring their opponents by a combined 137-41. They are seeking their first state championship since the Deshaun Watson era in 2012. They are also looking to avenge the 2022 6A state championship game, a game in which several of the current seniors played.

The Yellow Jackets enter the 5A state championship as one of the most dominant teams we have seen in some time. They are scoring 53 points per game while giving up only 10 ppg. The team has played only one game decided by fewer than three scores, the Lee County matchup, which they won 35-21. They have allowed more than 20 points just twice, once in that Lee County game and once in the semifinals against Roswell in a 49-28 victory. Thomas County Central is looking for its seventh championship and is making its eighth championship appearance. The program is only two years removed from winning the 2023 6A championship. Under Coach Justin Rogers, the Yellow Jackets have been dominant, going 52-3 in his four seasons. During his tenure, they have lost only one regular-season game and have won at least 11 games in every season.

The Red Elephants enter the championship game after a dominant 37-6 semifinal win over Rome. Gainesville has defied expectations, winning all four of its playoff games, most notably a 40-32 victory over Langston Hughes. It has been a strong bounce-back season for a team that shockingly lost in the first round of last year’s playoffs to Sequoyah, 38-28. Gainesville is the only No. 2 seed in the classes that still use traditional region standings for playoff seeding, and they will be the last No. 2 seed to make a championship game before the GHSA moves fully to PPR rankings next season. The Red Elephants lost two regular-season games: one to 6A state finalist Carrollton, 43-21, and their lone region loss to Roswell, 37-35. Since then, they have won four straight, all but one by more than 31 points, and have held three of their four playoff opponents out of the end zone.

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