Class 6A Blog: Buford, Carrollton, McEachern and Grayson take perfect records into playoff gauntlet

Region 3 (McEachern) and Region 7 (North Gwinnett) were the only two region champions that had been crowned heading into last week’s conclusion to the regular season. In Region 1 and Region 5, victories by Valdosta over Lowndes and North Paulding over Marietta forced three-way ties. Region 2 staged a true region championship battle between Carrollton and Douglas County and the Trojans cruised to the top seed with a 55-22 victory—marking the program’s fourth-straight region title and second-straight undefeated regular season.

No. 1 ranked Grayson also completed a perfect regular season and topped Archer 37-12 to claim the Region 4 title. The drama in Region 5 came after North Paulding’s 28-24 win over Marietta forced a three-way tie and gave the region title to North Cobb. In Region 6, last year’s region champion North Atlanta missed the playoffs following its 31-9 loss to Denmark and the Danes earned the No. 2 seed with their win.

In Region 8, Buford joined Grayson, Carrollton and McEachern as undefeated finishers and clinched the region title with a 35-3 victory over Mill Creek.

BEYOND THE NUMERS

Valdosta’s win over Lowndes is not surprising when considering the history and success shared by the two programs, however, the matter in which the Wildcats scored their 23-14 victory was notable for a variety of reasons. For starters, Valdosta entered the game averaging 274.8 rushing yards per game, but succeeded through the air one it was established that the Vikings were going to load the box to force them to try and beat them with the passing game. Quarterback Tyrieke Wade was exceptional with 14-of-20 passing for 201 yards and three touchdowns and he also added 56 yards on the ground. Meanwhile the Valdosta defense went man coverage on the outside and found a way to hold the prolific Lowndes offense to its lowest output of the year. The positive for Lowndes is that the Vikings earned the No. 2 seed and will still get to host in the playoffs.

Carrollton used a 99-yard kickoff return by Rontre Welch late in the third quarter to run away with a 55-22 victory over Douglas County. The Trojans excelled in all three phases and quarterbacks C.J. Cypher and Mason Holtzclaw continued to successfully shoulder the quarterback duties with Cypher finishing 11-of-14 for 116 yards and Holtzclaw going 7-of-11 for 70 yards.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

CLASS 6A WEEK 12 STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE

REGION 1

Valdosta 4-1, 9-1 [1]

Lowndes 4-1, 9-1 [2]

Colquitt County 4-1, 8-2 [3]

Richmond Hill 2-3, 6-4 [4]

Camden County 1-4, 6-4

Tift County 0-5, 3-7

Friday, Oct. 31

Colquitt County 28, Richmond Hill 21

Camden County 24, Tift County 21

Valdosta 23, Lowndes 14

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 14

Valdosta (vs. Dacula)

Lowndes (vs. Collins Hill)

Colquitt County (at Mill Creek)

Richmond Hill (at Buford)

REGION 2

Carrollton 4-0, 10-0 [1]

Douglas County 3-1, 7-3   [2]

East Coweta 2-2, 3-7   [3]

Westlake 1-3, 4-6   [4]

Chapel Hill 0-4, 1-9

Friday, Oct. 31

Carrollton 55, Douglas County 22

East Coweta 56, Chapel Hill 0

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 14

Carrollton (vs. North Forsyth)

Douglas County (vs. Lambert)

East Coweta (at Denmark)

Westlake (at West Forsyth)

REGION 3

McEachern 7-0, 10-0 [1]

Harrison 6-1, 9-1   [2]

Hillgrove 5-2, 8-2   [3]

Paulding County 4-3, 4-6   [4]

Campbell 3-4, 6-4

Pebblebrook 2-5, 3-7

Osborne 1-6, 1-9

South Cobb 0-7, 2-8

Thursday, Oct. 30

Harrison 52, Paulding County 12

Campbell 21, Pebblebrook 7

McEachern 79, Osborne 7

Hillgrove 48, South Cobb 8

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 14

McEachern (vs. Walton)

Harrison (vs. Marietta)

Hillgrove (at North Paulding)

Paulding County (at North Cobb)

REGION 4

Grayson 6-0, 10-0 [1]

Newton 5-1, 7-3   [2]

Archer 4-2, 6-4   [3]

South Gwinnett 3-3, 5-5   [4]

Rockdale County 2-4, 5-4

Grovetown 1-5, 4-6

Heritage-Conyers 0-6, 1-9

Friday, Oct. 31

Grayson 37, Archer 12

Grovetown 42, Heritage-Conyers 18

Newton 27, South Gwinnett 21

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 14

Grayson (vs. Norcross)

Newton (vs. Peachtree Ridge)

Archer (at Brookwood)

South Gwinnett (at North Gwinnett)

REGION 5

North Cobb 5-1, 7-3 [1]

North Paulding 5-1, 8-2 [2]

Marietta 5-1, 5-5 [3]

Walton 3-3, 5-5 [4]

Wheeler 2-4, 3-7

Etowah 1-5, 3-7

Cherokee 0-6, 1-9

Thursday, Oct. 30

North Cobb 42, Wheeler 7

Friday, Oct. 31

North Paulding 28, Marietta 24

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 14

North Cobb (vs. Paulding County)

North Paulding (vs. Hillgrove)

Marietta (at Harrison)

Walton (at McEachern)

REGION 6

West Forsyth 6-1, 8-2 [1]

Denmark 6-1, 7-3 [2]

Lambert 5-2, 6-4 [3]

North Forsyth 4-3, 6-4 [4]

North Atlanta 4-3, 5-5

Alpharetta 2-5, 2-8

Forsyth Central 1-6, 1-9

South Forsyth 0-7, 2-8

Friday, Oct. 31

West Forsyth 45, Alpharetta 14

Denmark 31, North Atlanta 9

North Forsyth 39, Forsyth Central 14

Lambert 45, South Forsyth 7

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 14

REGION 7

North Gwinnett 7-0, 9-1 [1]

Brookwood 6-1, 8-2 [2]

Peachtree Ridge 5-2, 7-3 [3]

Norcross 4-2, 6-3 [4]

Parkview 3-4, 4-6

Duluth 2-5, 4-6

Meadowcreek 1-6, 1-8

Berkmar 0-7, 0-10

Thursday, Oct. 30

North Gwinnett 54, Duluth 3

Peachtree Ridge 41, Berkmar 6

Brookwood 43, Norcross 8

Parkview 69, Meadowcreek 30

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 14

North Gwinnett (vs. South Gwinnett)

Brookwood (vs. Archer)

Peachtree Ridge (at Newton)

Norcross (at Grayson)

REGION 8

Buford 6-0, 10-0

Mill Creek 5-1, 7-3

Collins Hill 4-2, 6-4

Dacula 3-3, 5-5

Central Gwinnett 2-4, 4-5

Mountain View 1-5, 1-9

Discovery 0-5, 0-9

Friday, Oct. 31

Buford 35, Mill Creek 3

Collins Hill 42, Discovery 7

Dacula 28, Central Gwinnett 15

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS

Friday, Nov. 18

Buford (vs. Richmond Hill)

Mill Creek (vs. Colquitt County)

Collins Hill (at Lowndes)

Dacula (at Valdosta)

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