The road to the Georgia Dome has gotten a little less bumpy for four teams in each of the state’s seven football championship classifications. There are now twenty-eight teams fighting for seven trophies and a visit to the state prep football finals next weekend in Atlanta. There were some surprises again in last week’s games, but the remaining teams in the hunt for a title have done what they needed to do: they have played their way into this week’s semifinal round.

The season’s records among the final four participants in this week’s games is as diverse as the offense or defense each team runs each week. Eagles Landing Christian Academy from the Class A Private division is 6-6 on the year, but played an early regular season schedule which was quite impressive.

The Chargers opened the season with six straight losses and followed that with six consecutive wins. The irony of the losses suffered early in the year is that four of the six teams which handed Eagles Landing Christian a loss early this season are now in this week’s final four round. Class A Mount Paran Christian, Class AA Greater Atlanta Christian, Class AAAA Woodward Academy and Class AAAAA Stockbridge all defeated the Chargers early this year. That was then but this week’s semifinal round is now.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are the unbeaten teams: Colquitt County, Allatoona, Buford, Blessed Trinity, Washington County, Calhoun, and Greater Atlanta Christian at 13-0, and Mount Paran Christian, Aquinas, Marion County and Calvary Day School at 12-0.

The Class A final four has Hawkinsville at defending Class A Public Champions Marion County in Buena Vista in a Region 4-A rematch, which the home standing Eagles won 12-7. In the other Public A division game, it’s Commerce at Irwin County in Ocilla. In Class A Private its Mount Paran at defending Class A Private champions, Aquinas in Augusta and Eagles landing Christian at top-seeded Calvary Day School in Savannah.

In Class AA, top-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian is at Fitzgerald and Benedictine Military travels to Quitman to meet Brooks County. In Class AAA, Washington County hosts Blessed Trinity, and Westminster is at unbeaten Calhoun. The Class AAAA matchups have unbeaten powerhouse Buford at Cartersville in the GPB game of the week, and Woodward Academy at St. Pius X.

Surprising Mays is at Stockbridge and unbeaten Allatoona plays at Northside-Warner Robins in the Class AAAAA semifinal games and in the state’s largest classification, it’s Etowah at Archer in Lawrenceville and McEachern takes the long trek to Moultrie to meet the state’s top-ranked Class AAAAAA team, the Colquitt County Packers.

This week’s winners in each classification will meet next weekend for the state football championship in the Georgia Dome. There will be seven title games in two days, December 12 and 13.