Best second-round games to watch this week

There are 18 games that feature two ranked teams facing each other in the second round of the playoffs and GPB Sports has one of the biggest.

No. 4 North Gwinnett will host No. 7 Lowndes on this week’s edition of Football Fridays in Georgia. Kickoff from Suwanee will be 7:30 p.m. and can be seen on GPB-TV, as well as GPB.org and the GPB Sports App.

North Gwinnett (10-1) has won 10 straight games and easily defeated South Gwinnett 49-16 in the first round. 

Lowndes (10-1) won its first nine games before losing to Valdosta in the “Winnersville Class,” a defeat that caused the Vikings to be the No. 2 seed. Lowndes defeated Collins Hill 27-16 in the first round. 

Lowndes leads the series 2-0, winning in the 2019 semifinals and in the 2007 state championship game. 

Ranked teams fared well in the first round of the playoffs. Only three teams listed among GPB’s top 10 went down in flames in their playoff opener: McEachern, the No. 5 team in 6A, Lamar, the No. 4 team in Class A Div. I, and Seminole County, the No. 8 team in Class A Div. II.

Click here to see the brackets 

Class 6A

In addition to Lowndes vs. North Gwinnett, there are two other games that matched a pair of ranked teams: No. 9 Harrison at No. 3 Carrollton and No. 8 Colquitt County at No. 1 Grayson. 

Carrollton (11-0) hammered North Forsyth 58-17 in the first round of the playoffs. Harrison (10-1) defeated Marietta 45-35. Carrollton won the only previous meeting, 54-14 in the opening round of the playoffs in 2023.

Colquitt County (9-2) makes a trip to Gwinnett County for the second straight week. The Packers defeated Mill Creek 35-17 on Football Fridays in Georgia. Click here to watch the replay. Defending state champion Grayson (11-0) ran past Norcross 44-7. Colquitt County leads the series 5-2 and won the last meeting 31-7 in 2019. 

Other second-round games: Hillgrove at West Forsyth, Walton at East Coweta, Brookwood at No. 6 Valdosta, No. 10 Douglas County at North Cobb, and Newton at No. 2 Buford.

Class 5A

There are two games featuring two ranked teams: No. 10 Lee County at No. 2 Hughes and No. 6 Houston County at No. 5 Rome.

Lee County (8-3) overcame some midseason drama to put together a three-game winning streak and secure the third seed from Region 2. The Trojans went on the road and beat Sprayberry 34-21 in the first round. Hughes (11-0) has been tested only once this season in a seven-point win over Class 6A No. 10 Douglas County. The Panthers defeated East Paulding 45-28 in the opener. Lee County and Hughes have never played. 

Houston  County (10-1) lost the final game of the regular season but bounced back and beat Creekview 59-14 in the first round. Rome (9-2) is on a nine-game winning streak after opening the campaign with two losses. The Wolves whipped Lovejoy 47-16 in the opening round. This will be the first meeting between Houston County and Rome. 

Other second round games are Statesboro at No. 9 Woodward Academy, Villa Rica at No. 1 Thomas County Central, Clarke Central at No. 3 Roswell, Newnan at No. 8 Sequoyah, No. 4 Gainesville at Brunswick, and No. 7 Milton, the two-time defending state champion, at Jackson County, which won its first state playoff game on Friday. 

Class 4A

Three games feature two ranked teams against each other: No 8 Cambridge at No. 4 Central Carroll, No. 9 Cass at No. 6 Benedictine, and No. 10 Blessed Trinity at No. 5 Marist. 

The featured game is Blessed Trinity (7-4) vs. Marist (10-1). BT has lost only to state-ranked teams and has beaten four ranked opponents; the Titans beat Stockbridge 28-27 in overtime last week. Marist has reeled off 10 straight wins after losing the opener to Jefferson. The War Eagles routed Starr’s Milll 30-0 last week for its fourth shutout. The series is tied 4-4 with Marist winning the last meeting in 2023.

The other matchups feature Ware County at No. 3 Creekside, Centennial at Lithonia, Warner Robins at No. 2 Cartersville, Southwest DeKalb at No. 7 Kell, and King at North Oconee. 

The Centennial-Lithonia game is interesting since both teams are newcomers to the second round of the playoffs. Centennial (7-4) knocked off Locust Grove in the playoff opener to reach the second round for the first time since 2017. Lithonia (9-2) ran over Griffin in the first round and advanced for the first time since 1994 when the Bulldogs reached the quarterfinals.

Caption

Dominique Jackson makes a big stop in Miller Grove's victory,

Credit: Mark Brock, DeKalb County Athletics

Class 3A

Two games include a pair of ranked teams: No. 7 Peach County at No. 6 Jenkins and No. 4 LaGrange at No. 2 North Hall. 

Peach County (10-1), competing in the postseason for the 34th straight season, opened the playoffs with a 53-28 win over Cherokee Bluff. Jenkins (10-1) has won 10 in a row since losing to Class 6A No. 7 Lowndes in the opener. Jenkins outlasted Whitewater 50-45 in the first round. The two teams have never played. 

Other second-round games are Harlem at No. 5 Jefferson, No. 9 Troup at Cairo, Oconee County at No. 8 West Laurens, Monroe Area at No. 1 Sandy Creek, Douglass at No. 3 Calhoun, and Westside-Augusta at No. 10 Stephenson.

Class 2A

Columbia has an ugly record, but it’s quite misleading. The Eagles (5-6) lost their first six games – all against ranked opponents – and won their last four regular-season games and beat East Jackson 32-18 in the playoff opener. Columbia will host No. 9 Burke County (9-2), which overpowered Sonoraville 57-21 in the first round.

Two of the second-round games involve a pair of ranked teams: No. 7 Hapeville Charter at No. 10 Appling County, and No. 6 Callaway at No. 8 Thomson. 

Other second-round games are Pierce County at No. 3 Carver-Atlanta, No. 5 Sumter County at North Murray, Miller Grove at No. 2 Morgan County, Stephens County at No. 1 Carver-Columbus, and Laney at No. 4 Rockmart. Miller Grove won the first state playoff game in school history, beating Spencer 20-9.

Class A Division I

Berrien County provided the biggest upset in the first round when the Rebel defeated previously unbeaten and No. 4-ranked Lamar County 7-0. Berrien will appear in the second round for only the third time in school history. Lamar entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the GHSA’s PSR formula. 

The Rebels will try to keep it going when they play at Rabun County on Friday. Rabun County (9-2) eliminated Dodge County 56-21 in its playoff opener.

Four of the eight games involved ranked teams against each other: No. 6 Fitzgerald at No. 8 Dublin, No. 9 Swainsboro at No. 5 Northeast, No. 7 Thomasville at No. 2 Toombs County, and No. 10 Bleckley County at No. 1 Worth County.

Other second round games are Social Circle at No. 3 Heard County, Elbert County at Gordon Lee, Pepperell at Jasper County.

Class A Division II

There are two games that feature ranked teams facing each other – No. 7 Emanuel County Institute at No. 2 Clinch County, and No. 9 Brooks County at No. 3 Johnson. 

Other second-round games are Warren County at No. 6 Wheeler County, Washington-Wilkes at No. 4 Bowdon, Jenkins County at Schley County, Charlton County at No. 5 Screven County, Mt. Zion Carrollton at No. 10 Early County, and Hawkinsville at No. 1 Lincoln County. 

Private

Two games feature ranked teams against each other: No. 9 Aquinas at No. 10 Whitefield Academy, and No. 8 Holy Innocents’ at No. 4 Athens Academy.

Other second-round games feature Mount Vernon Christian at No. 2 Fellowship Christian, No. 5 Savannah Christian at Christian Heritage, Kings Ridge Christian at No. 3 Calvary Day Christian, Landmark Christian at No. 7 Greater Atlanta Christian, Wesleyan at No. 6 Prince Avenue Christian, and Trinity Christian at No. 1 Hebron Christian.