The regular season is over, which means only one thing: we (almost) made it to the playoffs!
Here are five things we learned from Week 12:
1. BUFORD IS A STATE TITLE CONTENDER
So this may seem odd as something we learned this week as Buford is always considered a state title contender. But the way that the Wolves handled Mill Creek Friday seemed to really solidify them as a lock to pencil them in the bracket as a competitor at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in December. The Wolves held Mill Creek to just 144 yards of offense and picked off the Hawks twice in the first half. There are plenty of good teams in 6A, but the Wolves have to be considered near the top of that pack headed into the playoffs.
2. 8-3A FINISHES WITH THE MOST CHAOS
We all thought that 6-3A and 8-5A were the two regions who were going to be the most chaotic in their finish. Boy were we wrong. With Oconee County's shocking overtime win over Jefferson, Region 8-3A went into calculator land to figure out how things finished out. Once all the numbers were crunched, it ended how we all thought it would heading into Friday with Jefferson claiming the top seed, Cherokee Bluff the No. 2 and the Warriors at 3. But for a few moments Friday night, our brains were scrambled trying to quiet the chaos.
3. CHESTATEE IS BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS
We all knew GAC was down this year. One can argue that the Spartans could have finished with just one or two wins in region play this year had the ball bounced a different way. But the War Eagles were dominant, leading wire-to-wire against the preseason favorites to win the region Friday night to earn their spot in the playoffs. Chestatee didn't just sneak in the playoffs either. They earned the No. 3 spot in 6-3A. Now we wait to see how the PSR rankings shake out over the next week to see where Chestatee will travel in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs, but whoever they have to play better not sleep on this team.
4. JACKSON COUNTY MATCHES REGULAR SEASON WIN RECORD
With the Panthers' 34-21 win over Habersham Central Friday night, Jackson County matched its best regular season record in program history, hitting eight wins for the first time in 32 years. They also secured the No. 2 seed in 8-5A, allowing them the opportunity to host a playoff game for the first time in program history when they take the field in two weeks. This squad is battle tested with their only two losses coming at the hands of Jefferson and Clarke Central, two region champions. Now they take on defending state champion Coffee County in the first round of the playoffs, but with the home field advantage and how tough this team plays, who knows what will happen on November 15.
5. ANOTHER REGULAR SEASON IN THE BOOKS
For our 26 area teams, the regular season has come to a close. It feels like just a couple weeks ago we were getting the season started, but here we are three months later and the playoffs are just around the corner. Congratulations to Caleb Hutchins for winning the regular season on the FGN Pick'em Show, his first time winning the regular season picks. But now, we turn our attention to the playoffs, kind of. A week off from local games, sure, but our real attention turns to trying to figure out what the brackets will look like in Classes 3A through A with the PSR rankings still in flux through the rest of this week. Get some rest and get ready for the playoffs. We surely will be.
