Seth Ellerbee

No. 1 Peach County (Region 1), North Hall (Region 6) and No. 7 Calhoun (Region 7) clinched region championships last week. And now the other regions will jockey for playoff positions.

Unranked Early County (Region 1) and No. 1 Manchester (Region 7) earned region titles last week, and a packed Week 12 schedule will help determine the other six league champions and playoff seedings.

All eight regions have decided champions in Class 3A, and the state playoff brackets are just about complete.

There were upsets, close calls and blowouts in the opening round of the Class 3A high school football playoffs. But Luella arguably pulled off the biggest feat of Round 1.

Bowdon is the two-time defending champion and ranked No. 2 in the Class A Division II. Manchester is the top-ranked program, but it lost to Bowdon in the state championship game last season.

The top-ranked team lost. Two unranked teams advanced. And each of the four programs that reached the Class 3A semifinals moved down in class after this season's reclassification cycle.

It's rare to have the four top-ranked teams playing in the semifinals of the playoffs, because inevitably, there's an upset here or there that sends a higher-ranked program packing.

We know that LaGrange (4A), Jefferson (4A), Calhoun (5A) and Stephenson (4A) entered Class 3A after the reclassification cycle, and each are two victories away from a state championship in their new homes.

If you were forced to make a prediction for the Class A Division II championship matchup, it would be a wise pick to expect a Bowdon-Manchester rematch at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It has been 11 seasons since Brooks County upended Bowdon 42-26 in the quarterfinals of the Class A state championship game in the program's only meeting, and now the teams will face off again for in the state title game.