Prep Football Review: Four teams still alive for state playoff berths
From Staff Reports
The final week of the 2022 high school football regular season is here and four Coweta County teams have a chance to punch their respective tickets into the state playoffs.
In GHSA play, the public school association with local members East Coweta, Newnan, Northgate and Trinity Christian, the top four teams of each region advance.
Northgate (3-6, 2-1 in Region 3 5-A) is indeed in the first round of the state playoffs. The Vikings were off last week and travel to Riverdale on Friday to face Drew (0-9, 0-3) in a region contest to end the regular season. Northgate is seeded as the No. 2 team in its region and will host a first-round playoff game on Nov. 11. The opponent will be from a trio of either Chamblee, Tucker or Arabia Mountain, pending Friday’s results.
East Coweta (5-4, 1-2 in Region 2 7-A) saw its chance to host a first-round state playoff game vanish last week in a 48-27 loss to Westlake. The Indians host Pebblebrook tomorrow night. Both are tied for third place at 1-2 in the Region. If the Indians win, they clinch third place. A loss still gets East Coweta a spot in the playoffs’ first round since the Indians own the tiebreaker with fifth place Campbell (1-8, 0-3).
Trinity Christian (5-4, 4-2 Region 4 4-A) felt the wrath of Class 4-A top-ranked Troup last Friday in a 50-15 loss. The Lions are now in a four-way tie for second place in the region with Starr’s Mill, Whitewater and LaGrange. Trinity Christian travels to struggling Fayette County (1-8, 1-5) tomorrow and a win guarantees a spot in the playoffs with Starr’s Mill and Whitewater facing each other. A loss complicates things, but the Lions do own wins over Starr’s Mill and Whitewater and would get the edge in those tiebreaker scenarios.
Newnan (3-6, 2-4 Region 5 6-A) will not make the playoffs this season and will finish in fifth place in region action. The Cougars fell to Douglas County last Friday, 35-23, thus eliminating them in the playoff race. Newnan will finish its season tomorrow hosting winless New Manchester (0-9, 0-6).
Heritage School (7-2, 1-2 District 5 3-A) had its playoff hopes diminish somewhat last week in a 56-17 loss at St. Anne-Pacilli. The Hawks host 4-A opponent Brookstone School (6-3) of Columbus on Friday. Heritage School needs to finish in the Top-10 to advance to the GIAA state playoffs and currently sit ranked at No. 8. A win gets the Hawks in, a loss could keep Heritage School out depending on the ranking’s formulas.
Central Christian (2-7, 1-3 Region 2, 2-A) was eliminated from the GAPPS 8-man Football Playoffs with a 38-20 loss to Vidalia Heritage a week ago. The Crusaders will likely finish fourth in their region with the top three advancing to postseason play. Central Christian ends the regular season on Friday traveling to Cumming to tangle with Horizon Christian (3-5).
LAST WEEK’S SCORES – Oct. 28
Westlake 48, East Coweta 27
Douglas County 35, Newnan 23
Troup 50, Trinity Christian 15
St. Anne-Pacilli 56, Heritage School 17
Vidalia Heritage 38, Central Christian 20
Northgate, open
THIS WEEK’S GAMES – Nov. 4*
Pebblebrook at East Coweta
New Manchester at Newnan
Northgate at Drew (Riverdale)
Trinity Christian at Fayette County
Brookstone School at Heritage School
Central Christian at Horizon Christian (Cumming)
*All games start at 7:30 p.m.
