Tiebreakers Could Factor In Region 7-AAAAAA Seedings

By Mike Blum

With one game remaining in the regular season, the competition for playoff spots from Region 7-AAAAAA could require two separate, three-team tiebreakers to determine playoff seeding for the region’s top three teams along with the fourth region qualifier.

Alpharetta plays at Chattahoochee Friday night, with an Alpharetta victory giving the Raiders a region title. If Chattahoochee wins, however, the Cougars would finish in a three-way for first with Alpharetta and Centennial, requiring a tie-breaking procedure to determine the region's top three seeds in the playoffs.

The two most relevant tiebreakers would appear to favor Centennial, who will get the No. 1 seed if the tiebreaker is points differential in games between the three teams. There is another tiebreaker that awards points for each game won by teams in the region that lost to the top three teams, and Centennial also would appear to benefit in that area.

Since wins over Alpharetta (by Chattahoochee) and Chattahoochee (by Centennial), who both would finish 8-2, would count more than Alpharetta’s win over Centennial (7-3), Alpharetta would seemingly be eliminated, and Centennial would likely prevail thanks to its victory over Chattahoochee. If the Raiders win Friday, which they are expected to do, they would win the region at 8-0, with Centennial second at 7-1 and Chattahoochee third at 6-2. Alpharetta has won its last eight games after a season-opening loss to Milton and sports the strongest defense in the region led by defensive back Jaycee Horn, the area’s top senior prospect.

The Cougars sport one of the region’s top offenses, and scored 50 points last week against Northview, one week after losing starting quarterback Jack Corrigan to a severe leg injury. Backup quarterback Damon Stewart scored on runs of 40 and 22 yards and tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass against Northview, with the Cougars amassing over 500 yards of offense. Max Webb rushed for 155 yards including a 55-yarder for a score, raising his season numbers to 1168 yards and 12 touchdowns, and receiver Andrew Thomas scored on runs of 70 and 14 yards.

The Cougars are not among the better defensive teams in the region, allowing 145 points in their last four games, three of them victories. They will try to contain an Alpharetta offense that has scored at least 34 points in six of their region wins. Centennial is off this week and ended its season 7-3 after starting 0-3. The region’s top two seeds will be at home next week in the first round of the AAAAAA playoffs against opponents from Region 8, with the third place team at the No. 2 team from Region 8 in the first round. The four playoff-bound teams from that region play each other Friday, creating a number of seeding possibilities.

Cambridge and Johns Creek are competing with Pope for the fourth playoff spot, with all three teams
coming into this week 3-4 in the region, splitting the games against the other two. If all three teams win
Friday as they are expected to do, Pope will get the fourth seed on points differential in games against
the other two. Pope has the toughest game of the three, hosting Northview (2-5). If the Titans defeat Pope, Johns Creek and Cambridge will likely tie for fourth at 4-4, with Cambridge getting the playoff spot thanks to
its win over Johns Creek.

Johns Creek, which plays at Dunwoody (0-7) Friday, can only get fourth place if Cambridge loses Friday.
The Gladiators, who beat Pope during the regular season, will be without starting quarterback Zach Gibson, who suffered an ankle injury early in last Friday’s 31-20 victory over North Atlanta. Backup Sean Cooney threw two touchdown passes to running back Nate Hope, who scored all four touchdowns for the Gladiators.

Cambridge plays Friday at North Atlanta (1-6), and needs a Pope loss to Northview to make the playoffs.
The Bears have played well defensively in recent weeks, but have struggled to throw the ball effectively
in their past two games. The No. 4 team from Region 7 plays at the Region 8 champion next week in the state playoffs.

Milton has a chance to earn a home game in the first round of the AAAAAAA playoffs with a win at home Friday over North Forsyth. The Eagles (7-2) are tied with West Forsyth at 3-1 in region play, and could finish in a three-way tie for first if West Forsyth upsets unbeaten South Forsyth, but that is not likely. The Eagles would host the No. 3 team from Region 6, with a 3-way tie for second in that region a distinct possibility.

Roswell (2-7) still has a chance to get the final playoff spot from Region 4-AAAAAAA, but needs to beat winless Cherokee this week and hope that Etowah defeats Lassiter. The Hornets have lost to three
unbeaten teams and a fourth state-ranked opponent, with their seven losses coming against teams that are a combined 51-13. Either eight or nine teams on Roswell’s 2017 schedule will qualify for the playoffs. If the Hornets make the playoffs, they will play next week at the Region 3 champion, either McEachern or Hillgrove.

Blessed Trinity (7-2) will clinch second place in Region 7-AAAA with a win Friday night at West Hall. Both
BT and Marist have dominated the other three teams in the region this season. West Hall lost last week
to White County, which lost to BT 50-14 earlier in the season. The Titans will be at home in the first round of the playoffs against the No. 3 team from Region 8, with three teams with 5-5 or 4-6 records likely to tie for third place.

Mt. Pisgah (7-2) and Fellowship Christian (5-4) both are at home Friday against teams from the opposite half of Region 6-A, and both need wins to solidify their spots in the private school playoffs. Mt. Pisgah, the No. 2 team from its sub-region, plays Trion, which finished in a 3-way tie for first in the other sub- region, while Fellowship hosts Bowdon. Both Mt. Pisgah and Trion (7-2) are eighth in the Class A power rankings, with the Patriots in the private school division and Trion in the public school division. The Patriots need to stay inside the top eight to get a first round bye in the state playoffs.

Fellowship (5-4) finished fifth in its sub-region, with Bowdon (2-7) tying for fifth in the opposite half. The
Paladins are 23 rd in the private school power rankings and need to finish no lower than 24 th to make the
playoffs.

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