By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The high school football regular season is over and the playoffs are now here. Let’s take a look at some of the top 7A teams and their road to the state championship.

#1 Buford: The Wolves (10-0) just moved up to 7A this season, but they have not had any trouble adjusting. They have won three consecutive state championships in 6A and 5A.

They have won state championships in every classification prior to moving up to 7A.

They are the number one seed in region 8-7A and they are playing Peachtree Ridge.

The Lions (6-4) are the No. 4 seed from region 7-7A. In their four loses the closest margin of victory was 21 points. I expect Buford to beat them by a large margin.

The second round will be against the winner of South Forsyth/#8 Walton.

#2 Colquitt County: The Packers (10-0) are region 1-7A champs. They are led by senior running back A’Marius Pace, junior quarterback Neko Fann and junior wide receiver Ny’Quavion Carr. They host No. 4 see Pebblebrook (4-6) from region 2-7A.

Colquitt County only has one win by less than 20 points this season. They will beat up on Pebblebrook. The second round they will face the winner of Harrison/Brookwood.

#3 Carrolton: The Trojans (10-0) are not a team we typically see ranked at the end of the season. They have had an impressive season and won region 2-7A. They host Lowndes (5-5) in the first round. This is a down year for the Vikings so I expect Carrolton to beat them. The next round will be against Marietta or Newton.

#4 North Cobb: The Warriors (8-2) had high hopes coming into the season. They played #1 Buford in the second game of the season and lost 21 – 14. Unfortunately, four-star senior quarterback Malachi Singleton played the entire second half with a broken foot. That was his last game of the season and he has had surgery.

Even with their best player sidelined North Cobb has had a good season and they won region 5-7A.

They host Denmark (6-4) from region 6. The Danes have some talented players on their team. This could be a close game. If the Warriors win, they will face the winner of Mill Creek/Meadowcreek.

#5 Mill Creek: The Hawks (9-1) have the top player in the state, five-star safety Caleb Downs. They also have three-star linebacker and Clemson commit, Jamal Anderson Jr. As you can guess, he’s the son of the former Atlanta Falcons running back.

Their only loss was to Buford, 39 – 27.

Mill Creek hosts another Gwinnett County team, Meadowcreek. I think the Hawks are actually the second-best team in 7A and I expect them to make a deep playoff run.

#6 Grayson: The Rams (8-2) were undefeated and won the state championship in 2020. They are trying to get back to that in 2022.

The best player on the team is four-star safety Michael Daugherty. They are the top seed in region 4-7A and host No. 4 seed Hillgrove. If they win that game, they will play the winner of East Coweta and Camden County.

#7 Lambert: The Longhorns (9-1) seem to be flying under the radar despite having a great season. They play 3 seed Wheeler in the first round. If they win, they will face the winner of North Gwinnett/Dacula.

I think Buford will win the championship but I’m ready to see how these teams perform.