It was the final week of the regular season for high school football and there were two games in AAAA that featured four undefeated teams. Cross county finished their season with the state championships last weekend and the runners and team you expect to win titles did not disappoint. And the football playoffs will kick off Friday and there are two first-round games that should move the meter and get the playoffs off on the right foot. These stories and more make up the top five Georgia high school sports stories.
5. Cross country concludes season with state championships
The Georgia high school cross country season came to an end last week with the state championships taking place in Carrollton. In Class AAAAA, the Brookwood boys won their 10th state title while the Walton girls won their first title since 2002. In Class AAAA, it was a private school affair as both the Marist boys and girls won state titles. It was the boys eighth overall title and the girls 11th. In AAA, the St. Pius X boys won their first title since 2006 while the Columbus girls won the second title in three years. Westminster swept AA as the boys took home their 20th title and the girls won the 24th. In A, the Darlington girls won first title in 11 years and for the boys, Wesleyan repeated as champs.
4. Flowery Branch falls the Clarke Central
The Flowery Branch Falcons were looking to have their first ever 10-0 season by defeating Clarke Central, who was the AAAA runner-up last year. But Clarke Central's defense was too strong for the Falcons and the Gladiators come away with the 21-0 win. The win for Clarke Central improves their record to 10-0 and they win the Region 8-AAAA title. They will face Mays in their first round game this weekend. Flowery Branch drops to 9-1 and will face SW DeKalb in its first round contest.
3. Griffin loses to Starr's Mill
Another game that featured two undefeated teams in AAAA were Griffin and Starr's Mill and they were both trying to clinch the No. 1 seed in Region 3. Many thought this would be a close game, and it was until the fourth quarter when Starr's Mill running back Zach Laskey ran for two touchdown to lead the Panthers to a 24-7 win over Griffin. Starr's Mill will take on Hardaway in its first round game while Griffin will host Lee County in their playoff game this weekend.
2. Walton and Norcross are back
After both teams missing the playoffs last year, the Norcross Blue Devils and the Walton Raiders are back in the playoffs and will face each other Friday night. Walton has won five of its last six home playoff games while Norcross is 1-5 in road playoff games. The last time theses two teams played against each other was in 2009 and Walton came away with a 28-27 win in overtime. Walton is coming into the game on a five-game win streak while Norcross started the season 5-0 and since has gone 3-2.
1. Parkview is also back
Just like Walton and Norcross, Parkview is back in the playoffs after one-year hiatus. They will face a red hot Roswell team who has won four games in a row after starting the season 2-4. But Parkview has never lost to Roswell and all the times these two teams have faced each other, it has been in the playoffs. Parkview is not the same team it was in the early part of the 2000 decade, but head coach Cecil Flowe knows how to get his team ready for the playoffs and if they can beat Roswell, it will make the AAAAA bracket really interesting.