Predicting the winners of the 2024 Georgia high school football playoffs 5A Sweet 16

High School On SI is going on the record to make our predictions on the GHSL 5A playoffs

The 10-1 Sequoyah Chiefs are projected to be locked in a 3-point battle with Woodward Academy. / SHSChiefs.TV Instagram

The Class 5A playoffs are set to kick off the second round on Friday, and this week has a ton of good matchups. 

Predicting who will win their second-round games will be easy when looking at teams like Milton and Lee County. Both of those teams enter this week as heavy favorites, and it would be an absolute stunner if either one of those teams fall on Friday. 

But after that, there are several matchups that could go one way or another. Thomas County Central and Rome will tangle in the playoffs for a second straight year, while Roswell and Langston Hughes could be the game of the night. 

Check out who High School On Si predicts will win their second-round matchups on Friday, and who will secure a spot in the Class 5A state quarterfinals. 

Coffee (9-2) at Brunswick (10-1) 

One of the more intriguing Sweet 16 matchups in Class 5A is Coffee vs Brunswick.  

There’s no fooling the Trojans. Playing in Region 2 this year, they have seen the best of the best. Their two losses came against two of the state’s best in Lee County and Thomas County Central. And while they were out-classed by both, so has everyone else those two teams have faced. 

The Trojans made the long trek up north to Jackson County in the first round and had no trouble beating them 31-7. Now they’ll travel east to Brunswick, where they’ll face off against a Pirates team that has won 10 games in a row. 

Brunswick’s road has been much easier than Coffee’s. Region 1 was an average region at best, and the Pirates didn’t have any issues running the table. Their only loss came in Week 1 to Camden County, and since then, they’ve been on cruise control. 

Coffee will have a slight edge in this game based on recent experience. They won the Class 5A state championship last year, and while they probably aren’t good enough to win it again this year, they’re definitely good enough to advance to the next round. 

Prediction: Coffee 27, Brunswick 17 

Sequoyah (10-1) at Woodward Academy (8-3) 

Despite the Chiefs winning nine games during the regular season, not many gave them a chance to beat Gainesville in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs. But that’s exactly what they did, handing them a 38-28 loss in front of a raucous home crowd. 

With the win, they’ll be headed to Woodward Academy, a team that got off to a rocky start this season before righting the ship. The War Eagles started the season 0-3 and haven’t lost a game since. 

Both teams had fairly easy region schedules. Sequoyah’s lone region loss came against Sprayberry, who won the Region 6 title. Woodward Academy dominated its competition in Region 4 play and had no trouble winning the region title. 

The War Eagles have been here before. They made a run to the Class 6A state title game last year before losing to Thomas County Central. For the Chiefs, they haven’t won in the second round since 2018. 

This should be a great game, but the edge has to go to the home team. 

Prediction: Woodward Academy 31, Sequoyah 28

Thomas County Central (10-1) at Rome (8-2) 

Friday’s Class 5A second-round meeting between Rome and Thomas County Central is a rematch of last year’s Class 6A quarterfinals where the Yellow Jackets escaped with a 19-16 road win. 

For a second straight year, the Yellow Jackets will be making the long trek north to take on Rome, and it should be another closely contested battle. 

The Yellow Jackets have just one blemish on their schedule this year, and that came in a 35-23 loss to powerhouse Lee County. They’ve looked dominant in all of their other games and they dismantled Winder-Barrow in Round 1 last Friday 70-6. 

The Wolves had a rocky start to their season after having to cancel their first game after a bus accident, and then following that up with back-to-back losses to Carrollton and Toombs County. But they quickly got things on the right track and haven’t lost since. 

Can the Yellow Jackets win two years in a row at Rome? Or can the Wolves figure out a way to beat them? 

Prediction: Thomas County Central 31, Rome 24 

Roswell (9-2) at Langston Hughes (10-1) 

Class 5A is jam packed with great second-round matchups, and Langston Hughes vs Roswell is definitely one of them. 

The Panthers have just one blemish on their schedule this season, and that came on a rainy night against Douglas County, a game they lost by a touchdown 21-14. Since then, they’ve dominated. They don’t have a signature win, but they could get one if they’re able to beat a really good Roswell team that awaits them on Friday. 

Beating Roswell is going to be no easy task, however. The Hornets have seen the best of the best. Their two regular season losses came against two nationally ranked teams in Milton and Buford, and they played Milton close for a half. 

The Hornets are the more battle-tested team in this matchup, but the Panthers will have home-field advantage. Which will play a more important role? 

Prediction: Roswell 38, Hughes 31

Newnan (9-2) at Sprayberry (10-1) 

These are two programs that are very happy to be playing this Friday in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs. In what is a loaded bracket, the Cougars and Yellow Jackets aren’t two of the 16 remaining teams that have gotten much attention. 

Whoever wins this game is going to have their season come to an end in the following round against Lee County. There’s really no debating that. But winning a second-round game for either of these teams would be a huge deal. 

The Yellow Jackets haven’t made it past the second round since 1982, and the Cougars haven’t made it past the second round since 2009. 

But who is going to win? That’s a great question. 

On paper, both teams look pretty evenly matched. They both didn’t play in very difficult regions. Sprayberry won Region 6 after losing their opening game to Pope, and the Cougars finished as region runner ups to Langston Hughes, one of the best teams in the field of 16. 

The Cougars had more trouble in their first-round playoff against Lanier than Newan did against Tri-Cities, but that shouldn’t play much of a factor at all when these two teams meet on Friday. 

Sprayberry is hosting, and that’s going to give them a slight edge. 

Prediction: Sprayberry 24, Newnan 17

East Paulding (10-1) at Lee County (11-0) 

East Paulding has put together a tremendous season up until this point, but it’s about to come to an abrupt end. 

We’re not here to sugarcoat anything. What’s awaiting them in Round 2 is Lee County, a team that has steamrolled everything in its path so far this season. They haven’t come close to losing a game this season, and they’re on a collision course to face off against Milton in the semifinals. 

The Raiders are easily one of the 16 best teams in Class 5A. They finished as region 5 runner-ups to Rome and are currently riding a 7-game winning streak. They crushed Effingham County 51-14 in the first round last Friday. 

There aren’t enough good things you can say about Lee County. That’s not a team anyone wants to play this early in the playoffs, but someone has to do it. They’re going to enter this matchup as heavy favorites, and that’s with no disrespect to the Raiders. 

Prediction: Lee County 48, East Paulding 21 

Dutchtown (7-4) at Milton (11-0) 

One could argue Dutchtown is the worst remaining team in Class 5A, and that’s fitting they’re matched up with the brackets top-ranked team Milton in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs. 

The Eagles are a Top 10 Nationally ranked team, and they’ve played a very difficult schedule to boot. They beat Buford in Week 1 and American Heritage in back-to-back games to start the season, and went on to beat two more Top 25 teams in the state in Roswell and Gainesville. 

They won the Region 7 championship after beating the Hornets and Red Elephants and followed that up with a 42-7 win over Woodstock in the first round of the playoffs last Friday. 

The Bulldogs on the other hand don’t have any quality wins on their schedule. They lost games to South Gwinnett, Newnan, Stephenson and Langston Hughes, but were still able to qualify for the playoffs and win in the first round against Decatur. 

They will enter this matchup against Milton with nothing to lose, but one thing is for certain. The Eagles are going to win this football game. 

Prediction: Milton 45, Dutchtown 7

Houston County (7-4) at Lakeside-Evans (10-1) 

Houston County isn’t your average No. 4 seed and they proved that last week after beating Clarke Central on the road 69-48. 

They were members of the insanely talented Region 2, where they lost to Lee County, Thomas County Central and Coffee to earn the region’s fourth and final playoff spot. The Bears possess one of the best offenses in the classification, and that’s what has them playing in the Sweet 16 this Friday. 

The Panthers have very quietly put together a fantastic season, their best in quite some time. Their last playoff win prior to last Friday’s 40-7 win over New Manchester came way back in 2009. 

Their only blemish during the regular season came against Brunswick, another team in the Round of 16. That cost them the Region 1 championship, but won’t cost them another home playoff game in Round 2. 

Lakeside-Evans will play host to Houston County in Round 2, but is that going to determine who wins? The Bears have already proven that they can win playoff games on the road. This has a chance to be another high-scoring affair, a style they’ve grown accustomed to playing this season. 

Prediction: Houston County 41, Lakeside-Evans 31