The Class A Division II playoffs can’t begin without two thoughts in mind: Bowdon enters the playoffs as two-time defending champions. Manchester is the top-ranked team and last season’s state runner-up.
But that doesn’t mean that those teams will decide the tournament all by themselves.
Region 2 teams No. 3 Irwin County, No. 4 Brooks County and No. 5 Clinch County are all equal title contenders. In the regular season, Clinch lost to Brooks County 42-12 but beat Irwin County 34-28. Brooks beat Irwin County but lost to Clinch. Irwin lost to Clinch but beat Brooks. Irwin County has three titles, Brooks County has two and Clinch has eight championships..
So let’s make a few predictions:
The favorite: It’s hard to pick against the two-time defending champion Bowdon Red Devils, but it might just be Manchester’s time. The Blue Devils won the team’s only state title in 1997, and under coach Demonta Prather Manchester is rolling in the right direction again this season. Last year, Manchester lost to Bowdon 28-27 in the championship game, but it gained essential playoff experience for its younger players. The Blue Devils prefer to run the ball. Senior quarterback C.J. Favors has only passed 32 times this season for 177 yards and a touchdown. But he has 104 carries for 1,202 yards and 13 of the team’s 34 touchdown runs. Senior Qua Cooper has 73 carries for 621 yards and eight touchdowns, and senior Keelan Whitaker has six touchdown runs and the only touchdown reception of the season, a 37-yarder. Manchester opens its playoff run against Marion County, and a rematch of last year’s title game is in the cards with Bowdon on the opposite side of the bracket.
The darkhorse: No. 9 Metter has a chance to win its first-round game against Hawkinsville and then could upend – and this is a big “could” – Bowdon in the second round and send all of bracketology into a tailspin. Metter lost in the first round last year in Lee Shaw’s first year at the helm, but before that, the Tigers enjoyed a pair of quarterfinal and semifinal berths under head coach Rodney Garvin. Metter’s junior quarterback Michael Ricks has passed for eight touchdowns and rushed for 14. Kahne Brown has 124 carries for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns. Elijah Dickerson and Jayden McDaniel combine for nine touchdown receptions for Metter.
Class A Division II first-round schedule
Top-left
No. 3 Irwin County at No. 8 Greene County
Glascock County at Early County
No. 7 Trion at Schley County
Emanuel County Institute at Telfair County
Bottom-left
Warren County at No. 5 Clinch County
Pelham at Johnson County
Taylor County at No. 2 Bowdon
Hawkinsville at No. 9 Metter
Top-right
Wheeler County at No. 10 Jenkins County
Greenville at Macon County
Miller County at Wilkinson County
Washington-Wilkes at No. 4 Brooks County
Bottom-right
McIntosh County Academy at Wilcox County
Marion County at No. 1 Manchester
Hancock Central at Mitchell County
Charlton County at No. 6 Lincoln County
