Cheerleading Championship Preview

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CHEERLEADING CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

Today, we preview this weekend's Cheerleading State Championships in Columbus. Also, Craig Sager II breaks down Class AAAA's playoff field and the first round playoff pairings are listed below. To access all the playoff brackets CLICK HERE . Please visit ScoreATL.com for more coverage and contact us at info@scoreatl.com for story ideas and information to help us make this year's newsletter great.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

CHEERLEADING CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

• • •

CLASS AAAA SPOTLIGHT

• • •

FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

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SCORE TRIVIA

TODAY'S QUESTION

What school has won the most cheerleading state championships in its history?

TUESDAY'S QUESTION

How many top-ranked teams in the pre-playoff poll were also No. 1 in the preseason poll?

TUESDAY'S ANSWER

1: Cartersville (Class AAAA)

CHEERLEADING CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

By Craig Sager II

The 2019-20 GHSA Cheerleading State Championships return to the Columbus Civic Center for two days of electrifying routines and competition. The first day of action will see squads from each classification (AA-AAAAAAA) compete to secure a place in Saturday’s finals. Day 1 will also crown the champs of Class A-Public, Class A-Private and the high-flying COED Competition.

Class A-Public has seen Gordon Lee win the last three state crowns, and the Trojans are making their return to Columbus to compete against Commerce, Lake Oconee Academy, Irwin County, Bowdon, Baconton Charter, Ace Charter and Lincoln County on Friday for this year’s title.

When Class A split for the first time seven years ago, Mt. Paran began its current championship run and the Eagles enter the weekend having taken the Class A-Private championship every year since. The Eagles headline a field of finalists this year that includes Savannah Christian, Brookstone, Hebron Christian, First Presbyterian Day, George Walton Academy, Calvary Day and Pinecrest Academy.

Mill Creek won its first-ever CO-ED state title last year and recently placed second at the CO-ED Sectionals behind North Gwinnett. Milton, Chapel Hill and Forsyth Central also had top 5 finishes and will be among the 16 teams contending for this year’s CO-ED title.

SATURDAY’S SPOTLIGHT

In Class AAAAAAA, East Coweta, North Paulding, Woodstock, South Forsyth, Discovery, Brookwood, Archer and Lowndes are booked for the finals on Saturday after placing first in their respective regions this past weekend. Defending state champion Lambert placed second in Region 5-AAAAAAA behind South Forsyth and therefore will be one of the 16 squads that will take the stage on Friday in hopes of qualifying for Saturday’s finals.

Northgate earned the top seed out of Region 5-AAAAAA over the weekend and will aim for its fifth-straight Class AAAAAA title this Saturday. The Vikings previously won 5-straight titles in 2007-11 and another title would give the program its tenth all-time title. Northgate is already joined in the finals by top seeds Houston County (Region 1), Richmond Hill (Region 2), Lakeside-Evans (Region 3), M.L. King (Region 4), Creekview (Region 6), Pope (Region 7) and Region 8 champion Lanier.

Two-time defending Class AAAAA champion Carrollton (Region 7) secured one of the classification’s seven spots in Saturday’s finals with Warner Robins (Region 1) South Effingham (Region 2), McIntosh (Region 3), Ola (Region 4), Lithia Springs (Region 6) and Loganville. On Friday, a field of 23 Class AAAAA teams will compete for one of the 9 spots that are still available for Saturday’s finals.

Defending Class AAAA state champion Cartersville won its fourth all-time state title and first since 2014 this past year. Class AAAA is the only classification that has seen three different champions (Chapel Hill 2017, Cedartown 2016) the last three seasons. The Canes earned a spot in this year’s finals with a first-place finish over Cedartown, Central-Carroll, Troup and LaGrange in Region 5-AAAA. Mary Persons, Eastside, Heritage-Catoosa, St. Pius, Columbus and second-year program Denmark have also secured finals spots, leaving nine open for Friday’s 23 squads to contend over.

Region 2-AAA champion Pierce County will appear in Saturday’s finals searching for its fifth straight title and seventh state crown in the last eight years. In addition to the Bears, Class AAA’s Saturday field already includes finalists Southeast Bulloch, Pace Academy, Adairsville, Dawson County, Jefferson and Crisp County.

Armuchee is returning to the finals after winning Region 7-AA and will look for its third-straight state title and fourth in the last six years. 2016 state champion Vidalia has also already qualified for Saturday after placing first out of Region 2-AA ahead of Pepperell, Model, Coosa, Chattooga, Dade County and Rockmart.

CLASS AAAA SPOTLIGHT

By Craig Sager II

R8#3 St. Pius at R6#2 Heritage-Catoosa

This will be the first-ever meeting between the programs. Heritage-Catoosa is making its fourth-straight playoff appearance and at 8-2, the Patriots are one win away from matching the school-record 9-2 record they achieved in 2017. St. Pius comes into this matchup with 2-straight victories and a 5-5 overall record. The Golden Lions have been outscored a combined 165-31, however, in their five losses (26.8 ppg) and have not been able to keep pace with the classification’s top tier this season.

R2#4 Upson-Lee at R4#1 Woodward Academy

Woodward Academy is taking a perfect 10-0 record into this year’s playoffs and a whopping 31-point average margin of victory along the way. The War Eagles are 2-1 all-time against Upson-Lee, including their 42-0 win over the Knights’ in the opening round of the 2016 state playoffs. Woodward Academy has advanced past the first round in each of the last six years. Upson-Lee has not made it to the second round since 2005.

R1#3 Hardaway at R3#2 Thomson

Hardaway overcame a 1-3 start in Region 1-AAAA by stringing together a 4-game winning streak to close out the season and earn the No. 3 seed out. The Hawks have a talented defense that limited Westover to just 3 points in last week’s must-win season finale. Thomson fell 37-21 in a disappointing loss to rival Burke County to earn this year’s No. 2 seed in Region 3-AAAA. The Bulldogs have made it past the first round in each of the last four postseasons. This will be the first-ever meeting between the programs.

R7#4 Flowery Branch at R5#1 Cartersville

Flowery Branch opened the year 6-0, but dropped three of its final four games and now must visit No. 1 ranked Cartersville in the first round. The Falcons took two-time defending state champion Blessed Trinity to overtime, but fell 20-17. Marist scored a 27-0 win the following week and then Flowery Branch dropped its finale 34-14 to Denmark to give them the No. 4 seed out of Region 7-AAAA. While, Flowery Branch is probably the most talented No. 4 seed in this year’s bracket, Cartersville has earned its status as the classification’s No. 1 ranked team and will be heavily favorited. Led by first-year head coach Conor Foster, Cartersville is taking a perfect record into the playoffs for the fifth-straight year and the seventh time in its last eight seasons. This is the first-ever meeting between the programs.

R6#3 Pickens at R8#2 North Oconee

Pickens is making its sixth-straight playoff appearance and first under its first-year head coach Jeff Nelson. The Dragons took a 10-0 record into last year’s playoffs and a 42-0 win over White County gave them the first playoff win in program history. Troup ended their 11-1 season in the second round with a 53-14 win. As for North Oconee, the Titans are coming off a bye after seeing their perfect regular season spoiled in a disappointing 35-7 loss to Oconee County the previous week. North Oconee is one win away from achieving its third double-digit wins season in program history. This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

R4#4 Luella at R2#1 West Laurens

West Laurens’ only loss this season was a 31-30 defeat to Class AAAAA’s South Effingham and the Raiders’ have since won six straight. Last year, West Laurens failed to make the playoffs, but this year they captured the Region 2-AAAA title and obliterated the competition along the way. In their five region games, West Laurens outscored its opponents 210-22 (37.6 ppg). West Laurens faced Luella for the first time in its history in the opening round of the 2016 playoffs and scored a 35-14 win.

R3#3 Baldwin at R1#2 Cairo

Cairo’s 52-46 loss to Carver-Columbus ultimately determined the Syrupmakers’ runner-up finish in Region 1-AAAA and their only other loss this season came in a 14-10 battle with defending Class AAAAA state champion Bainbridge on Aug. 30. Cairo followed its loss to the Tigers with a 39-19 win over Americus-Sumter, a 31-0 win over Shaw and a 41-0 win over Dougherty last Friday. Baldwin finished in a three-way tie with Thomson and Burke County in Region 3-AAAA, but the point differential used to break the tie led to the Braves’ No. 3 seed. Baldwin has taken on Cairo twice in its history; the Braves were defeated 43-2 in the opening round of the 2016 playoffs and 9-7 in the second round of the 2009 postseason.

R5#4 Troup at R7#1 Blessed Trinity

The two-time defending champion Titans got a tough first-round draw with fourth-seeded Troup. Blessed Trinity brings a 9-1 record into the matchup that includes a clutch 6-0 finish in Region 7-AAAA. This year’s team lacked experience compared to the last two seasons, but the Titans’ same formula of great defense and disciplined football have allowed them to maintain their consistency and prowess despite the turnover. Troup on the other hand has struggled with consistency this season and their three region losses (44-7 Sandy Creek, 15-8 Cedartown, 45-335 Cartersville) led them to the No. 4 seed out of Region 5. These teams met for the first time in their history last year in the semifinals and Blessed Trinity scored a 51-35 victory.

R4#3 Hampton at R2#2 Perry

Perry is going to be trying to earn its first playoff victory since the 2007 season on Friday as it hosts Hampton. The Panthers snapped an 8-game losing streak to Mary Persons and defeated the Bulldogs 21-17 to earn the No. 2 seed behind West Laurens in Region 2-AAAA this year. Hampton has only been around as a school since 2014 and this will be the Hornets’ first-ever playoff appearance. Hampton’s 5-5 finish in the regular season is the highest win total in the program’s history.

R6#4 NW Whitfield at R8#1 Oconee County

Northwest Whitfield defeated Region 6-AAAA champion Ridgeland 27-16, but losses to Pickens (35-10) and Heritage-Catoosa (30-22) this past week ultimately led to the Bruins’ taking a No. 4 seed into this year’s playoffs. Northwest Whitfield will be paired up with Region 8-AAAA champion Oconee County, which has won eight straight games and swept its four region opponents with a 24.5 average margin of victory. The two teams met for the first time in the opening round of the 2016 state playoffs and Northwest Whitfield scored a 30-21 win—starting a streak of four-straight Oconee County seasons that have ended in the first round heading into this matchup.

R5#3 Cedartown at R7#2 Marist

Marist had its perfect regular season spoiled in a 33-30 loss to rival Blessed Trinity two weeks ago, but the War Eagles are still one of the strongest contenders to take this year’s title. Their 9-1 regular season included four shutouts. Cedartown nearly earned a No. 2 seed out of Region 5-AAAA, but its 34-30 loss to Sandy Creek led to them finishing behind the Patriots and No. 1 seed Cartersville. The Bulldogs held Troup to just eight points in a 15-8 victory and are coming off a 29-7 win over Chapel Hill in their regular season finale. Marist won the last meeting 31-18 in the second round of the 2017 state playoffs and holds a 6-4 all-time record in the series.

R3#4 Richmond Academy at R1#1 Carver-Columbus

Carver-Columbus is led by the classification’s top rusher this season, Khiari McCoy, and is also home to the classification’s highest-scoring offense at 42.9 ppg (tied with Sandy Creek). Richmond Academy has scored just 11 ppg this year and keeping pace is going to be a challenge for the Musketeers in their first-ever meeting with Carver-Columbus.

R2#3 Mary Persons at R4#2 Eastside

Both teams were undefeated when last year’s playoffs started, but they have had their ups and downs this year. Eastside opened up this season with a disappointing 0-2 start, but has won seven of its last eight games. Mary Persons suffered a 52-7 loss to West Laurens and a 21-17 loss to Perry in Region 2-AAAA and earned the No. 3 seed. The loss to West Laurens was the program’s worst defeat since its 1961 season. This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

R8#4 Madison County at R6#1 Ridgeland

Ridgeland bounced back from a 1-4 start with five-straight wins and a Region 6-AAAA title. The Panthers have reached the playoffs each of the last five seasons and have advanced past the first round in each of their last three appearances. This is just Madison County’s second playoff appearance since 2007 and the program has never reached the second round in its history. This year’s Red Raiders’ played St. Pius incredibly close in a 14-7 loss and have been battle tested after playing teams like Hart County, Commerce and region opponents Oconee County and North Oconee.

R7#3 Denmark at R5#2 Sandy Creek

Denmark closed out its regular season with an emphatic 34-14 win over Flowery Branch and is in the playoffs for the first time in its young two-year history. The Danes were not given any favors with the pairings, and will now have to travel to Sandy Creek to make their playoff debut. Sandy Creek’s only loss this season came in a 52-42 battle at Cartersville. The Patriots have an explosive offense that tied with Carver-Columbus at a classification-high 42.9 ppg during the regular season. On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots give up 15.4 ppg. Demark’s offense put up 38.2 ppg during the regular season and its defense allowed just 12.9 ppg.

R1#4 Americus-Sumter at R3#1 Burke County

Americus-Sumter suffered three close losses in Region 1-AAAA to earn the No. 4 seed, but the Panthers are going to be a challenging matchup for top seed Burke County. The Bears have reached the second round of the playoffs in each of its last three appearances and have reached the quarterfinals or better on five occasions since 2010. Americus-Sumter is led by first-year head coach Ross Couch, who took over for Larry Harold after last year’s 3-7 finish kept them out of the playoffs. This is the first-ever meeting between the schools.

FOOTBALL FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE BRACKETS

Class AAAAAAA

R8#3 Newton at R6#2 Mill Creek

R2#4 Wheeler at R4#1 Roswell

R1#3 Camden County at R3#2 Marietta

R7#4 Central Gwinnett at R5#1 Milton

R6#3 Collins Hill at R8#2 Archer

R4#4 Cherokee at R2#1 Westlake

R3#3 North Cobb at R1#2 Colquitt County

R5#4 West Forsyth at R7#1 Parkview

R4#3 Etowah at R2#2 East Coweta

R6#4 Mountain View at R8#1 Grayson

R5#3 South Forsyth at R7#2 Norcross

R3#4 Hillgrove at R1#1 Lowndes

R2#3 Newnan at R4#2 Walton

R8#4 Shiloh at R6#1 North Gwinnett

R7#3 Brookwood at R5#2 North Forsyth

At Large North Paulding at R3#1 McEachern

Class AAAAAA

R8#3 Gainesville at R6#2 Allatoona

R2#4 Bradwell Inst. at R4#1 Stephenson

R1#3 Coffee at R3#2 Heritage-Conyers

R7#4 Northview at R5#1 Mays

R6#3 Sprayberry at R8#2 Lanier

R4#4 M.L. King at R2#1 Richmond Hill

R3#3 Lakeside-Evans at R1#2 Valdosta

R5#4 Alexander at R7#1 Johns Creek

R4#3 Tucker at R2#2 Glynn Academy

R6#4 Dalton at R8#1 Dacula

R5#3 Creekside at R7#2 Alpharetta

R3#4 Greenbrier at R1#1 Lee County

R2#3 Brunswick at R4#2 Morrow

R8#4 Winder-Barrow at R6#1 Harrison

R7#3 North Atlanta at R5#2 South Paulding

R1#4 Houston County at R3#1 Evans

Class AAAAA

R8#3 Cedar Shoals at R6#2 Carver-Atlanta

R2#4 South Effingham at R4#1 Jones County

R1#3 Bainbridge at R3#2 Griffin

R7#4 Hiram at R5#1 Southwest DeKalb

R6#3 Decatur at R8#2 Buford

R4#4 Ola at R2#1 Ware County

R3#3 Riverdale at R1#2 Veterans

R5#4 Arabia Mountain at R7#1 Carrollton

R4#3 Stockbridge at R2#2 Wayne County

R6#4 at R8#1 Clarke Central

R5#3 Lithonia at R7#2 Rome

R3#4 Jonesboro at R1#1 Warner Robins

R2#3 Statesboro at R4#2 Dutchtown

R8#4 Loganville at R6#1 Riverwood

R7#3 Kell at R5#2 Columbia

R1#4 Harris County at R3#1 Starr’s Mill

Class AAAA

R8#3 St. Pius at R6#2 Heritage-Catoosa

R2#4 Upson-Lee at R4#1 Woodward Academy

R1#3 Hardaway at R3#2 Thomson

R7#4 Flowery Branch at R5#1 Cartersville

R6#3 Pickens at R8#2 North Oconee

R4#4 Luella at R2#1 West Laurens

R3#3 Baldwin at R1#2 Cairo

R5#4 Troup at R7#1 Blessed Trinity

R4#3 Hampton at R2#2 Perry

R6#4 NW Whitfield at R8#1 Oconee County

R5#3 Cedartown at R7#2 Marist

R3#4 Richmond Academy at R1#1 Carver-Columbus

R2#3 Mary Persons at R4#2 Eastside

R8#4 Madison County at R6#1 Ridgeland

R7#3 Denmark at R5#2 Sandy Creek

R1#4 Americus-Sumter at R3#1 Burke County

Class AAA

R8#3 Morgan County at R6#2 Calhoun

R2#4 Brantley County at R4#1 Peach County

R1#3 Monroe at R3#2 Benedictine

R7#4 Fannin County at R5#1 Cedar Grove

R6#3 Haralson County at R8#2 Hart County

R4#4 Central Macon at R2#1 Pierce County

R3#3 Beach at R1#2 Cook

R5#4 Pace Academy at R7#1 Greater Atlanta Christian

R4#3 Westside Macon at R2#2 Appling County

R6#4 Sonoraville at R8#1 Jefferson

R5#3 Lovett at R7#2 North Hall

R3#4 at R1#1 Crisp County

R2#3 Liberty County at R4#2 Jackson

R8#4 Monroe Area at R6#1 North Murray

R7#3 Dawson County at R5#2 Westminster

At Large Adairsville at R3#1 Jenkins

Class AA

R8#3 Elbert County at R6#2 Douglass

R2#4 Vidalia at R4#1 Jefferson County

R1#3 Fitzgerald at R3#2 Bleckley County

R7#4 Chattooga at R5#1 Callaway

R6#3 South Atlanta at R8#2 Union County

R4#4 Screven County at R2#1 Metter

R3#3 Washington County at R1#2 Brooks County

R5#4 Temple at R7#1 Rockmart

R4#3 Hephzibah at R2#2 Toombs County

R6#4 B.E.S.T. Academy at R8#1 Rabun County

R5#3 Heard County at R7#2 Pepperell

R3#4 Dodge County at R1#1 Thomasville

R2#3 Swainsboro at R4#2 Harlem

R8#4 Putnam County at R6#1 Hapeville Charter

R7#3 Model at R5#2 Bremen

R1#4 Early County at R3#1 Dublin

Class A-Public

#24 Taylor County at #9 Manchester

#8 Johnson County BYE

#17 Chattahoochee County at #16 Washington-Wilkes

#1 Irwin County BYE

#21 Warren County at #12 Terrell County

#5 Bowdon BYE

#20 Emanuel County Institute at #13 McIntosh County Academy

#4 Clinch County BYE

#23 Trion at #10 Commerce

#7 Lincoln County BYE

#18 Schley County at #15 Claxton

#2 Marion County BYE

#22 Seminole County at #11 Wilcox County

#6 Pelham BYE

#19 Macon County at #14 Turner County

#3 Mitchell County BYE

Class A-Private

#24 First Presbyterian Day at #9 Wesleyan

#8 Christian Heritage BYE

#17 Calvary Day at #16 Savannah Christian

#1 Savannah Country Day BYE

#21 Mount Vernon at #12 Hebron Christian

#5 Mt. de Sales BYE

#20 George Walton at #13 North Cobb Christian

#4 Fellowship Christian BYE

#23 Mt. Paran at #10 Aquinas

#7 Darlington BYE

#18 St. Francis at #15 Trinity Christian

#2 Holy Innocents' BYE

#22 Stratford Academy at #11 Prince Avenue Christian

#6 Eagle's Landing Christian BYE

#19 Brookstone at #14 Whitfield Academy

#3 Athens Academy BYE

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