GHSA football playoffs: Woodward Academy, Centennial stun Top 10 teams in first round

The opening round of the Georgia High School Association football playoffs went mostly according to script Friday night, with ranked teams posting a 66-2 record and Maxwell Ratings favorites going 99-11. The exceptions provided the night's biggest stories, as Woodward Academy and Centennial knocked off Top 10 opponents, Archer and North Murray beat top-10 seeds, and Hephzibah and Treutlen won the first state playoff games in their schools' histories.

In Class 6A, Woodward Academy defeated No. 10 Hughes 24-21 at Hughes' Panther Stadium, avenging a 28-7 loss on the same field on Oct. 16. Woodward (7-4), the No. 23 seed, was a 28-point underdog according to the Maxwell Ratings, making it the biggest upset of the night by that measure. Hughes (8-3), the No. 10 seed, will miss the second round for the first time since 2019.

Centennial delivered the other Top 10 upset, defeating No. 10 Mays 17-10 in Class 5A. Centennial, the No. 25 seed, went 6-4 in the regular season and was an 18-point underdog against eighth-seeded Mays, which finished 9-2.

In Class 7A, unranked Archer, the No. 25 seed, defeated eighth-seeded North Cobb 24-17 as a 16-point underdog. North Murray produced a similar result in Class 3A, where the unranked No. 27 seed beat No. 6 seed Ringgold 34-23 as a 17-point underdog.

The night also belonged to two programs making history. Hephzibah and Treutlen each won a state playoff game for the first time. Treutlen, the No. 17 seed in Class A, defeated No. 16 seed Wheeler County 35-6 despite entering as a 4-point underdog.

Several other Maxwell Ratings underdogs advanced. Richmond Hill beat North Paulding 20-16 in Class 7A as a 10-point underdog, ACE Charter edged Jasper County 14-10 in Class 2A as a 9-point underdog, Kell defeated Houston County 37-17 in Class 6A as an 8-point underdog, Pepperell beat Putnam County 30-21 in Class 2A, and Lamar County slipped past Worth County 22-19 in Class 3A as a 1-point underdog.

In the Class 4A-2A private bracket, No. 21 seed Savannah Christian defeated No. 12 seed Providence Christian 38-28 as a 7-point underdog.

Other lower seeds moving on included No. 17 East Coweta, which beat No. 16 Denmark 44-13 in Class 7A; No. 17 Roswell, which beat No. 16 Effingham County 38-27 in Class 6A; No. 20 Newnan, which beat No. 13 Habersham Central 37-7 in Class 6A; No. 22 New Manchester, which beat No. 11 Heritage of Conyers 42-36 in Class 6A; and No. 17 Lithonia, which beat No. 16 Jones County 34-24 in Class 5A.

In Class 2A, No. 17 Cook beat No. 16 Fannin County 28-21 and No. 18 Dodge County beat No. 15 Berrien 41-22, while the private bracket saw No. 17 Darlington edge No. 16 Mt. Bethel Christian 42-38 and No. 18 Hebron Christian defeat No. 15 Eagle's Landing Christian 30-16.

Class 4A did not take the field Friday. The first round resumes Saturday with the final 13 first-round games, all in that classification.