A look at the GHSA’s new postseason rankings after three weeks of play; Northwest one of the top schools in Class 3A

Published 5:30 pm Thursday, September 5, 2024

By Daniel Mayes
danielmayes@dailycitizen.news

Northwest Whitfield High School’s Gavin Nuckolls rushes against North Murray.

New this year to high school football is the splitting of private schools and public schools in Classes A DI, 2A and 3A into separate brackets for the state playoffs.

Because of the split, the traditional playoff qualification system was shaken up a little. Before, if a team finished in the top four in its region, it made the state playoffs.

That’s still true, and each of the four top finishers in the region will clinch a spot the playoffs, but the split means that more open playoff spots will be available to public or private schools that finish outside of the top four.

To decide which at-large teams make the postseason, and to help seed the playoff bracket as a whole, the GHSA implemented the “post season ranking formula,” shortened to PSR, which spits out a number using a formula made up of a team’s winning percentage, its opponents’ winning percentage and the winning percentage of those opponents’ opponents.

Teams are then ranked in each classification according to this number, and the higher-ranked teams will receive priority playoff qualification when filling open spots in the bracket come the end of the season.

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The rankings — along with the formula for each team ‚ can be found on the GHSA’s website all season long, but, with most teams having played two to three games so far this year, the rankings are starting to take shape.

Included below are the top-10 teams by PSR in each classification, with the ranking of each Dalton Daily Citizen coverage area school included as well. The rankings won’t mean as much for schools in Class A DII, Class 4A, Class 5A and Class 6A — those classes are still utilizing the traditional playoff system — but the formula still shows which are some of the top teams in the state in each classification.

Class 6A

1. Camden County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.85000

2. Richmond Hill — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.85000

3. North Gwinnett — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.77875

4. Collins Hill — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.76667

5. Lowndes — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.76417

6. North Cobb — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.72443

7. Mill Creek — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.71298

8. Douglas County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.70528

9. Grayson — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.69138

10. Valdosta — Record: 3-0 PSR: 0.68889

Class 5A

1. Hughes — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.86263

2. Sequoyah — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.80583

3. Milton — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.76053

4. Roswell — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.75250

5. Coffee — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.72750

6. Banneker — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.70000

7. Seckinger — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.70000

8. East Paulding — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.69750

9. Northside-Warner Robins — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.69417

10. Creekview — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.69224

Class 4A

1. Harris County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.95167

2. Blessed Trinity — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.86694

3. Jackson, Atlanta — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.82993

4. Marist — Record: 2-0 — PSR:0.82500

5. Lithonia — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.80375

6. Cambridge — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.80084

7. Cass — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.79833

8. Centennial — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.75250

9. East Forsyth — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.74583

10. Cedartown — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.72504

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46. Dalton — Record: 0-3 — PSR: 0.31666

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59. Southeast Whitfield — Record: 0-3 — PSR: 0.13667 (Southeast Whitfield is ineligible for the state playoffs because it is playing a non-region schedule)

Class 3A

1. Mary Persons — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.76250

2. Harlem — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.74625

3. Long County — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.72250

4. Cherokee Bluff — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.71917

5. Sandy Creek — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.71610

6. Westside, Augusta — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.70000

7. Jefferson — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.69081

8. Northwest Whitfield — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.68334

9. Heritage, Catoosa — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.68057

10. Troup County — Record: 1-1 — PSR: 0.67500

Class 2A

1. Hebron Christian Academy — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.82625

2. Ringgold — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.80584

3. Morgan County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.71667

4. Butler — Record: 1-0 — PSR: 0.70000

5. Westside, Macon — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.68421

6. Sumter County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.66667

7. Laney — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.65971

8. Pike County — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.65138

9. North Cobb Christian — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.64750

10. Lovett — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.64250

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19. North Murray — Record: 1-1 — PSR: 0.51750

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29. Murray County — Record: 1-2 — PSR: 0.42834

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35. Coahulla Creek — Record: 0-3 — PSR: 0.40167

Class A DI

1. Athens Academy — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.82222

2. Savannah Christian — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.81666

3. Fannin County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.77750

4. Thomasville — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.76667

5. Fellowship Christian — Record: 1-1 — PSR: 0.72506

6. Lamar County — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.71875

7. Jeff Davis — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.69829

8. Dodge County — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.69750

9. Dublin — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.68084

10. Whitefield Academy — Record: 1-1 — PSR: 0.64875

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27. Christian Heritage — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.52423

Class A DII

1. Lincoln County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.92500

2. Clinch County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.84504

3. Trion — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.83083

4. Irwin County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.80416

5. Emanuel County Institute — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.79881

6. Manchester — Record: 1-1 — PSR: 0.75000

7. Lake Oconee Academy — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.72625

8. Seminole County — Record: 3-0 — PSR: 0.71875

9. Mitchell County — Record: 2-0 — PSR: 0.67500

10. Warren County — Record: 2-1 — PSR: 0.64333

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