High school soccer playoffs are upon us in the Athens area.
Clarke Central boys claimed their third-ever region title with a win over Jefferson in Region 8-5A. Oconee County girls also claimed a region title and are en route to defending their 2023 state title crown. Both Warriors programs were the last two to earn GHSA state titles for the Athens-area with the boys’ victory back in 2019. Jefferson girls are top seeds and both Prince Avenue teams will be traveling to Tallulah Falls as No. 4 seeds in the opening round.
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The opening rounds begin Tuesday, April 16 for class A, 3A, 5A and 7A girls and Wednesday, April 17 for the same classes of boys. Thursday, April 18 will have first-round play from class 2A, 4A and 6A girls and Friday, April 19 will be for the same classes of boys.
The second round is also split this way, with the boys beginning the four-day pattern the following week on April 23.
The GHSA championships will be held on May 7-10 at three different locations across the state — classes 1A-DII and 2A will be held May 7-8 at Mercer University; classes A-DI, 3A and 6A will be held May 7-9 at McEachern High School; and classes 4A, 5A and 7A will be held May 8-10 at Duluth High School.
Complete boys and girls brackets can be found at GHSA.com.
No. 2 Jackson County vs. No. 3 Newnan — Thursday
No. 1 Jefferson vs. No. 4 Tri-Cities — Tuesday
No. 3 Clarke Central @ No. 2 Villa Rica — Tuesday
No. 2 North Oconee vs. No. 3 Luella — Thursday
No. 1 Oconee County vs. No. 4 Carver Atlanta — Tuesday
No. 2 Athens Academy vs. No. 3 Elite Scholars Academy — Thursday
No. 3 East Jackson @ No. 2 Callaway — Thursday
No. 2 Oglethorpe County vs. No. 3 Commerce — Tuesday
No. 4 Prince Avenue Christian @ No. 1 Tallulah Falls — Tuesday
No. 1 Clarke Central vs. No. 4 Lithia Springs — Wednesday
No. 2 Jefferson vs. No. 3 Chapel Hill — Wednesday
No. 4 Cedar Shoals @ No. 1 Pace Academy — Friday
No. 2 Oconee County vs. No. 3 Douglass Atlanta — Wednesday
No.1 East Jackson vs. No. 4 Elite Scholars Academy — Friday
No. 2 Oglethorpe County vs. No. 3 Rabun County — Wednesday
No. 4 Prince Avenue Christian @ No. 1 Tallulah Falls — Wednesday
Sara Tidwell covers Athens-area high school sports and University of Georgia athletics for The Athens Banner-Herald. Contact her at stidwell@gannett.com and follow her @saramtidwell on Twitter.
