The McIntosh Chiefs’ perfect season continues, and now you can add a region championship.
Topping the season high for points in a game reached only two nights earlier, the team rode a second-half offensive explosion and recorded a 98-79 victory over host team Drew in the boys’ championship game of the Region 4-AAAAA tournament Saturday night.
The Chiefs, after a first-round bye, won on three nights to take crown, having beaten Forest Park 96-81 Thursday and Mundy’s Mill 76-66 Friday to reach the final.
With the state tournament starting up this week, the Chiefs are looking at the possibility of not having to play on an opponent’s home court again this season. They are assured of home games in the first and second rounds, and should they reach the quarterfinals there is a decent chance that would be in Peachtree City as well. The state semifinals and finals will be at a neutral site.
Both varsity teams from McIntosh are making their way to the state tournament. The Lady Chiefs dropped their semifinal game 41-11 to Forest Park and their third-place game 48-42 to Dutchtown, placing them fourth.
The Region 5-AAAA tournament saw Fayette County and Sandy Creek square off in Saturday’s third-place game after the Tigers lost 73-56 to Carrollton and the Patriots fell 50-46 in overtime to Woodward in Friday’s semifinals.
Sandy Creek won Saturday’s game 81-60 to capture the region’s third seed, with Fayette County going to state as the fourth.
Fayette County’s Lady Tigers lost 63-46 to host school Carrollton in Saturday’s championship game, giving them the second seed. The Whitewater Lady Wildcats are seeded fourth after Saturday’s 67-46 loss to Woodward in the third-place game.
The Region 5-A tournament wound up with Landmark’s boys finishing second after a 93-90 overtime win over SW Atlanta Christian and a 78-55 loss to Greenforest in the championship game.
Our Lady of Mercy’s boys fell 103-52 to Greenforest in the semifinal round, and the girls dropped an 81-19 semifinal decision to SW Atlanta Christian.
Now that the region tournaments are out of the way, here is how the first week of state is shaping up:
At the top seed from their region, the Chiefs don’t have to get on a bus at all this week. They open at home against Camden County, and if they pick up win No. 29 that night they have another home game Saturday against either the third seed from Region 5-AAAAA or the second seed from Region 6-AAAAA.
The Lady Chiefs open the state tournament Tuesday on the road against Brunswick. A win would give them a Friday night road game against either the second seed from Region 5-AAAAA or the third seed from Region 6-AAAAA.
The Lady Wildcats have a road game Tuesday at Marist. With a win they would play Friday at Griffin or Thomson.
The Lady Tigers get a home game in the first round of state, facing Arabia Mountain Tuesday. Their second-round opponent would be either Burke County (on the road) or Henry County (at home).
Sandy Creek’s boys open state tournament play Wednesday at St. Pius, with possible second-round action Saturday at Jonesboro or at home against Thomson.
Fayette County’s first-round game is at Lithonia, and the next round would be on the road against New Hampstead or Mt. Zion-Jonesboro.
The A Private bracket of 16 teams will be seeded later this week, at which time Landmark and Our Lady of Mercy will know their first-round fates. That tournament begins Friday and Saturday, coinciding with second-round play in the other classifications. Any team seeded among the top eight will open with a home game.
The round of eight will be played Feb. 24 (girls) and 25 (boys) with the higher-seeded team hosting. If any team faces an equally-seeded opponent at that point, a coin flip will determine the site.
All state semifinal games are Saturday, Feb. 28. The sites are Ft. Valley State (AAAAA), the University of West Georgia (AAAA) and Kennesaw State (A Private).
All championship games are at the Macon Centreplex. The AAAA finals are Mar. 5, the AAAAA finals are Mar. 6, and the A Private finals are Mar. 7.
