High school football playoffs tonight

Tonight marks the 3rd of 5 weekends of high school football playoff action across the state, as play enters the ‘quarterfinal round.’ 40 teams now remain in the field with hopes of winning one of 5 Class Championships in Georgia. Tonight’s schedule includes action from Baldwin in extreme northeast Georgia, to Kingsland along the coast, to the extreme southwest corner of the state in Colquitt. GPB Sports has been there all season long for high school football fans broadcasting “webcast” Games-of-the-week. That continues tonight with the North Gwinnett at Newnan matchup in west Georgia. Log on to gpb.org/football at 7:30 for complete coverage.

Final: GHSA State Football 5A Championship

North Gwinnett 6 Lowndes 34

Lowndes defeated North Gwinnett 34-6 on Saturday night in Valdosta to win the Class 5A state football championship. Lowndes is 5-0 all-time in title games.

For the Vikings of Lowndes, along with leaning on their stifling defense, it was riding the backs of their running game with the efforts of Greg Reid and Darriet Perry. Reid rushed for 184 yards on the night, including a 91-yard touchdown romp early in the 1st quarter. He later added a 15-yard TD run. Perry ran for 100 yards, and touchdown scores of 3 and 22 yards.

Lowndes finished the season with a 14-1 record. The Bulldogs of North Gwinnett wrapped their campaign going 13-2.