The countdown has begun for the GHSA Flag Football Championships, which will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 11-13.

This is the fourth year the GHSA has sanctioned state championship for flag football. The sport has grown in participation and the GHSA has expanded competition from two to three classifications. There are currently 257 schools that play flag football. 

You can watch live streaming of featured flag football games on GPB.org and view previously featured games on demand by clicking here. 

There are three classifications that are based on the size of the school and are broken down by eight regions. There are 81 schools in Division 1 (Class A-4A), 91 schools in Division 2 (Class 5A-6A) and 75 schools in Division 3 (Class 7A). The regions determine the four playoff participants.

The first- and second-round games for the state playoffs will be held Dec. 5 at the home site. The third-round and semifinal games will be played on Dec. 7.

The state championships will be Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. for Division I, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. for Division 2, and Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. for Division 3. All state championship games will be carried live on GPB-TV. 

The defending champions are Southeast Bulloch (winners in 2021 and 2022) in Division 1, Lithia Springs in Division 2 and Blessed Trinity in Division 3.

MaxPreps has ranked the teams in each of the classifications.

The top 10 in Division 1 are: 1. Southeast Bulloch, 2. New Hampstead, 3. Harris County, 4. Columbus, 5. Savannah Country Day, 6. Pace Academy, 7. Calvary Day, 8. Washington County, 9. Loganville, 10. Redan.

The top 10 in Division 2 are: 1. Greenbrier, 2. McDonough, 3. Evans, 4. Lakeside Evans, 5. Trinity Christian, 6. Locust Grove, 7. Whitewater, 8. Jonesboro, 9. Mary Persons, 10. Morrow.

The top 10 in Division 3 are: 1. Blessed Trinity, 2. McEachern, 3. Pope, 4. Allatoona, 5. Sequoyah, 6. Mill Creek, 7. Milton, 8. Grayson, 9. Mountain View, 10. Central Gwinnett.