Now that the first-round niceties are over, it’s time for some serious playoff football.

It doesn’t happen often, but two teams seeded No. 4 from their region emerged to beat and eliminate the region champion. In Class 6A, Peachtree Ridge ousted Region 6 champion North Atlanta. In 5A, Houston County eliminated Region 8 champion Clarke Central.

Here are five big-time games to watch this week for the second week of the five-week state playoff run. Each of these games feature two teams that are ranked among the GPB’s top 10 teams.

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Lowndes at Buford: No. 8 Lowndes (10-1) is the No. 2 seed out of Region 1-6A. Coach Adam Carter’s team lost only to region champion Colquitt County 38-35 and defeated North Paulding 35-17 in the first round of the playoffs.

No. 2 Buford (10-1) is the Region 8 champion. Coach Bryant Appling’s club lost the season opener to Milton (last year’s Class 7A champion and ranked among the top 10 nationally) and has won 10 straight. The Wolves opened the playoffs by beat East Coweta 57-9.

Buford has won 33 region championships and 14 state championships in 82 seasons. Its 944 victories rank 15th all-time. Lowndes, which nearly always competes in the same league as Valdosta and Colquitt County, has won 14 region titles and five state championships since the program began in 1966. The two teams have never played.

This game will be broadcast live on GPB-TV as the featured Football Fridays in Georgia game.

Collins Hill at Colquitt County: No. 9 Colquitt County (9-3) will host No. 7 Collins Hill (10-1) in Moultrie. Colquitt County, the Region 1-6A champion, defeated Wheeler 48-20 in the first round. Collins Hill, the No. 2 team from Region 8, opened the playoffs with a 35-14 win over Westlake. The two teams have never played.

Douglas County at North Cobb: No. 4 Douglas County (9-2) finished second in Region 2-6A and must hit the road to play No. 5-ranked North Cobb (11-0), one of only three unbeaten teams in the state’s highest classification.  The two teams haven’t played sine 2001 when Douglas County won 24-21. The all-time series is tied 5-5.

Thomas County Central at Rome: Defending state champion Thomas County Central (10-1) finished second in Region 2-5A and must go on the road in the second round. No. 6 Rome (8-2) overcame a preseason bus accident to win its fourth straight region championship. This is a rematch of the 2023 quarterfinal game that Thomas County won 19-16.

Roswell at Hughes: No. 5 Roswell (9-2) finished second in Region 7-5A and will travel to play No. 4 Hughes (10-1), the Region 3 champion. The two teams have never played.