The football programs at Douglas County and New Manchester have seen significant milestones in 2025 as they prepare to host state playoff games on Friday.
For the Class AAAAAA No. 7-ranked Tigers, this marks their sixth consecutive season in the state playoffs, the longest stretch of state playoff appearances in school and county history.
New Manchester's eight wins tie the record set last year for most wins in a season. The Jaguars' win over Lithia Springs to end the regular season also gave head coach Olten Downs his 75th career victory, adding another achievement to a program that was named the Fox 5 Atlanta Team of the Week last month and has steadily built momentum in recent years.
Both programs finished as the No. 2 seeds from their respective regions. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. kickoffs on Friday.
The 7-3 Tigers (No. 2, Region 2-AAAAAA) will host 6-4 Lambert (No. 3, Region 6-AAAAAA) in Friday's first round. This is the first time the two teams have played.
Douglas County has won its first-round game the past two seasons and is projected by Maxwell Ratings to win by 32.
New Manchester (No. 2, Region 5-AAAAA) is 8-1 and will host 8-2 Newnan (No. 3, Region 3-AAAAA).
New Manchester beat Newnan 25-13 when the teams last played two years ago.
The Jaguars have averaged nearly 37 points per game this season and are projected to win by 2 points, according to Maxwell Ratings.