R4 #3 South Atlanta (24-6) vs. R2 #1 Central-Macon (27-2)

No. 6 South Atlanta and No. 4 Central-Macon is one of four intriguing Elite Eight matchups. The Hornets hold the best in-state win in the entire state regardless of classification, stunning 1A-Private No. 1 Greenforest at the BCB MLK Classic 62-57; the Eagles only loss of the season in Georgia. South Atlanta’s depth will put Central-Macon’s talented trio to the test. Orlando Bebee, Frank Bailey, Devontae Dean and Devonta Pullins lead a deep backcourt that likes to get after opponents. Veteran Head Coach Michael Reddick has size inside with Tyler Thornton, Korbian Bell, Artavious Banks and Demonte Roberts who all contribute. The Hornets have scored wins over Johnson-Savannah 63-57 and No. 7 Callaway 79-73, both coming on the road. The March to Macon doesn’t get any easier as the Chargers bring a 20-game winning streak into Augusta. Senior point guard Derrick Evans Jr. (16 ppg, 5 rpg, 9 apg), junior shooting guard Antarius McCoy (16.7 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 apg) and junior 6-foot-11, 280-pound center Kentrevious Jones (18 ppg, 13 rpg, 4 bpg) make up a balanced inside-out attack. Central-Macon defeated Josey in the first round 77-45 behind Jones’ 13-10 double-double, McCoy’s 19 points and Evans’ 12 points and five steals. Rakwon Iverson added 17 points and can be an X-factor moving forward. The Chargers rallied past Banks County 69-67 using an Evans buzzer beater to stun the Leopards. Jones posted another double-double with 16 and 10 while McCoy poured in 24 points and 10 rebounds. Central-Macon has not lost in 2016, their last loss coming to 5A No. 10 Effingham County on 12/22.

R8 #1 Morgan County (23-4) vs. R3 #1 Laney (26-2)

Separated by an hour and a half, this Augusta based rivalry has become one of the best in the state. Check the tale of the tape dating back to last year: Laney wins 71-67 OT, Laney wins 78-62, but when it mattered most in the Final Four Morgan County rallied from down 32-24 at the half to win 68-62 behind Tookie Brown’s 32 second half points part of his game-high 37. Tookie, a 3,000-point scorer, is now leading Georgia Southern in scoring as a freshman but No. 1 Morgan County hasn’t taken much of a step back. After a head-scratching season opening loss to 12-14 Cherokee at the Battle at The Rock at Rockdale County, 57-52, the Bulldogs fell all the way out of the rankings but quickly regained its position following a win over current 4A No. 4 Lithonia, 44-41. Then the rivalry popped back up.  No. 3 Laney trailed 43-26 at the half before coming back 65-64, outscoring the Bulldogs 21-6 in the fourth. Another chapter in the red-hot rivalry. The latest installment before their Elite Eight meeting in Augusta this Thursday saw the Bulldogs hold off the visiting Wildcats 65-63 in another classic. By now both programs are familiar with each other. Coach Jamond Sims’ Bulldogs are led by Florida Atlantic signees Jailyn Ingram and Devorious Brown. 6-foot-6 senior forward Jordan Ford and freshman guard Alec Woodard, who sank a school-record 10 threes in a 33-point performance earlier in the season, round out Morgan County’s top options. Buck Harris is no longer the head man at Laney but Head Coach Shawn Parks has kept the ball rolling thanks to two tenacious Division-1 guards. Christian Keeling (Charleston Southern) and Zep Jasper (College of Charleston) are the unquestioned heart and soul of the Wildcats. Keeling averages 23.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists while Jasper goes for 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Both players ramped up their scoring by 10+ points with the graduation of JaShawn Brooks and the transfer of Colin Young to Miller Grove. Sophomore Donald Henley might be the next talented guard in line as he averages 7.5 points as a third fiddle to Keeling and Jasper.

R1 #1 Jenkins (26-4) vs. R6 #1 Calhoun (27-0)

Defending state champion No. 5 Jenkins gets its toughest test of the tournament as No. 2 Calhoun continues to chase perfection. Malik Benlevi (Georgia State) and Eric Johnson, who hit the game-winning layup with just seconds left, have both graduated. Taking their place as go-to guys are juniors Trevion Lamar and Zion Williams. Lamar might be one of the best juniors in the state that nobody is talking about, averaging 16.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.7 blocks as a 6-foot-5 forward. Williams has taken over the point guard duties after transferring from nearby Savannah High School and has filled the void to perfection. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game and hands out 3.6 assists. Michael Coffee (11.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg), Dimetri Chambers (11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Tyrone Scott (8.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg) round out a talented starting five, but the Warriors’ depth has been called into question and will be challenged by a Calhoun program that only knows winning. The Yellow Jackets are strong in the weight room and are powered by Mercer quarterback signee Kaelan Riley (15.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Wofford linebacker signee Jireh Wilson (13.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.4 apg). Chapin Rierson can be the key to how far Calhoun goes in the tournament. The 6-foot-5 junior puts up 13.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and saved his best performance for last round as he dominated Westside-Macon with 28 points and 22 rebounds in a 71-43 statement win while helping stifle five-star sophomore 6-foot-8 guard Khavon Moore who finished with just 12 points on 4-of-21 shooting and four turnovers. Riley also pounded away at the Seminoles with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Calhoun has not been challenged all year outside of Coahulla Creek losing 60-52 before pushing the Yellow Jackets into overtime while bowing out 65-58. The Jackets romped its way to a Lake City Classic SmileGeneration.com bracket championship in December at Allatoona. Coach Vince Layson will have another game-plan cooked up to try and contain Lamar and Williams in Augusta to continue dancing.

R4 #1 Cedar Grove (20-7) vs. R3 #2 Westside-Augusta (20-4)

The No. 8 Saints have crawled out of Region 4 with the No. 1 seed while flying under the radar all season long after Jacara Cross transferred to Lithonia in the offseason. Cedar Grove opened the season with a bang beating current 1A-Private No. 2 St. Francis 72-69 outscoring the Knights 25-12 in the fourth quarter. Senior Antonio Reeves pumped in a game-high 34 points to lead the Saints to the upset. He, Jaquan Acie and Makale Carter are some of Coach James Martin’s top options. Jelani Woods is 6-foot-8 inside giving Cedar Grove a big man to turn to. Damontrez Hawes will test Cedar Grove’s perimeter defense. The 6-foot-3 senior guard is leading No. 9 Westside-Augusta in scoring around 18 per game and scored 16 in their Sweet 16 79-59 destruction of No. 10 East Hall. Dekwan Lewis poured in 19 second half points to net a game-high 23. The Patriots can hang with the best, losing to No. 3 Laney three times: 69-64, 62-60 and 65-57 in the Region 3 championship. The Saints knocked out No. 6 South Atlanta 71-61 and North Clayton 60-55 in the Region 4 championship. Cedar Grove took out Dodge County 66-48 in the first round of state and defeated East Jackson 68-54 in the Sweet 16.