The ECI Bulldogs will host one of their Region 3 counterparts Friday night when they welcome the Montgomery County Eagles to Rountree Stadium for the first round of the state playoffs. This will mark the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Bulldogs defeated the Eagles 41-13 on October 23 in Mt. Vernon, playing their third game in an eight-day stretch.
Under the traditional region playoff format used in previous years, teams would typically face opponents from another region in the first round, with the top four teams from each region advancing to the playoffs. However, the GHSA has adopted a power ranking system that determines playoff seeding across all seven classifications, making region standings less influential in determining matchups.
The new power ranking system has created some interesting situations. Not only can teams from the same region meet in the first round, but region champions can also enter the playoffs with lower power rankings than teams that finished second in their region. ECI defeated Portal two weeks ago to capture the regular-season Region 3 championship, but the Bulldogs enter the playoffs as the No. 11 seed, while the Panthers hold the No. 10 seed.
The Bulldogs played the third-toughest schedule in Class A this season, largely due to their challenging non-region schedule during the first six games. Strength of schedule is one factor considered in the power ranking system, but it wasn't enough to move ECI ahead of Portal, which finished with two more wins after playing a more favorable non-region schedule.
Friday night, the Bulldogs will welcome Montgomery County, which finished as the No. 22 seed. ECI enters the playoffs with a 6-4 record, while the Eagles bring a 5-5 record to Rountree Stadium. Montgomery County opened the season strong, winning four of its first five games, but struggled once region play began, finishing 1-4 over its final five contests.
All five Region 3 teams will be in action Friday night in the opening round of the state playoffs. In addition to the ECI-Montgomery County matchup, No. 19 Jenkins County travels to No. 14 Warren County, No. 27 Claxton visits Washington-Wilkes, No. 10 Portal hosts Glascock County, and No. 18 McIntosh County travels south to face No. 15 Clinch County.
Kickoff for the Bulldogs and Eagles is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Rountree Stadium as ECI begins its quest for a state playoff run.
