Class 5A Elite 8 State Duals Preview

STATE CHAMPIONS WILL BE CROWNED THIS WEEKEND!!

CLASS 5A

The Bracket- Class 5A
#17 Eastside vs #2 Cass
#12 Harris Co vs #3 Ola
#5 Woodland, Cartersville vs #8 Cambridge
#9 Locust Grove vs #1 Jefferson

Correctly picked 7 of the 8 teams in this bracket, with the exception being Woodland, who upset Greenbrier, but let's be honest, that was a pick 'em match up that could have gone either way.  Both Cass and Jefferson had much closer round of 16 matches than most people expected and with Ola rolling right now, the Cass/Jefferson super match, may not be a foregone conclusion.

Quarterfinals
Cass, Ola, and Jefferson shouldn't have any trouble dispatching their first round opponents.  The matchup between Cambridge and Woodland is intriguing, but Woodland seems to have figured some things out in their lineup after some early season struggles, and are really improving as the season has gone on.  

Semifinals
Despite their marked improvement, Woodland will not be able to match Jefferson in the semifinals of the bottom bracket.  Jefferson should advance to the finals by a healthy margin of 18-22 points.  Ola entered the season with a lot of unknowns, and that is why they were ranked so low in the preseason and early season rankings.  However, their lineup has shaped up really well, and while they do not have much experience, they do have a lot of talent, and they will be able to give Cass quite a go.  In the end, the experience of Cass and their ultra strong middle weights will take control and they will win the dual 39-29.

Consolation Rounds
Harris Co over Eastside
Locust Grove over Cambridge

Woodland, Cartersville over Harris Co
Ola over Locust Grove

3rd Place Match
Ola is clearly a top 3 team in this classification, and they will show it to everyone in this match.  The Mustangs pull away and win this one 43-27.

Finals
One of the most anticipated matchups of the year has been Jefferson vs Cass, and it shouldn't disappoint.  They have competed against each other at a few individual tournaments, with Cass finishing ahead of Jefferson at the last two, but Duals are all together a different animal.  The matchups we will see in the light weights will be nothing more than spectacular, Cass appears to have the advantage through the middle weights, and Jefferson has the advantage up top.  There are 7 weights where both teams have guys ranked in the top 5.  The winner of this dual will be the team that limits bonus points in the matches where they are not favored, and who comes out on top more often in those big head to head matches.  I'll take the Dragons 36-28

Final Standings
1. Jefferson
2. Cass
3. Ola
4. Woodland, Cartersville