Northeast Georgia football made a statement in the opening round of the state playoffs Friday, as three of the four teams from Region 8-AAA, including Gainesville and White County, advanced to the second round.

Flowery Branch also proved its worth, rolling to a 28-6 win over Southwest DeKalb in its first playoff game as a Class AAAA school. The road doesn’t get easier for the Falcons (10-1), who travel to take on Kell (11-0) in the second round. The Longhorns won Region 5-AAAA and entered the playoffs ranked No. 4 in the state.

“We’re living another week,” Falcons coach Lee Shaw said after his opening-round win. “We’re alive to play another week, so we’ll go back to work and prepare for Kell.”

The playoff competition also gets tougher for the Region 8-AAA teams, which now play teams from a strong Region 5-AAA that went 4-0 in the opening round.

Top-seeded Gainesville (10-1) gets the easiest of the four teams, as the Red Elephants play host to Cedar Grove, which beat Cartersville 30-24 in the first round. That was the sixth game this year that Cedar Grove has scored 30 points or more, and it’ll need that type of scoring output if it hopes to keep pace with Gainesville.

“We’re just looking at one game only,” Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said after his team defeated Haralson County in the first round. “I won’t even enjoy this win for 24 hours.”

After escaping the first round with a 28-20 win over LaGrange, the Warriors (9-2) have the daunting task of playing a Grady team that finished first in Region 5-AAA and beat Gilmer 48-0 in the first round.

Despite limping around the field during Friday’s win, White County sophomore quarterback Cole Segraves will play Friday.

“I don’t think it’s anything that will keep him out,” White County coach Tommy Flowers said. “It’s just a little calf issue.”

One team with little concerns entering the second round is Buford, which dismantled Hart County 52-22 in the first round.

The Wolves (10-1) rushed for 315 yards in the win, making it the second straight game they’ve accomplished that feat. Eric Barr leads the Wolves in the last two games with 177 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries.

Buford’s next opponent is Callaway (8-3), which beat Rockmart 30-8 in the opening round.

NOT A GOOD DAY TO BE NO. 1: Although Gainesville and Region 8-AAAA champion Clarke Central cruised to the second round, not all was well in the land of the top seeds on Friday night.

In the five classifications, seven No. 1 seeds lost to No. 4 seeds, including Class AAAA’s Northside-Warner Robins, which lost to Whitewater. The Eagles, a year removed from playing for the Class AAAAA title, entered the game undefeated and lost their first opening-round game since 1996.

Lovejoy was the other AAAA No. 1 seed to lose, as the Wildcats lost 7-6 to Glynn Academy.

Other No. 1 seeds to go down were: Class A’s Mitchell County, which lost to Savannah Christian Prep; Class AA’s Swainsboro and Elbert County; Class AAA’s Ridgeland, which lost to Woodward Academy; and Class AAAAA’s Etowah, which lost to Mill Creek.