Georgia Football Class A-D2 State Championship Preview: Bowden vs. Manchester

When: Monday, December 11, 2023 - 7:00 p.m.

Where: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

The Match-up:

New blood vs old blood.

This year’s Class A D-2 state championship game will feature a matchup between last year’s champion Bowdon, and Manchester, who will play for their first state championship since 1997.

It’s also a rematch of a game earlier this year. Manchester beat Bowdon 21-20 in their very first game of the season.

It took an epic 35-31 win over Schley County, a rematch of last year’s state title game, to get Bowdon into the state finals for a second straight year. Schley County entered the matchup as the No. 1 team in Class A D-2.

Manchester, who has been thought of by many as the second-best team in Class A D-2 behind Schley County, dominated Telfair County 35-13 on Friday night to reach the finals. They beat fourth-ranked Clinch County on the road in the quarterfinals 21-17.

Based on common opponents, Bowdon appears to be the favorite heading into the matchup. Manchester lost to Schley County in the regular season 27-7, which forced them to make their run to a state title game as a No. 2 seed.

Their 1-point loss to Manchester came way back in August and it’s never an easy task to beat a team twice in one season. This has the makings to be a very entertaining game in the Dec. 11 nightcap inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Our Prediction:

Bowdon 24, Manchester 21