TIFTON — What was five became six Monday night when the Tiftarea Academy Panthers joined the Tift County Blue Devils, the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes, the Cook High Hornets, the Irwin County Indians and the Worth County Rams in being a part of their respective state football playoffs.

Tiftarea earned the right to be the second seed out of Region 3-AA with mini-playoff wins over Southwest Georgia and Valwood Monday night in Thomasville. (See related story.)

The Panthers will now be in Atlanta to face the Holy Spirit Prep Cougars Friday in the first round of the GISA Class AA state playoffs.

While the Panthers will be on the top of the state, the Tift County Blue Devils will be at the bottom as coach Jay Walls’ squad will travel to Kingsland to face the Region 3-AAAAA champion Camden County Wildcats. Tift will enter as the fourth seed out of Region 1-AAAAA.

The winner of that game will face the East Coweta-Stephenson contest in the second round.

Coach Robby Pruitt’s Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes will be the only team in the area that will have a home game Friday. Fitzgerald, the second seed from Region 1-AA, will face the Screven County Gamecocks, the third seed from Region 3.

The winner of that game will face the Charlton County-East Laurens winner in the second round.

In Swainsboro Friday, the Cook High Hornets, the fourth seed from Region 1-AA, will face the Tigers of Swainsboro High, the Region 3 champions. Swainsboro’s head coach is former Tift assistant coach Shane Williamson, while one of the assistants is former Tift County Blue Devil player Travis Ellington.

The winner of that contest will face the Dodge County-Pierce County winner in the second round.

Coach John Gamble’s Irwin County Indians will travel from small confines of Ocilla to the big city of Columbus Friday. The Indians, the fourth seed from Region 2-A, will face the Brookstone Cougars, the champions from Region 4-A.

The winner of that game will face the Atkinson County-Savannah Country Day victor in the second round.

Finally the Worth County Rams will take the long trip to Waynesboro to face the Burke County Bears. Worth is the fourth seed from Region 1-AAA and will take on the Bears, the Region 3-AAA champions.

The winner of that game will face the Perry-LaGrange victor in the second round.