Georgia’s highest-ranked teams will go head-to-head in semifinals
Georgia’s four hottest football teams, each ranked in the top 25 nationally, will go head-to head in two games tonight when the playoffs resume with 16 semifinals.
Carrollton, the consensus No. 7 team from nine national polls, is playing at No. 9 Buford in Class 6A, while No. 25 Lee County is playing at No. 4 Milton.
Buford and Milton each had nine major Division I signees this week. Carrollton and Lee County have several of their own, including AJC Super 11 picks Julian Lewis, who signed Wednesday with Colorado, and Ousmane Kromah, who signed with Florida State, backing off a commitment to Georgia.
Lewis’ status this week is uncertain, though, as the Carrollton quarterback suffered a throwing hand injury in the quarterfinals and did not play the second half.
Both games will be televised. GPB has the Carrollton-Buford game while Peachtree TV has Milton vs. Lee County.
Here’s more worth knowing about the semifinals.
*Teams to beat: Six of the eight No. 1 teams are alive. They are Carrollton (Class 6A), Milton (5A), Marist (4A), Carver-Columbus (2A), Toombs County (A Division I) and Manchester (A Division II). Peach County (3A) and Savannah Christian (3A-A private) bowed out last week. Milton and Prince Avenue were 2023 champions, as were No. 7 Coffee of Class 5A and No. 2 Bowdon of A Division II.
*Best matchups: Aside from Carrollton-Buford and Milton-Lee County, a third semifinal matches a classification’s two highest-ranked teams. That would be No. 1 Toombs County at No. 2 Dublin in Class A Division I. The computer Maxwell Ratings put the game as a pure tossup. Other Maxwell tossups are Creekside vs. Marist in Class 4A and Burke County vs. Rockmart in 2A. Buford is a one-point pick over Carrollton, and Milton is a two-point favorite over Lee.
*Newcomers: Playing in their first semifinals will be Hebron Christian, North Cobb Christian, Northeast and Toombs County. Northeast is the first Macon public school to reach the semis since 2003 and first to play one at home since 1975. The Raiders are playing Fitzgerald in Class A Division I.
*Seeking history: The four newcomers, plus Appling County, North Oconee and Stephenson, have never reached the championship round.
*Regulars: Buford and Carrollton are playing in their 26th semifinals. Marist is playing in its 24th. Fitzgerald and Prince Avenue Christian are playing in their fifth straight.
*Underdogs: LaGrange is the only unranked team in the semifinals, though the Grangers were No. 3 in preseason and beat No. 1 Sandy Creek in the Class 3A second round. Stephenson, ranked No. 8, is the only semifinalist unranked in preseason. North Cobb Christian scored the biggest upset of the quarterfinals, a 30-27 victory over No. 1 Savannah Christian in Class 3A-A private, and is now a 21-point underdog to Prince Avenue, according to Maxwell.
*Top players: Five of the AJC’s Super 11 are still playing. They are Lewis, Kromah, Milton’s C.J. Wiley and Luke Nickel and Manchester’s Justus Terry. Also watch Grayson linebacker Tyler Atkinson, the consensus No. 1 junior prospect, and Lee County quarterback Weston Bryan, who can become the first player in state history with 30 touchdowns both rushing and passing if he throws one more TD pass for a team averaging 55.2 points per game.
*Run that back: Running backs had their day in the quarterfinals. Coffee’s Tyrese Woodgett rushed for a state-record 605 yards against Sequoyah. Fitzgerald’s Victor Copeland rushed for 417 against Worth County. Northeast’s Nick Woodford rushed for 374 yards against Fannin County. Prince Avenue’s Andrew Beard rushed for 361 against Calvary Day. Marist rushed for 366 yards as a team and completed just two passes against Cambridge. Irwin County rushed for 443 yards and completed one pass against Trion. Manchester rushed for 275 yards and didn’t attempt a pass against Lincoln County.
*Defending their turf: Only eight semifinal teams are in the same class as last season. The GHSA eliminated Class 7A, and 57% of schools moved down. Those that stayed put were half as likely (and those that moved down were twice as likely) to make the semifinals this season. Those that have survived bigger schools descending upon them are Douglas County (6A), Coffee (5A), North Oconee (4A), Appling County (2A), Rockmart (2A), Dublin (A Division I), Bowdon (A Division II) and Manchester (A Division II).
*Next: Friday’s winners will get extra rest before the finals, which will be Dec. 16-18 (Monday-Wednesday) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.