Quarterfinal preview: Classes 2A, A Division I and A Division II

Class 2A

*Fitzgerald (9-3) at Callaway (9-2): These teams last met in the 2020 Class 2A championship game, with Callaway winning 22-17, and both programs have continued their success. Tenth-ranked Fitzgerald, seeking its fourth consecutive trip to the finals, is in the quarterfinals for the 13th time in 16 years after a 37-20 victory over Spencer. Fitzgerald ran for 377 yards while attempting just three passes. Bill Boone led the way with 150 yards on 12 carries, and Diondre Paschal had 93 yards on 13 carries. The Purple Hurricane took a 15-0 lead in the first quarter with two 70-yard touchdown drives and never trailed. Fitzgerald is one of three No. 2 seeds remaining in Class 2A (Toombs County and Columbia are the others). No. 5 Callaway is in the quarterfinals for the eighth consecutive season after beating Model 42-19. The Cavaliers went 5-2 in the quarterfinal round the previous seven seasons. Deshon Coleman was 11-of-15 passing for 306 yards and five touchdowns against Model, and he passed for 108 yards and three touchdowns in a first-round win over Providence Christian. Coleman threw for only 948 yards in the regular season, when he was Callaway’s leading rusher with 492 yards.

*Fellowship Christian (10-2) at Pierce County (11-1): This is a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game won by Fellowship Christian 40-22. The No. 8-ranked Paladins, under first-year coach John Thompson, made it back to the quarterfinals with a 63-14 victory over North Murray, outgaining the Mountaineers 493-294. Sophomore CJ Givers ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns on five carries. Sophomore Johnathan Granby was 6-of-9 passing for 102 yards and three touchdowns. Charles Sharp had 12 total tackles. Third-ranked Pierce County, one of the tri-champions from Region 3 (with Toombs County and Appling County) and the No. 1 seed, is in the quarterfinals for the fourth straight year after a 35-14 win over Laney. Caden McGatha was 9-of-13 passing for 170 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. For the season, he has 1,550 passing yards, 1,051 rushing yards and 30 combined touchdowns. The Bears are No. 1 in Class 2A and No. 4 in the state in fewest points allowed with 7.42 per game. Fellowship is No. 3 in Class 2A scoring with 42.92 points per game.

*Toombs County (11-1) at Rockmart (10-2): Fourth-ranked Toombs County, the No. 2 seed from Region 3, beat defending state champion Thomson 41-30 last week to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008. T.J. Stanley passed for 170 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a season-high 73 yards and two scores. Stanley has passed for 2,069 yards this season. Toombs County trailed 7-0 early but scored the game’s next 27 points. The Bulldogs were outgained 497-329 but forced three turnovers and scored on the return of a blocked punt. No. 6 Rockmart, the Region 7 champ, is in its second straight quarterfinal after beating Union County 56-14. Calliyon Thompson passed for 146 yards and four touchdowns, and J.D. Davis ran for 103 yards and a touchdown. Thompson has passed for 1,891 for the season. Davis (565 yards for the season) is the team’s third-leading rusher behind Brent Washington (733) and Nahzir Turner (583). The Yellow Jackets have won nine consecutive games since a 1-2 start that included losses to higher-classification playoff teams Cedartown and Dalton by a combined eight points.

*Columbia (9-3) at Cook (10-2): Columbia is the only unranked team left in the Class 2A field after its 18-13 victory over North Cobb Christian last week. Columbia avenged a 14-6 first-round loss to North Cobb Christian in 2022 and is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1997. Columbia got the lead on a touchdown pass from Cameron Graves to Jadan Baugh with 7:19 remaining and stopped one North Cobb Christian drive to seal the win. Baugh and Lameze Williams, who combined for 595 yards rushing in a first-round victory over Athens Academy, had 113 yards on 27 carries. Graves led the Eagles in rushing last week with 101 yards on six carries. Ninth-ranked Cook, the Region 1 champion, built a 17-0 lead against Appling County last week and held on for a 24-14 victory to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010. Appling County cut the lead to 17-14 in the fourth quarter, but a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown by Ny’Shaun Wallace put the game away. The Hornets also returned a blocked field-goal attempt for a touchdown. Drew Folsom was 9-of-17 passing for 131 yards and a touchdown.

WRITTEN BY TODD HOLcomb

Class A Division I

*Irwin County (7-5) at Prince Avenue Christian (10-1): These are the two most successful programs of the past decade among current Class A programs, though this will be their first meeting. Irwin County has played in seven finals since 2014, winning in 2019 and 2020. Prince Avenue, with state titles in 2020 and 2022, is trying to reach the semifinals for the 10th time since 2011. This year’s Irwin County team is unusual in that it started the season 2-5 and entered the playoffs unranked but defeated No. 6 Bleckley County 31-0 last week to extend its streak of quarterfinal appearances to 11, the longest in the state. Irwin held Bleckley to 39 total yards, and Jaken Thomas rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines beat Mount Vernon 72-41 in the second round. Aaron Philo passed for a season-low 207 yards, giving him a state-leading 3,338 for the season, but rushed for a career-high 102. Connor Causby rushed for 155 yards and five touchdowns.

*Commerce (11-1) at Bryan County (11-1): These teams pass five times or fewer per game, and both produced a pair of 100-yard rushers in the second round. Bryan County beat Pelham 34-8. Austin Clemons rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Jacari Carney rushed for 113 yards. Clemons has rushed for 1,584 yards this season. Carney has rushed for 888 with more than 100 each of the past three games. Commerce beat Dade County 34-14. Jaiden Daniels rushed for 166 yards, giving him 1,831 for the season. Tysean Wiggins rushed for 144 yards, giving him 1,457 for the season. This is Bryan County’s first quarterfinal. The Redskins had never won a playoff game in their 48 seasons until this year. Commerce has won 49 playoff games (the first one in 1965), and No. 50 this week would put the Tigers in the semifinals for the first time since 2015.

*Swainsboro (10-2) at Elbert County (10-2): Swainsboro was the Class A Division I runner-up last season to Prince Avenue Christian. Elbert County is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015 and seeking its first semifinal since its 1995 Class 2A championship season. These teams have never played each other. Swainsboro has routinely dispatched Metter and Lamar County while allowing only six points total. Swainsboro has allowed 12 points or fewer in its 10 victories but 20 or more in its two losses (Dublin, Bleckley County). Swainsboro has three rushers with more than 800 yards – Jordon Williams (1,047), Demello Jones (871) and Qin Brown (820) – and completes fewer than three passes per game. Elbert County has won high-scoring playoff games against Oglethorpe County 34-27 and Trion 42-41. Against Trion, Elbert stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to win. Jayvyn Hickman, playing quarterback for injured Braydon Scarborough, rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 101 yards. Jacari Barnett rushed for 89 yards, giving him 1,432 for the season.

*Rabun County (9-3) at Brooks County (7-5): Rabun County is in the quarterfinals for the ninth straight season. The Wildcats’ most recent semifinal was 2020. This is Brooks County’s 11th quarterfinal since Maurice Freeman returned as coach in 2008. Brooks won the 2021 Class A Public championship. Rabun County, playing at home, beat Brooks County 23-12 in the 2017 semifinals in these teams’ only previous meeting. Both teams began this season in the top five and have bounced in and out of the rankings. Rabun County is a No. 3 seed behind Elbert County and Commerce, which remain alive. Rabun County beat Region 6 champion Whitefield Academy 42-14 last week. Ty Truelove passed for 217 yards, putting him over 2,000 (2,212) for the season. Reid Giles rushed for 104 yards, putting him over 1,000 (1,087). Willie Godwyn had 130 yards receiving, putting him on the brink of 1,000 (985). Brooks County started the season 1-5 with losses to five playoff teams from higher classes. Brooks County beat Dublin 22-7 in the second round while holding Dublin to 198 yards. Chris Cole rushed 173 yards on 27 carries. He's rushed for 1,411 yards this season. George Lamons had a 66-yard TD reception.

WRITTEN BY chip saye

Class A Division II

*Manchester (9-2) at Clinch County (11-1): No. 2 Manchester is one of the three remaining Region 6 teams that are ranked in the top three (No. 1 Schley County and No. 3 Macon County are the others. The Blue Devils advanced to their fifth quarterfinal in eight seasons with a 35-0 victory over Johnson County last week. Darius Favors rushed for a season-high 174 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, giving him a team-leading 833 yards for the season. The Blue Devils are giving up just seven points per game and have shut out four of their last five opponents, the exception being a 27-7 loss to Schley County on Oct. 20. No. 4 Clinch County beat Seminole County 35-6 last week to reach the quarterfinals for the ninth time in 11 seasons. Austin Bryant ran for 96 yards and a touchdown, and Jeremy Bell had 69 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant, the quarterback, has rushed for 1,471 yards and passed for 430 yards this season. Bell has run for 1,016 yards and 18 touchdowns. The teams have one common opponent, Macon County, which beat Clinch County 22-19 and lost to Manchester 18-7.

*Macon County (10-2) at Telfair County (9-2): Third-ranked Macon County is the only No. 3 seed remaining in the Division II field after a 38-35 overtime victory over Region 8 champion Aquinas. Josh Gutierrez won it with a 30-yard field goal to cap off a game in which neither team led by more than seven points. Tyler Felder ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Brian Harris, who threw for 71 yards and ran for 73 yards and a touchdown. Harris has passed for 1,141 yards for the season, and Tyler Stephens is the leading rusher with 629 yards. Region 4 runner-up Telfair County is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1993 after a 14-12 second-round victory over Portal. Bradyn Cook rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown, made eight tackles and intercepted a pass that stopped Portal’s two-point conversion attempt with 1:03 remaining in the game. Jack Wilcox had 100 yards from scrimmage and caught a touchdown pass. Jordan McRae intercepted a pass and forced a fumble. Portal, which finished the season 8-4, was a region champion for the first time.

*Dooly County (8-4) at Bowdon (10-2): Dooly County is a region champion for the first time since 1999 but in the quarterfinals for the second straight year after defeating Johnson County 28-24 last week. Dooly County trailed 24-14 with about 10 minutes left but got two touchdowns and then stopped Johnson County’s final drive at the Dooly County 22-yard line. Antwan Clayton’s 4-yard touchdown pass with about five minutes left was the game-winner. Clayton was 21-of-32 passing for 280 yards, and Tank Burden had six receptions for 114 yards. Defending state champion Bowdon trailed Greene County 28-23 with five minutes left but scored two touchdowns and made a late defensive stop to win 28-23 last week. Quarterback Kyler McGrinn ran for 182 yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns on 29 carries and was 4-of-10 passing for 79 yards. McGrinn has 1,686 passing yards, 1,507 rushing yards and 46 combined touchdowns for the season. Jordan Beasley has run for 1,000 yards, including 53 on 11 carries last week. Bowdon has won 10 straight games since losing to Manchester (21-20) and Central of Carrollton (34-14) to start the season.

*Early County (8-4) at Schley County (11-0): This is a rematch of the team’s Sept. 1 regular-season game, which top-ranked Schley County won 30-0. Jay Kanazawa was 13-of-24 passing for 172 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a season-high 60 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown for 2,435 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. In a 49-23 victory over Lincoln County last week, Kanazawa was 30-of-33 passing for a season-high 335 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremiah Rogers is the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 620 yards on 73 carries. Schley County, which is the only undefeated team remaining in the classification, had a bye in the first round. Region 1 champion Early County is in the quarterfinals for the second straight year after a 43-34 victory over Emanuel County Institute. Ty Stovall ran for 314 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries. Stoval has rushed for 1,671 yards this season, including 553 in the Bobcats’ two playoff games He had 101 yards on 14 carries in the first game against Schley County. Early County beat Schley County 19-17 in the regular season last year.