Quarterfinal preview: Classes 5A, 4A and 3A
Class 5A
*Calhoun (9-3) at Ware County (11-0): This is a rematch of a 2021 second-round game of five ties and six lead changes that Calhoun won 49-42. Ware County ran two plays inside Calhoun’s 5-yard line in the final seconds but lost a fumble that ended the game. Both teams advanced in the second round last week with strong defensive efforts and mild offensive numbers. Calhoun’s Trey Townsend was 11-of-19 passing for 135 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-7 victory over Kell. Ware County beat Chamblee 24-7. Sophomore R.J. Boyd rushed for a season-high 102 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Nikao Smith struggled (7-of-21 passing) but surpassed 2,000 yards on the season (2,037). It’s a 321-mile drive between the high schools, making this the longest road trip of the quarterfinals. Calhoun, the 2021 Class 5A runner-up, is in the quarterfinals for the 14th time in 15 seasons. The Yellow Jackets are 10-3 in those games, though many came in Class 2A, where Calhoun resided until 2014. Ware County, the lone unbeaten team in Class 5A, can reach the semifinals for the first time since 2015. Calhoun is 6-4 this century against No. 1-ranked teams. That includes beating then-No. 1 Cartersville on Sept. 29.
*Mays (8-4) at Dutchtown (11-1): Dutchtown coach Niketa Battle was Mays’ coach from 2016 to 2021. Under new coach Tony Slaton, Mays is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2017. Dutchtown, under Battle, is in its first quarterfinal since 2019. Mays, the only unranked team still playing in 5A, beat Cass 34-27 in the second round. Triston Evans rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He has 919 yards rushing on the season. With Mays trailing 27-26 and less than five minutes left, Saulomon Evans scored the winning touchdown on a 21-yard keeper, and Cass got no farther than the Mays 34 on its final drive. The game featured nine ties or lead changes. Dutchtown, ranked No. 7, beat Northgate 41-14 last week. Amarion Yarbrough scored three first-half touchdowns, and Dutchtown led 439-99 in total yards. Opened in 2004, Dutchtown has never made the semifinals. Mays has gone once in its 42-year history, in 2014. This is the first meeting between the two schools.
*Warner Robins (8-4) at Creekside (10-2): This is a rematch of a 2021 semifinal that Warner Robins, the two-time defending champion, won 40-15. Creekside, riding a 10-game winning streak, is the favorite this time. Creekside, ranked No. 2, beat Dalton 61-0 in the second round. Travis Terrell rushed for 178 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries, and Roderick McCrary ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Creekside held Dalton, which featured Class 5A’s leading rusher, Tyson Greenwade, to three first downs and 34 total yards. Warner Robins, ranked No. 8, beat Northside of Columbus 38-7 last week. Isiah Canion was 11-of-15 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns, and the Demons held Northside to 198 total yards. Vic Burley, an AJC Super 11 defensive lineman, had a 35-yard TD reception. The Demons have averaged 38.6 points in victories and 6.3 in losses.
*Coffee (10-2) at Cartersville (11-1): Cartersville beat Coffee 24-17 in the 2020 semifinals in their only previous meeting. Coffee is in its sixth quarterfinal in seven seasons. Its best finish all-time was the 2017 finals. Cartersville has reached four finals since 2015 and won two. Cartersville, ranked No. 3, beat Cambridge 37-14 in the second round. Paul Gamble was 7-of-8 passing for 159 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries in his career-best all-around game. Malachi Jeffries rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 64-yard TD pass. Jeffries has rushed for 1,243 yards this season. Coffee, ranked No. 6, beat Decatur 51-23. Antwain McDuffire rushed for 196 yards, and Fred Brown ran for 127. Both scored three touchdowns. McDuffie has rushed for 1,142 yards this season. Brown has run for 792, and Tyrese Woodgett has run for 709 in an offense that averages 273.8 rushing yards per game.
WRITTEN BY CHIP SAYEClass 4A
*Cedartown (12-0) at Bainbridge (8-4): Both teams are in the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season. Their only previous meeting came in the 2020 quarters, when Bainbridge won 21-10. Last week, top-ranked Cedartown rushed for 424 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-16 victory over Stephenson. Harlem Diamond, who rarely plays full game because of blowouts, ran for a season-high 165 yards and three touchdowns to reach 1,016 yards for the season. Khamarion Davis added 102 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. No. 6 Bainbridge has won six straight games since a 2-4 start. The Bearcats rushed for 261 yards in a 44-0 victory over No. 8 Burke County in the second round. Keenan Phillips had 144 yards rushing on 17 carries and scored on runs of 4, 70, 6 and 25 yards. Jahmarion “Bo” Smith, was 9-of-16 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown and ran for 59 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Burke County was shut out for the first time since a 36-0 loss to Lowndes in 2010.
*Wayne County (10-2) at North Oconee (12-0): Seventh-ranked Wayne County, an 0-9 team in 2021, is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2013 after beating third-ranked Perry 14-7 last week. Wayne County led 14-0 in the fourth quarter, but the victory wasn’t secure until Perry threw an incomplete pass on fourth down from the 5-yard line with 30 seconds left. Matthew Fuller ran for 145 yards and both of Wayne’s touchdown and stopped a Perry scoring threat with a third-quarter interception. No. 2 North Oconee was a semifinalist in 2021 and is in the quarters for the third time in the school’s 19-year history. In a 35-9 victory over Lovett last week, Dominic Elder ran for three touchdowns, including two in the first half as the Titans built a 28-3 lead. Max Wilson was 10-of-16 passing for 148 yards and threw first-half touchdown passes to Brooks Cole Davidson and Thompson. North Oconee had been 1-7 in second-round games but has won its last two.
*Benedictine (10-2) at Stockbridge (10-2): Fourth-ranked Benedictine, the defending state champion, is in the quarterfinals for the ninth time in 10 seasons after a 45-6 victory over Spalding in the second round. Za’Quan Bryan, a three-star senior committed to Minnesota, scored two touchdowns on punt returns and another on an interception return. Luke Kromenhoek, a four-star junior committed to Florida State, was 11-of-14 for 121 yards. The Cadets haven’t lost a game to a Class 4A opponent since the 2020 semifinals against Jefferson. This is Stockbridge’s first trip to the quarterfinals since a seven-year streak from 2012 to 2018. The Tigers’ 38-6 victory over Walnut Grove in the second round was their ninth consecutive victory since a 1-2 start that included losses to Colquitt County (29-0) and Dougherty (33-30). Shelton Lewis scored on a fumble return and a 30-yard pass from Cobey Thompkins in the first half. Stockbridge got three second-half touchdown runs, and Preston Wright kicked two field goals.
*Troup (11-1) at Holy Innocents’ (9-3): Troup outlasted Cairo 26-17 Saturday to reach the quarterfinals for just the fourth time since the GHSA went to 32-team draws in 1996 and the first time since 2018. Cairo got two safeties in the first half and led 17-13 at halftime, but Taeo Todd’s touchdown pass to Logan Sinkfield midway through the third quarter gave the Tigers the lead for good. Todd threw two touchdown passes and ran for his team’s other two scores. He has 1,942 yards passing, 1,854 yards rushing and a combined 48 touchdowns. Holy Innocents’ reached the quarterfinals in A Private last year before moving up three classes during reclassification. The Golden Bears defeated Central of Carrollton 24-14 last week for their sixth consecutive victory after a 3-3 start. Holy Innocents’ led 10-7 in the fourth quarter and got a 44-yard touchdown run by Stephen Jones and a 1-yard score from Jacobi Murray to secure the win. Murray also scored a first-quarter touchdown, and Graham Forgey kicked a field goal. Jones finished with 144 yards rushing. Holy Innocents' has completed only 25 passes this season.
WRITTEN BY TODD HOLCOMBClass 3A
*Carver-Atlanta (8-3) at Thomasville (9-3): Carver was the 2021 runner-up to Cedar Grove. Thomasville was the 2A runner-up to Fitzgerald. This is the first meeting between the two. Carver, ranked No. 4, beat Monroe Area 30-18 in the second round. Bryce Bowens was 20-of-27 passing for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He’s thrown for 2,042 yards on the season. Shoun Bilal rushed for 105 yards on 17 carries. Aquantis Clemmons had four tackles for losses and three sacks. Thomasville, ranked No. 6, beat Liberty County 13-6. The Bulldogs led 10-6 at halftime and won with their defense. Freshman QB Camren Hill was 7-of-17 passing for 137 yards and a touchdown, and freshman RB Lavonte Cole rushed for 91 yards. Jay Randall rushed for 93 yards on 20 carries. He has 1,226 all-purpose yards, which doesn’t count his 60-yard TD pass.
*Sandy Creek (10-2) at Savannah Christian (11-1): Savannah Christian’s only loss is against No. 2 Calvary Day. Sandy Creek’s losses are to No. 1 Cedar Grove and Class 7A East Coweta in overtime. Savannah Christian was 5-6 last season in Class A Private but made the quarterfinals in 2020. Sandy Creek was a semifinalist most recently in 2019. Savannah Christian is the only unranked team remaining in Class 3A. The Raiders beat No. 5 Peach County 23-7 last week. Zo Smalls rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. He’s run for 1,389 yards this season. David Bucey had three receptions for 112 yards. Paulus Zittrauer passed for 143 yards. Savannah Christian held Peach to 269 yards and 14-o-31 passing. Sandy Creek, ranked No. 3, beat Stephens County 20-7 in the second round. All-state QB Geimere Latimer was 15-of-35 passing for 288 yards and rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Sandy Creek held Stephens County to 209 total yards and 8-of-22 passing. This will be the first meeting between these schools.
*Calvary Day (11-0) at Cedar Grove (9-2): This is the only playoff game in any classification thus far between No. 1 and No. 2 teams. They played the two highest-scoring games in any classification last week. No. 1 Cedar Grove beat Hebron Christian 70-33, surviving a 200-yard rushing effort by Hebron’s Gavin Hall, Class 3A’s leading rusher. No. 2 Calvary Day beat Dougherty 55-41, surviving a 351-yard passing effort by Dougherty’s Kam Davis, 3A’s leading passer. For Cedar Grove, Boden Walker rushed for 142 yards, and Demarcus Smith ran for 137. Elliott Colson passed for 219 yards and four touchdowns, two each to Barry Jackson and Miami Jones. For Calvary Day, Trevor Strowbridge rushed for 185 yards on 15 carries, and A.J. Butts scored four touchdowns. Jake Merklinger was 5-of-9 passing for 93 yards and scored two touchdowns. A three-year starting junior, Merklinger has thrown for 6,541 yards in his career. Calvary Day is in the quarterfinals for the sixth time in seven seasons, but all previous ones came in Class A. Calvary has never won a state title. Cedar Grove has won five in the past seven seasons in 3A. Calvary is 1-5 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams, the victory coming in 2013 against Eagle’s Landing Christian This is the first meeting between the two schools.
*Oconee County (8-4) at Carver-Columbus (9-2): Both teams ended up in Class 3A after reaching recent state finals. For Oconee County, that occurred in 2020 after a runner-up finish against Blessed Trinity. Carver was the 2021 Class 4A runner-up to Benedictine. Carver, ranked No. 8, rushed for 301 yards and held Harlem to four first downs in a 40-7 victory last week. Jamari Riley has rushed for more than 1,400 yards for a team that has fewer than 1,000 passing yards on the season. Carver’s defense hasn’t allowed a point in the past three games, including against then-No. 8 Dougherty in the regular season. Oconee County, ranked No. 8, beat Adairsville 45-20 last week. C.J. Jones rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He’s a three-year starter with 2,841 career rushing yards. Whit Weeks, who is committed to LSU, had two receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown, three tackles for losses and two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.