Quarterfinal preview: Classes 5A, 4A and 3A
Class 5A
*Creekside (11-1) at Warner Robins (9-3): This is a rematch of the 2022 quarterfinal that Warner Robins won 31-28 in overtime on Daniel Barber’s 32-yard field goal. The game’s biggest play was Miles Joiner's 95-yard interception return for a touchdown. Warner Robins has changed more than Creekside from a year ago. Isiah Canion, forced into QB duty in last year’s playoffs because of an injury, has settled into his favored position, wide receiver, and has 1,203 receiving yards. He had four receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown in a 23-21 second-round victory over Ware County, which was won on Alberto Medina’s 42-yard field goal on the final play. Judd Anderson, a Miami-committed quarterback and first-year Warner Robins player, was 17-of-29 passing for 238 yards. He’s thrown for 2,692 yards. Creekside’s top players are holdovers who recall the 2022 Warner Robins game well. In a 49-24 victory over Dalton in the second round, Roderick McCrary rushed for 228 yards (giving him 1,691 for the season), and Travis Terrell ran for 123 (911 on the season). Both start on defense. Vinson Berry has thrown for 1,968 yards and 33 touchdowns.
*Jefferson (12-0) at Harris County (11-1): Both teams have won their playoff games by 21 points or more. Jefferson, ranked No. 3, beat No. 7 Hiram 42-21 last week. Sammy Brown, a five-star recruit committed to Clemson, rushed for 350 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries. He has rushed for 1,892 yards this season while also starting at linebacker. Jefferson completed only three passes against Hiram, though two went for touchdowns. This is Jefferson’s first quarterfinal since the 2020 team reached the Class 4A final. Harris County, ranked No. 10, is playing in its first quarterfinal since 2012, when the Tigers fell to Gainesville and Deshaun Watson. Harris County has never reached a semifinal. Harris County defeated Statesboro 42-7 last week for the Tigers’ 11th consecutive victory since losing to Troup in the opener. Mataye Youman rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. It was Youman’s seventh straight 100-yard rushing game and gave him 1,438 yards this season. Levi Watson was 15-of-19 passing for 181 yard and a season-high three touchdowns. Ran Ogletree had seven receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
*Jenkins (5-7) at Cartersville (12-0): Jenkins has scored two one-point victories in the playoffs and is the only sub-.500 team and one of only two No. 4 seeds (Cass is the other) in the quarterfinals in any classification. Jenkins has played the 21st-toughest schedule in any class and toughest in Class 5A. Opponents include No. 1 Coffee of 5A and No. 1 Benedictine of 4A. Jenkins beat Dutchtown 28-27 last week. Lorenzo Cowan, who is committed to Kentucky, blocked an extra point in the fourth quarter. Jayaun Albert rushed for 100 yards on 13 carries, but defense and special teams have carried the Warriors, who scored on an interception return in a 14-13 victory over Arabia Mountain in the first round. Jenkins has been shut out five times and doesn’t have a 500-yard rusher or a 500-yard passer. Cartersville, ranked No. 4, is in the quarterfinals for the eighth time in 10 seasons. The Purple Hurricanes beat Eastside 28-9 in the second round. Khristian Lando rushed for 148 yards, pushing him over 1,000 for the season (1,108). Nate Russell passed for 172 and a touchdown. Cartersville has four shutouts and allows 11.7 points per game.
*Cass (7-5) at Coffee (12-0): Cass beat Mays 17-7 in the second round, avenging a 2022 playoff loss, to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1983. Sophomore QB Brodie McWhorter was 16-of-22 passing for 180 yards and rushed for 94 yards. Sacovie White, who is committed to Georgia, had 10 receptions for 78 yards, giving him 1,288 receiving yards this season. Devin Henderson is a 1,000-yard rusher in the balanced offense. Cass and Jenkins of Class 5A are the only No. 4 seeds to reach the quarterfinals. Coffee, ranked No. 1 this season for the first time in its history, beat Jones County 45-14 in the second round. Fred Brown rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He has rushed for 1,926 yards this season, the most of any Class 5A player. QB Maurice Hansley has 1,150 yards passing and 608 rushing. Coffee has not allowed more than 14 points in any game this season. Coffee has reached seven quarterfinals and two semifinals (2017, 2022) over the past eight seasons. Coffee needs one win to break the school record of 12 victories that the current team shares with the 1981 and 1982 teams.
WRITTEN BY CHIP SAYEClass 4A
*Stockbridge (10-2) at Spalding (12-0): Sixth-ranked Stockbridge, the Region 5 champion, reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season and ninth time in 12 years with a 28-24 victory over Westminster. Jayden “Bull” Scott scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run with 55 seconds remaining. Scott, committed to N.C. State, was recently named the offensive player of the year in his region. He is averaging about 150 yards per game rushing. The Tigers have won 10 straight games since starting 0-2 against Douglas County and Colquitt County, undefeated teams in higher classifications. Fourth-ranked Spalding, the Region 2 champion, is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016 and 12-0 for the first time in its history after a 20-0 victory over Troup. Spalding took control with a 14-point second quarter that included touchdowns on a 50-yard punt return by Ronald Moore Jr. and a 15-yard run by Robert Henderson. Curt Clark threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Henderson in the third quarter and finished 13-of-23 for 258 yards. Clark has passed for 1,896 yards and rushed for a team-high 1,022 yards this season.
*North Oconee (12-0) at Benedictine (12-0): These have been the top two teams in the Class 4A rankings since the preseason. No. 2 North Oconee, the Region 8 champion, is in the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season after a 35-9 victory over Cedartown, avenging a 28-20 loss to the Bulldogs in the 2022 semifinals. Cedartown lost to Benedictine 14-13 in the championship game the following week. North Oconee led 14-7 at halftime last week but turned two Cedartown turnovers into 14 points in the first 14 minutes of the second half to pull away. Tate Titshaw and Trey Lenhardt had second-half touchdown runs. Top-ranked Benedictine, the Region 3 champion, is the two-time defending state champion and has won 23 consecutive games, including a 31-7 victory over LaGrange last week. Bryce Baker scored on a 60-yard pass from Luke Kromenhoek and a 30-yard run. Na’Seir Samuel had a 46-yard touchdown run, and Bubba Frazier scored on a 65-interception return. Kromenhoek, committed to Florida State, surpassed 2,000 yards passing for the season. LaGrange’s Malachi Fannin-Render ran for 202 yards on 18 carries. LaGrange outgained the Cadets 375-275.
*Starr’s Mill (9-3) at Central, Carrollton (12-0): Eighth-ranked Starr’s Mill, the Region 4 champion, is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019 after a 45-27 victory New Hampstead. Hunter Meeks kicked a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to give Starr’s Mill a 24-20 lead, and the Panthers scored the first 21 points of the second half to pull away. Dorsey Benefield ran for 187 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 960 yards for the season. Logan Inagawa passed for 151 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Fifth-ranked Central, under first-year coach Umbrah Brown, is 12-0 for the first time since its 1987 team won the Class 2A championship and in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2013. The Lions defeated Lovett 38-10 last week, pulling away in the second half after leading 14-3 at halftime. Central ran for 310 yards, led by Jonaz Walton’s 155 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. The sophomore is the team’s leading rusher with 1,497 yards. Freshman quarterback J.R. Harris had 155 total yards and a touchdown. The defense forced three turnovers.
*Perry (10-2) at Stephenson (10-2): Seventh-ranked Perry advanced to its third quarterfinal in four years with a 7-3 victory over No. 3 Bainbridge. The teams were averaging a combined 82.2 points, but they played the lowest-scoring game in the second round. Ahmad Gordon scored the game’s only touchdown on a 47-yard run late in the second quarter. Bainbridge kicked a first-quarter field goal for a 3-0 lead but had another attempt blocked. Gordon ran for 125 yards on 23 carries. Colter Ginn completed 11 of 16 passes for 80 yards, as Perry was outgained 283-199. Perry, the Region 2 runner-up, is the only No. 2 seed remaining in the Class 4A field. No. 9 Stephenson, the Region 6 champion, reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016 with a 35-7 victory over Luella. Marte Barton threw two touchdown passes to Tyler Bercy, Collin Seals returned an interception for a touchdown and Trent Fields Jr. scored on a kickoff return to give Stephenson a 28-7 halftime lead. Stephenson's main offensive weapon is Devin Ingram, a 2,000-yard rusher. Stephenson is one of three DeKalb County teams still playing (3A Cedar Grove and 2A Columbia are the others), a first for the county since 2016.
WRITTEN BY TODD HOLCOMBClass 3A
*Cedar Grove (7-5) at Mary Persons (11-1): Cedar Grove, ranked No. 2, is in the quarterfinals for the ninth straight season. The Saints are 7-1 in those previous games. After a 30-27 victory over Hebron Christian in the first round, Cedar Grove dominated Bremen 49-14 in round two. Bo Walker, who is committed to Georgia, rushed for 191 yards and scored five touchdowns on 15 carries. E.J. Colson, committed to Central Florida, was 14-of-16 passing for 196 yards. Devin Carter had 88 yards receiving. All are among Class 3A’s leaders – Walker with 1,204 rushing yards, Colson with 2,111 passing yards and Carter with 776 receiving yards. Cedar Grove’s losses have come against bigger schools, including three in Class 7A’s top 10. Mary Persons, ranked No. 3, is making its first quarterfinal appearance since 2018 and last made the semifinals in 2017. The Bulldogs beat Crisp County 42-20 in the second round. Duke Watson rushed for 238 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. He’s rushed for 1,865 yards and 30 touchdowns despite missing a game, which was Mary Persons’ only loss (Spalding).
*Wesleyan (9-3) at Calvary Day (12-0): These teams have played each other twice, with Calvary winning second-round games in 2021 and 2017. Calvary has reached the quarterfinals nine of the past 11 seasons and advanced to the semifinals in 2014 and 2020 while in Class A. Calvary Day has won its playoff games 48-0 (Jackson) and 49-0 (Thomasville), each time racing to huge halftime leads. Playing essentially four quarters total, Jake Merklinger is 25-of-29 passing for 498 yards and six touchdowns in the playoffs. Caden Arnold has six catches for 230 yards in similar limited play. Wesleyan beat Stephens County 33-26 in the second round, avenging a 51-14 loss in the 2022 first round. Ben Brown was 13-of-25 passing for 356 yards (bringing his season total to a school-record 3,090 yards) and four touchdowns. He rushed for 109 yards on 29 carries. Jamie Tremble, a receiver/tight end committed to Syracuse, had four receptions for 217 yards. Defensive linemen Charlie Hillegass, Matthew Wright and Connor Roush had multiple tackles behind the line. Wesleyan’s losses have been to Mount Vernon, Decatur and Lumpkin County, all by less than 10 points.
*Savannah Christian (10-2) at Lumpkin County (12-0): Lumpkin County, ranked No. 5, beat Oconee County 45-42 in two overtimes last week to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. Will Staples kicked a 24-yard field goal after Lumpkin made a fourth-down stop against the team that eliminated the Indians from the 2022 first round. Mason Sullens rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. He’s run for exactly 2,000 yards this season. Cal Faulkner, the Region 7 player of the year, passed for 207 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, had three tackles and punted for a 42.0-yard average. Nolan Matthews had five receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the Oconee game. Savannah Christian, which won an overtime game of its own in the first round against Peach County, defeated Region 8 champion Morgan County 33-10 last week. Kenry Wall rushed for 152 yards, and Zo Smalls ran for 100. Smalls has rushed for 1,394 yards and 25 touchdowns on the season. Wall has 843 yards rushing, 462 receiving and 382 returning. Savannah Christian is ranked No. 4 despite its two losses, which are to No. 1 Calvary Day and Class 6A quarterfinalist Marist.
*Monroe Area (8-4) at Carver, Columbus (9-3): Monroe Area is the No. 3 seed and only remaining playoff team from Region 8, whose champion was Stephens County. The Purple Hurricanes beat Gilmer 42-24 in the second round. Jitt Carr, a sophomore, rushed for 144 yards – nearly doubling his season total – and three touchdowns on nine carries. Dylan Hamby passed for 184 yards and three touchdowns, one an 80-yarder to Blake Raffield, a two-way starter who had eight tackles and an interception. Darrion Manuel was held to 69 yards rushing, though he caught a 24-yard TD pass. He has 1,592 yards rushing this season. Monroe Area is in its first quarterfinal since 2018 and seeking its first semifinal since 2012. Carver, ranked No. 9, beat Upson-Lee 8-7 in the second round. There were seven punts and one turnover on downs in the first quarter alone. Upson-Lee, held to 90 total yards, scored its touchdown on a fumble return. Carver’s touchdown came after an interception return to the Upson-Lee 11-yard line in the third quarter. The two-point conversion crossed the goal line by inches. When the offensive is clicking, D’Ante Childs is Carver’s weapon. He has rushed for more than 1,500 yards. This is Carver’s fourth straight quarterfinal. Carver was the Class 4A runner-up to Benedictine in 2021.