Quarterfinal preview: Classes 7A and 6A
Class 7A
*North Gwinnett (10-2) at Colquitt County (12-0): With No. 1 Buford out, No. 2 Colquitt County is the highest-ranked Class 7A team remaining. North Gwinnett is the only surviving 7A team that GHSF Daily has not ranked at any point. North Gwinnett beat Lambert 38-35 in the second round after letting a 16-0 lead get away. North Gwinnett went ahead for good 38-28 on 310-pound Kayden McDonald’s 9-yard run, his second touchdown, in the final minute of the third quarter. North Gwinnett ran out the final 5:13 after Lambert’s final score. McDonald, a defensive tackle committed to Ohio State, had a 46-yard run during the clinching drive. Colquitt County had an easier time with Harrison, winning 49-27 after allowing two late touchdowns. Neko Fann was 8-of-10 passing for 191 yards, putting him over 2,000 on the season (2,121). Charlie Pace rushed for 142 yards, putting him over 1,000 (1,089). These teams met in the 2017 Class 7A championship game, with North Gwinnett winning 19-17 on a final-play field goal. Colquitt won a rematch 45-0 in the 2018 quarterfinals.
*Walton (10-2) at Carrollton (12-0): Walton, ranked No. 6, beat No. 1 Buford 42-35 in the most-talked-about game of the second round. Jeremy Hecklinski was 21-of-39 passing for 347 yards and three touchdowns. His 43-yard TD pass to Ayden Jackson on a fourth-and-6 with 6:17 left was critical. Jackson and Hunter Teal each had more than 100 yards receiving. Hecklinski, a junior, leads Class 7A in passing yards with 3,355 unofficially. Second is Carrollton’s Julian Lewis with 3,162. (Lewis leads Hecklinski in TD passes 37 to 35.) Lewis, a freshman, was 18-of-26 for 186 yards and two touchdowns last week in a 47-14 victory over Marietta. Bryce Hicks rushed for 81 yards and three touchdowns. Jacob Levy had three tackles for 29 yards in losses. Carrollton, ranked No. 4, intercepted five passes. Both schools made the semifinals last season. Carrollton was in Class 6A, Walton in 7A. This is the first meeting between the two schools.
*Westlake (9-3) at Mill Creek (11-1): Tenth-ranked Westlake beat Parkview 30-28 last week on Omar Camara’s 42-yard field goal with 25 seconds left. R.J. Johnson was 14-of-25 passing for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson has 9,539 passing yards in his career. Jai’Den Thomas rushed for 189 yards. Avieon Terrell, committed to Clemson as a cornerback, had seven receptions for 148 yards. Mill Creek, ranked No. 3, beat No. 5 North Cobb 43-7. Cam Robinson rushed for 135 yards, giving him 1,244 on the season, and Mill Creek held North Cobb to 122 total yards, most of it late on an 83-yard touchdown run. Defensive back Caleb Downs, the state’s No. 1 senior prospect, scored two touchdowns playing offense. Mill Creek set a school record for points in a season (556). Westlake is in the quarterfinals for the third straight season. This is Mill Creek’s third quarterfinal in four seasons. Both have made two previous semifinals but never reached the finals. This is the first meeting between the two.
*Grayson (10-2) at Milton (9-3): These schools lead Class 7A in victories the past five seasons, Grayson with 55, Milton with 54, each with a state title, but they’ve never played each other. Grayson, ranked No. 2 in preseason but unranked now, beat Camden County 28-10 in the second round. Joseph Taylor rushed for 93 yards, giving him 893 on the season. Jeff Davis was 13-of-20 passing for 129 yards, giving him 1,976 on the season. Myles Dawson returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown. Grayson led 14-10 at halftime and allowed no points from there. Milton, ranked No. 7, beat Norcross 30-23 in the second round. Scott Moskowitz rushed for 83 yards, giving him 980 on the season, and scored on an 18-yard run with 4:19 left for a 30-16 lead. Norcross never got the ball back with a chance to tie. Luke Nickel was 8-of-12 passing for 151 yards. A sophomore, Nickel has thrown for 2,252 yards this season.
WRITTEN BY CHIP SAYEClass 6A
*Roswell (11-0) at Thomas County Central (12-0): This game matches two of the top three ranked teams in Class 6A. Third-ranked Roswell, a quarterfinalist in 7A in 2021, advanced with a 49-30 victory over Allatoona last week. Roswell led 21-17 at halftime but scored two touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters. Nykahi Davenport rushed for a season-high 225 yards and scored three touchdowns. He has rushed for 1,731 yards for the year. K.J. Smith passed for 254 yards, putting him at 2,247 for the season. No. 2 Thomas County Central, a 5-6 team in Class 4A last season, reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009 with a 49-14 victory over St. Pius. Sam Brown threw a touchdown pass to Malachi Thomas early in the second quarter to break a 7-7 tie and ignite a 42-0 run. Trey Brenton and Ricky Fulton each rushed for more than 100 yards in the game and passed 1,000 for the season - Brenton at 1,057 and Fulton at 1,023. Brown has thrown for 2,478 yards. Thomas County Central, under first-year coach Justin Rogers, has its most wins since the 2007 team finished 13-1.
*Houston County (10-2) at Gainesville (12-0): Tenth-ranked Houston County is the only No. 4 seed still alive in any classification and the only 6A team remaining that was not a region champion. The Bears reached their first quarterfinal since 2019 with a 41-31 victory over North Atlanta. Houston County trailed 31-21 in the fourth quarter but scored three touchdowns to put the game away. Antwann Hill was held to a season-low 73 yards passing but has 3,246 for the year. Ryan Taleb ran for a season-high 273 yards (1,585 for the year) and three TDs. No. 4 Gainesville is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 after a 42-21 victory over South Paulding. The Red Elephants led 14-7 at halftime and added two touchdowns early in the second half to seize control. Baxter Wright passed for 257 yards and four touchdowns, and Naim Cheeks ran for 206 yards and two scores. Cheeks has rushed for 436 yards in two playoff games and 1,511 for the season. Gainesville held South Paulding’s Jamarion Wilcox, the leading rusher in 6A during the regular season, to less than 100 yards for the first time this season.
*Woodward Academy (11-1) at Hughes (12-0): Fifth-ranked Woodward Academy, a Class 5A team last season, beat No. 9 Lee County 23-7 last week to reach the quarterfinals for the sixth time in nine seasons but first since 2019. Jalen Woods threw for 221 yards and had touchdown passes to Ben Grice and Cameron Thompson as the War Eagles built a 20-0 lead through three quarters. Hudson Hanges kicked three field goals (47, 47 and 25 yards). Top-ranked Hughes, the 2021 runner-up, set a school record for points in a 77-16 second-round victory over North Forsyth. Prentiss “Air” Noland passed for 302 yards and six touchdowns, three to Jaden Barnes, who had four catches for 151 yards. Noland has 3,288 yards and 46 touchdowns passing this season. Jekail Middlebrook (112) and Justus Savage (103) both ran for more than 100 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers have scored 659 points this season, just 100 away from breaking the state record set by Rome in 2017.
*Marist (10-2) at Rome (11-1): This is the only 6A game matching teams that have played each other. Marist won three of the four previous meetings, all in the playoffs between 1997 and 2008. Seventh-ranked Marist beat Northside of Warner Robins 32-13 last week to reach the quarterfinals for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Jack Euart rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and passed for 68 yards as Marist outgained Northside 293-203. No. 6 Rome is in the quarterfinals for the fourth time in seven seasons but first since 2018. The Wolves beat Alpharetta 35-14 last week, allowing the most points in a game since a 42-19 victory over Allatoona on Sept. 23. Javarius McDearmont and Chance Arthur each scored two touchdowns, and Reece Fountain threw for 136 yards, giving him 2,634 on the season. Joe Wilkerson and Stephiylan Green intercepted passes against Alpharetta’s Ben Guthrie, Class 6A's leading passer in the regular season. Guthrie threw for 302 yards and a touchdown in his final game and finished with 3,365 yards and 38 touchdowns.