Quarterfinal preview: Classes 7A and 6A
Class 7A
*Walton (12-0) at Carrollton (11-1): This is a rematch of the 2022 quarterfinal that Carrollton won 52-27. Ju Ju Lewis passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns in that game. Caleb Odom had 120 yards receiving. Both are back. Lewis was 14-of-25 passing for 209 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-28 victory over Valdosta in the second round. Carrollton, ranked No. 5, led 10-7 at halftime, then scored four touchdowns in the first eight minutes of the second half. Kimauri Farmer rushed for 160 yards. He’s run for 1,260 on the season. Carrollton has won 11 straight games since an opening loss to Hughes to reach the quarterfinals for the eighth straight season, the first six in lower classifications. Walton, ranked No. 2, is 12-0 for the second time in history and first since the 2011 team reached the state final. Walton beat North Gwinnett 48-19 in the second round and has scored at least five touchdowns in every game. Walton typically is more of a passing team, as Wake Forest-committed QB Jeremy Hecklinski has thrown for a Class 7A-best 3,029 yards, but the Raiders produced two 100-yard rushers – Makari Bodiford (105) and Austin Williams (131) – last week. North Gwinnett’s Ryan Hall passed for 332 yards in defeat.
*Camden County (9-3) at Mill Creek (12-0): Mill Creek, the defending Class 7A champion, beat Peachtree Ridge 59-20 in the second round. The Hawks led 35-0 at halftime after Trey Walker recovered a blocked punt in the end zone and Luke Metz returned an interception for a touchdown. Cam Robinson rushed for 161 yards and became Mill Creek’s all-time leading rusher with 3,534 yards. This is Mill Creek’s sixth quarterfinal in nine seasons. This is Camden County’s first since 2012, which was coach Jeff Herron’s last season with Wildcats before returning in 2021. Camden beat McEachern 26-0 in the second round. Ja’Marley Riddle rushed for 118 yards and intercepted two passes. Jaden Dailey rushed for 113. Camden, a Wing-T team, has completed one pass in two playoffs games. Camden upset No. 7 Newton 29-15 in the first round and is the only Class 7A quarterfinalist with two playoff victories on the road.
*Buford (11-1) at Grayson (10-2): As measured by wins, region championships and state titles, these are the two most successful programs in Gwinnett County since Grayson came into existence in 2000. This will be their first meeting, largely because they haven’t been in the same classification until Buford joined Class 7A in 2022. Buford is ranked No. 4, with its only loss against No. 1 Mill Creek. The Wolves defeated Norcross 28-25 in the second round after leading 28-10 entering the fourth quarter. Norcross got back in the game with an interception return for a touchdown. Buford ran out the final 3:38. Dylan Raiola, who is committed to Georgia, was 9-of-17 passing for 174 yards and four touchdowns. Grayson, ranked No. 6, beat North Paulding 42-18 last week. Jeff Davis was 17-of-20 passing for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Davis and Raiola have similar season passing statistics. Davis has thrown for 2,606 yards and 32 touchdowns. Raiola has thrown for 2,684 yards and 34 touchdowns. Each has one interception.
*Colquitt County (12-0) at Milton (10-2): This is the first meeting between the two since the 2018 Class 7A game that Milton won 14-13 in one of the bigger upsets in state finals history. Colquitt County, ranked No. 3, beat Westlake 38-19 in the second round. Colquitt has scored at least 35 points in each game. Neko Fann, injured in the first round and questionable for the second, was 10-of-22 passing for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Ramsey Dennis rushed for 105 yards. Colquitt’s marquee player is WR Ny Carr, a Miami commit with 1,168 yards receiving and 20 TD receptions. Milton beat Collins Hill 42-21 in the second round. Luke Nickel, who is committed to Miami, was 20-of-27 passing for 298 yards and four touchdowns, four to C.J. Wiley, who had seven receptions for 174 yards. Nickel’s 2,986 passing yards rank second in Class 7A. Wiley's 1,246 receiving yards rank first.
WRITTEN BY CHIP SAYEClass 6A
*Lee County (10-2) at Douglas County (12-0): No. 5 Lee County is the only Class 6A team remaining that is not a region champion (Lee finished second to Thomas County Central in Region 1). The Trojans reached the quarterfinals for the sixth time in seven seasons with a 50-6 victory over Lovejoy. Ousmane Kromah ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries in one half. Braxton Honer ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns and had four catches for 77 yards. Weston Bryan passed for 166 yards and ran for 40. Lee County had 557 yards of total offense. Region 5 champion Douglas County, ranked No. 3, is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1988 and 12-0 for the first time in its history after a 48-14 victory over Sequoyah. Sire Hardaway was 13-of-18 passing for 164 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 36 yards. He has 2,425 passing yards and 394 rushing yards for the season. Zamarcus Lindley ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. The Tigers have held their last seven opponents to 14 points or less.
*Gainesville (12-0) at Woodward Academy (10-2): Both teams had their seasons ended by Hughes last year, Woodward Academy 56-28 in the quarterfinals and Gainesville 35-28 in the final. Gainesville, the No. 1-ranked team this year, advanced to its second straight quarterfinal with a 35-12 victory over Blessed Trinity last week. Gainesville led 14-5 at halftime but got three third-quarter touchdown runs by Gavin Hall to pull away. Hall also scored on a 26-yard pass from Baxter Wright, who passed for 143 yards and ran for 74. Wright has 2,045 passing yards and 417 rushing yards this season. Hall has run for 1,554 yards and 24 touchdowns. The Red Elephants are 26-1 in two season under coach Josh Niblett. Tenth-ranked Woodward Academy beat No. 9 Houston County 27-7 last week to reach the quarterfinals for the seventh time in 10 seasons. The War Eagles got touchdown runs from Griffin Marshall, Lucas Farrington and Landon Walker. Farrington ran for 146 yards on 23 carries, and Ben Grice had all seven of the team’s receptions for 83 yards. Houston County had been averaging 39.7 points per game. Woodward Academy has held eight of its last nine opponents to eight points or less.
*Marist (11-1) at Roswell (11-1): Seventh-ranked Marist defeated Brunswick 41-14 to reach the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive season and 11th time in 12 years. Marist used 10 ball carriers in rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries. Brayden Lewis ran for 85 yards on five carries, and Jack Euart ran for 54 yards and was 3-of-6 passing for 28 yards. Jackson Hughes had two short touchdown runs, and Whit Blackburn returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown. Eighth-ranked Roswell was tied 7-7 with Lanier last week but broke the game open with a 24-point second quarter on its way to a 59-27 victory, which put the Hornets in the quarterfinals for the third straight season. Wide receiver Dylan Williams (committed to Marshall) had 156 yards and three touchdowns on eight receptions. Nykahi Davenport (South Florida) had 117 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 10 carries, and K.J. Smith passed for 250 yards and three touchdowns. Davenport has 1,670 yards rushing for the season, and Smith has 2,199 yards passing. Roswell is the highest-scoring team in the state at 52.25 points per game. Marist and Roswell last met in a 1985 region playoff game.
*Thomas County Central (12-0) at Rome (11-1): Second-ranked Thomas County Central ran for four touchdowns in the first half in building a 35-0 lead and went on to a 56-6 victory over Jonesboro last week. The Yellow Jackets average 44 points with an offense led by Jaylen Johnson (1,595 passing yards in the regular season) and Trey Brenton (1,046 regular-season rushing yards). Thomas County Central is 24-1 in two seasons under head coach Justin Rogers, who inherited a program that had not had a winning record in any of the previous five years. Sixth-ranked Rome avenged a 42-3 loss to defending state champion Hughes in last year’s semifinals with a 42-14 victory that put the Wolves in the quarterfinals for the fifth time in eight seasons. Quarterback Reece Fountain, the Region 7 player of the year, threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to D.K. Daniel and scored on a 9-yard run as Rome built a 28-0 lead in the first quarter. Daniel also had one of the Wolves’ four interceptions. Rome is No. 2 in the state in scoring (50.1 points per game) and No. 1 in Class 6A in points allowed (7.58).