Second-round preview: Classes 5A and 4A
Class 5A
*Kell (10-1) at Calhoun (8-3): Calhoun is in the second round for the 22nd consecutive season. The Yellow Jackets are 16-5 in those games and made the finals last season. Kell has made the playoffs each season since 2008 and most recently made the quarterfinals in 2016. Kell beat Lithia Springs 38-22 last week. Bryce Clavon was 12-of-15 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns. He has 2,569 passing yards and 776 rushing yards this season. Elijah Washington rushed for 149 yards against Lithia Springs. Calhoun beat Eastside 23-21. Carlos Lopez, who had missed an extra point that kept his team behind, came back and kicked a 19-yard field goal with 5:17 left, and Eastside didn’t threaten again. Trey Townsend threw for 173 yards, putting him at 1,890 for the season. Caden Williams had 117 yards from scrimmage. He has 952 yards rushing and 288 receiving this season. This will be the first meeting between these teams.
*Chamblee (8-2) at Ware County (10-0): Chamblee beat McIntosh 62-13 last week for the Bulldogs’ first playoff victory since 2007. Fabian Walker, who ranks fifth in DeKalb County Schools history with 5,626 yards passing, was 17-of-27 for 292 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored two touchdowns. Tristian Sizemore had 136 receiving yards. Ware County, ranked No. 1, beat Jones County 55-13 in the first round. Niko Smith was 17-of-30 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Dae’Jeaun Dennis rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Ware County has never won a state title. This is the second time that Ware has entered the playoffs ranked No. 1. Ware lost the first time, in 2014, to Mays in the second round. Chamblee is 0-10 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams.
*Cass (5-6) at Mays (7-4): Cass beat fourth-ranked Jefferson 27-17 last week in the first round’s biggest upset. It was Cass’s first postseason victory since 1983. Freshman Brodie McWhorter was 20-of-29 passing for 270 yards and three touchdowns. Sacovie White had five receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown and intercepted a pass. Devin Henderson, who started the season at quarterback, is another elite receiver. He has 59 receptions for 698 yards and 10 touchdowns. Mays beat Centennial 44-16 last week. The Raiders are trying to reach their first quarterfinal since 2017 under first-year coach Tony Slaton. Mays is averaging 40.7 points against Class 5A opponents.
*Northgate (5-6) at Dutchtown (10-1): Northgate, a Coweta County school, beat Arabia Mountain 38-14 in the first round. It was the Vikings’ first playoff win since 2016. Evan Garrett rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. Tyon Williams had 59 yards receiving, putting him right at 900 for the season. Seventh-ranked Dutchtown beat Statesboro 45-0 while allowing 34 total yards and one first down. It was the Bulldogs’ third straight shutout. Dutchtown has held 10 of 11 opponents to 14 points or less and is 10-0 in those games. Jamal Bing has rushed for 985 yards this season. This is Dutchtown’s third 10-win season in five years. Dutchtown last made the quarterfinals in 2019. Northgate last made it in 2015. These teams played most recently in 2010 with Dutchtown winning.
*Warner Robins (7-4) at Northside-Columbus (10-1): Warner Robins is the two-time defending champion with a streak of five state finals appearances. The Demons’ 1-4 start was ominous, but they’ve won six straight games handily. QB Chase Reese was 40-of-83 passing for 381 yards and one touchdown after five games and is 58-of-88 for 1,120 yards and 16 touchdowns since. Cam Flowers had four receptions for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the 31-13 victory over Jenkins in the first round. Northside beat Tucker 35-27 last week after leading 35-6 at halftime. Malachi Hosley rushed for 198 yards, pushing his season total to 2,032. QB Caden Clay rushed for 96 yards and four touchdowns and passed for a score. Northside won its 10th game for the first time. Northside’s region title was the first in its 19-season history, and its playoff victory was the first since 2005.
*Dalton (6-5) at Creekside (9-2): Dalton beat No. 10 Loganville 7-3 in the first round, the Catamounts’ first playoff victory since 2016. Tyson Greenwade rushed for 102 yards and scored the game’s only touchdown with just under five minutes left. Dalton forced a turnover on downs at midfield to seal the win. Greenwade has rushed for 1,914 yards and 23 touchdowns on the season, and his 2,093 yards from scrimmage account for 58.9% of Dalton’s 3,556 total yards. Second-ranked Creekside beat Greater Atlanta Christian 54-16 last week. It was the Seminoles’ ninth straight victory. Roderick McCrary rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. He’s run for 1,217 yards on the season. Vinson Berry has thrown for 1,257 yards and 16 touchdowns. These teams have played once before, with Creekside winning 42-20 at Dalton in the 1999 first round.
*Coffee (9-2) at Decatur (7-4): Sixth-ranked Coffee beat Ola 34-6 in the first round. Tyrese Woodgett rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown, and Maurice Hansley passed for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Antwain McDuffie rushed for 94 yards, putting him at 946 on the season. He’s scored touchdowns in 10 of Coffee’s 11 games. Decatur, fresh off its first region title since 2004, beat Harris County 33-20 in the first round. Harrison Hannah passed for 223 yards and two touchdowns, both to Kenric Lanier, who had four receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Hannah has thrown for 2,608 yards, and Lanier has 979 yards and 11 touchdowns receiving. Decatur last made a quarterfinal in 2003. Coffee has won 12 playoff road games since 2016.
*Cartersville (10-1) at Cambridge (9-2): This is the only Class 5A second-round game between ranked teams. Third-ranked Cartersville beat Clarke Central 43-7 in the first round. Cartersville extended its streak of 10-win seasons to 11. Clarke was bent on stopping 1,000-yard rusher Malachi Jeffries, who was held to 14 yards, but Paul Gamble was 8-of-16 passing for 272 yards and touchdowns to four receivers. Fifth-ranked Cambridge beat Jackson of Atlanta 27-20 in the first round. Christian Isibor rushed for 156 yards on 24 carries and scored three second-half touchdowns to give Cambridge a 27-6 lead in the fourth quarter. Isibor has run for 1,396 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season. Cambridge has reached the second round three straight seasons but never made a quarterfinal.
Class 4A
*Stephenson (7-3) at Cedartown (11-0): Stephenson won a playoff game for the first time since 2019 when it rallied to beat Pace Academy 40-38 last week. Stephenson trailed 38-26 with five minutes left, but Devin Ingram scored on a kickoff return and a 58-yard run for a two-point lead. Still, the Jaguars’ victory wasn’t secure until Pace Academy missed a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds. Ingram finished with 363 all-purpose yards (203 rushing, 160 on kickoff returns) with four touchdowns. Top-ranked Cedartown took a 42-0 lead in the first half and beat Cedar Shoals 49-0 last week. The Bulldogs are one win from their third consecutive quarterfinal. Reece Tanner passed for 88 yards, rushed for a team-high 70 and accounted for three touchdowns. RB/DB Harlem Diamond has 1,363 all-purpose yards and 32 solo tackles. Stephenson is 0-5 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams.
*Burke County (9-2) at Bainbridge (7-4): This is one of two Class 4A games this week matching top-10 opponents (Wayne County vs. Perry is the other). Eighth-ranked Burke County was the only road team in Class 4A to win last week, defeating LaGrange 23-20 in a battle of top-10 teams. Blake Burden’s 37-yard field goal with 5:33 remaining gave the Bears a 23-13 lead, and they held on. Charlie Dorsey ran for 119 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. No. 6 Bainbridge is in the second round for the seventh time in eight seasons after beating Baldwin 58-20. Keenan Phillips scored three touchdowns in the first 14 minutes as the Bearcats built a 42-13 halftime lead. He finished with 108 yards on 13 carries, his fifth straight 100-yard game, and went over 1,000 yards for the season (1,017). Baldwin’s Micah Welch ran for 241 yards and three TDs.
*Lovett (7-4) at North Oconee (11-0): Lovett avenged a season-opening 14-0 loss to rival Westminster with a 13-6 victory that put the Lions in the second round for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Kalil Townes capped off a 98-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 9:50 remaining to break a 6-6 tie. Townes also scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter for a 6-3 lead. No. 2 North Oconee, a semifinalist last season, beat Sonoraville 49-6 and tied the school record for victories. The Titans haven’t allowed more than 13 points in a game this season and have held nine opponents to a touchdown or less. Senior WR/DB Khalil Barnes, a three-star recruit with offers from Clemson, Notre Dame and 20 others, scored three touchdowns, one a 55-yard inception return, another a 93-yard run.
*Wayne County (9-2) at Perry (10-1): No. 7 Wayne County, an 0-9 team last year, is in the second round in its first season under head coach Jaybo Shaw after beating 2021 Class A Private champion Trinity Christian 31-13. Matthew Fuller, the leading rusher on a run-heavy team, had 175 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, giving him 1,497 yards and 19 touchdowns for the season. The Yellow Jackets completed just one pass. Third-ranked Perry scored on its first six possessions in a 40-6 victory over Shaw last week and is one win from its third consecutive quarterfinal appearance. The Panthers have allowed seven points or less in nine straight games. On offense, Perry had a 2,000-yard passer (Armar Gordon), 1,000-yard rusher (Demetrious Carter) and 1,000-yard receiver (Dakari Anderson) in the regular season. Gordon threw for 168 yards and a touchdown last week in barely more than a half.
*Spalding (7-4) at Benedictine (9-2): Spalding has won first-round playoff games in back-to-back seasons for just the third time in school history. Curt Clark ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in a 26-7 victory over Westover last week. His 25-yard touchdown run late in the first half broke a 7-7 tie. Clark passed for 1,619 yards in the regular season and is the Jaguars’ leading rusher. Fourth-ranked Benedictine, the defending state champion, beat No. 9 Whitewater 34-10 last week for its 11th consecutive first-round victory. The Cadets have a balanced offense led by junior quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, a three-star prospect committed to Florida State. He ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more against Whitewater. Kromenhoek has passed for 2,087 yards and 23 TDs in his first year as a starter.
*Walnut Grove (9-2) at Stockbridge (9-2): Walnut Grove picked up the first playoff victory in the school’s 14-year history when it beat Heritage of Ringgold 17-13 last week. The Warriors trailed 7-3 at halftime but got two third-quarter touchdown passes from Ashton Adams and held on. Adams has passed for 1,288 yards this season in a run-first offense. Emadd Howard has rushed for 1,209 yards. Stockbridge defeated Hapeville Charter 28-14 for its first playoff victory since a seven-year run of reaching at least the quarterfinals from 2012 to 2018. The Tigers, also a run-heavy team, rushed for 347 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries. Jayden Scott had 157 yards and three touchdowns, and Diontre Stone had 104 yards. Jordyn Mack, the team leader with 761 yards this season, ran for 79 yards and a touchdown.
*Cairo (8-3) at Troup (10-1): This game will be played at 4 p.m. Saturday at Callaway Stadium in LaGrange. Cairo, in its first season under head coach David Coleman, is in the second round for the third consecutive season after a 27-14 victory over Westside of Macon. Cairo trailed 14-10 in the third quarter but scored the game’s final 27 points, led by two touchdown passes from Braylon Robinson. Troup defeated New Hampstead 36-29 for its first playoff victory since its 2018 semifinal team. Taeo Todd passed for 180 yards and three touchdowns, all to Logan Sinkfield, and ran for 106 yards and a score. Sinkfield’s third touchdown catch broke a 29-29 tie late in the third quarter. Todd has passed for 1,860 yards, rushed for 1,712 yards and accounted for 44 touchdowns this season.
*Central-Carrollton (8-3) at Holy Innocents’ (8-3): Central defeated Madison County 35-7 last week for its first playoff victory since 2014. Devan Powell completed 10 of 11 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns, and freshman Jonaz Walton ran for 104 yards on 17 carries. Powell has passed for 1,609 yards, rushed for 511 yards and accounted for 29 touchdowns this season. Walton has 1,569 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing. Holy Innocents’, a region champion for the third time in four seasons, jumped to a 31-0 lead in the first half and cruised past Hampton 41-8 in the first round. Drew Bomar scored on runs of 17 and 35 yards, and Nick Morgan scored on a 37-yard pass from William Wright and a 15-yard run. The Golden Bears run a triple option and pass only 4.7 times per game. They have won five straight games since a 3-3 start.