Second-round preview: Classes 7A and 6A
Class 7A
*Valdosta (8-3) at Carrollton (10-1): Fifth-ranked Carrollton, the 2022 runner-up, can reach the quarterfinals for the eighth straight time, though the first six came outside the highest classification. Carrollton beat Harrison 54-14 in the first round. Ju Ju Lewis was 15-of-19 passing for 435 yards and seven touchdowns, and Dylan Bishop came off the bench to throw an eighth Carrollton TD pass. The touchdowns went to seven receivers. Lewis, a sophomore committed to Southern Cal, has 2,625 passing yards and 41 TD passes on the season. Kimauri Farmer has rushed for 1,118 yards. Valdosta beat Archer 41-16 in the first round. Todd Robinson was 7-of-10 passing for 111 yards and rushed for 120 yards. Freshman Deron Foster rushed for 93 yards. He has averaged 103.8 rushing yards over the past seven games. Valdosta, with Rush Propst as coach, beat Carrollton 36-15 in the 2020 quarterfinals. The game was overturned months later on forfeit.
*North Gwinnett (8-3) at Walton (11-0): Both are in the second round for the seventh straight season. Both lost in the quarterfinals last season. Each won comfortably last week. Walton beat Mountain View 66-7. Jeremy Hecklinski, a Wake Forest commit and Class 7A’s leading passer in the regular season, was 12-of-13 passing for 214 yards and five touchdowns, three to Hunter Teal. Lota Ugokwe had three tackles for 23 yards in losses. North Gwinnett allowed just 109 total yards in its 31-6 victory over West Forsyth. Cole Funderburk and Braxton Kyle had three sacks apiece, and Funderburk returned a blocked kick 37 yards for a touchdown. Julian Watters rushed for 91 yards. North Gwinnett QB Ryan Hall has passed for 1,814 yards and rushed for 699 in a balanced offense.
*Camden County (8-3) at McEachern (7-4): Camden County defeated No. 7 Newton 29-15 in the biggest upset of the first round. Newton was favored by 21 points, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. Camden trailed 15-0 in the first quarter, then did what wing-T offenses can do, rushing for 312 yards with no official passing attempts (two negated by penalties). Jaden Dailey rushed for 135 yards, and Ja’Marley Riddle rushed for 83 and three touchdowns. Camden is in the second round in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2012-13. McEachern, which hasn’t lost since an 0-4 start, beat Campbell 42-0 last week, scoring all its points in the first half. Jaydon Kinney was 9-of-12 passing for 106 yards and three touchdowns in limited work. He also had three TD passes in the regular-season finale against Hillgrove. Jayreon Campbell has had three 100-yard rushing games this season. These teams have two common opponents. Valdosta beat Camden 24-21 and lost to McEachern 28-7. Newton beat McEachern 13-7 and lost to Camden 29-15.
*Peachtree Ridge (10-1) at Mill Creek (11-0): Peachtree Ridge’s 20-17 victory over Lambert was the Lions’ first playoff win since 2016. Sophomore QB Darnell Kelly was 18-of-28 passing for 192 yards. He’s thrown for 2,426 yards and 26 touchdowns. Sedric Addison rushed for 70 yards. Kelly and Addison are sophomores. Mill Creek, the defending champion and No. 1-ranked team, shattered the dreams of first-time state playoff qualifier Osborne by winning 42-17 and holding the Cardinals to minus-11 total yards in the first half. Jaiden Patterson, a safety/wide receiver committed to North Carolina, scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, two on receptions, one on an interception return. Shane Throgmartin was 7-of-11 passing for 111 yards and three touchdowns. A victory would put Mill Creek in the quarterfinals for the third straight time, which would be a program first.
*Buford (10-1) at Norcross (9-2): Norcross beat Denmark 34-10 in the first round to reach the round of 16 for the sixth straight time. A.J. Watkins was 9-of-11 passing for 143 yards. He’s had at least one touchdown passing, rushing and receiving in each of the past two games. Kevin Mavin rushed for 141 yards against Denmark. Fourth-ranked Buford beat Wheeler 50-0 in the first round. Dylan Raiola was 12-of-15 passing for 229 yards and four touchdowns. K.J. Bolden had five receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns. Since losing to Mill Creek, Buford is 4-0 while outscoring opponents 234-0. Buford and Norcross share Mill Creek as a common opponent. Norcross lost 27-13. Buford lost 31-24. These Gwinnett County schools haven’t met since 1977, when both were small. Norcross is 1-7 in the second round since its 2012-13 state championship teams. Buford’s streak of 22 second-round victories ended against Walton last season.
*North Paulding (9-2) at Grayson (9-2): North Paulding won 22-19 in overtime in the first round by holding East Coweta to a field goal in the extra period and winning on a TD pass from Tyler Niehr to Dube Enongene. Jayden Clayton rushed for 119 yards. The victory was the Wolfpack’s first in the playoffs since the 2013 team made Class 5A quarterfinals. Sixth-ranked Grayson beat Richmond Hill 34-24 last week for the Rams’ 10th consecutive first-round victory, the longest streak of its kind in the highest class. Jeff Davis was 15-of-22 passing with four touchdowns, one an 83-yarder to John Cineas for a 34-17 lead late in the third quarter. Grayson has not lost a home playoff game, or any playoff game to an unranked team, since Lowndes beat the Rams in the 2018 quarterfinals.
*Collins Hill (5-6) at Milton (9-2): Collins Hill beat No. 9 North Cobb 45-14 in the first round as a 19-point underdog. The projected margin was understandable given the teams’ common opponent – Milton. North Cobb beat Milton 42-27 while Milton beat Collins Hill 27-13. In Friday’s game, T.J. Wilcox was 10-of-13 passing for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and Cam Jones rushed for 127 yards on eight carries. Milton, ranked No. 10, won its first-round game 53-0 while holding Duluth to minus-5 rushing yards. Luke Nickel, who is committed to Miami, passed for 225 yards. In the regular season, Milton led Collins Hill 201-194 in total yards as neither team could run on the other. Milton’s Marc Essley had a 54-yard TD reception and an interception.
*Westlake (9-2) at Colquitt County (11-0): Colquitt County beat Parkview 51-25 in the first round, but star quarterback Neko Fann was on crutches in the second half. Fann threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns and continued to play for a while after being shaken up on a 55-yard run in the first quarter. Day’Shawn Brown rushed for 113 yards. No team has held Colquitt County to fewer than 35 points this season. Westlake beat Marietta 34-15 in the first round. Naeem Odeniyi rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns, and Westlake held Marietta to 17 rushing yards. Westlake beat Colquitt County 31-24 in a 2021 regular season game in Moultrie. Both were ranked No. 3. Westlake was in Class 6A then.
WRITTEN BY CHIP SAYEClass 6A
*Lovejoy (7-4) at Lee County (9-2): Lovejoy of Region 3 is the only No. 4 seed remaining in Class 6A after beating Region 2 champion Effingham County 47-14. Dashun Gilbert passed for 238 yards and four touchdowns, two to Corey Orr, who had 101 yards receiving. A win against Lee County would put Lovejoy in the quarterfinals for the first time since reaching consecutive state finals in 2011 and 2012. Fifth-ranked Lee County is one of three top-10 teams still alive from Region 1 (Thomas County Central and Houston County are the others). The Trojans are in the second round for the eighth straight year after beating Dunwoody 51-14. Weston Bryan passed for 145 of Lee County’s 454 yards, and Ousmane Kromah ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Kromah led Region 1 in rushing in the regular season with 1,392 yards and 14 touchdowns.
*Sequoyah (8-3) at Douglas County (11-0): Region 6 runner-up Sequoyah advanced to the second round for the first time since 2018 with a 33-9 victory over Alpharetta. The Chiefs led just 12-3 midway through the third quarter but got two touchdowns in a three-minute span to pull away. Sequoyah has won eight of nine games since starting the season 0-2. Third-ranked Douglas County, the Region 5 champion, has 11 wins for the first time since 2002 after its 63-9 victory over Habersham Central. A win this week would give Douglas County its first 12-0 start. Sophomore Rah’keith Kelly had 123 of the Tigers’ 347 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns. Sire Hardaway passed for 2,261 yards during the regular season. This will be the first meeting between these schools since 2007.
*Houston County (9-2) at Woodward Academy (9-2): Ninth-ranked Houston County, the No. 3 seed from Region 1, advanced with a 42-32 victory over North Atlanta. Houston County built a 21-3 lead but needed a touchdown pass from Antwann Hill to Ricky Johnson with about two minutes left to put the game away. It was the third touchdown reception of the night for Johnson and the fourth TD pass for Hill, who led Region 1 in passing yards (2,223) during the regular season. Johnson was the region’s leading receiver (969). Tenth-ranked Woodward Academy, the Region 3 champion, won a first-round playoff game for the 11th consecutive season when it beat Evans 31-14. The War Eagles forced three first-half turnovers and led 31-0 at halftime before giving up two touchdowns in the final 10 minutes. Griffin Marshall passed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Grice caught two TD passes, and Lucas Farrington ran for a score.
*Blessed Trinity (9-2) at Gainesville (11-0): Last year, Blessed Trinity ended a nine-year streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals when it lost in the first round, but the Titans are back in Round 2 after defeating Creekview 24-10 last week. The Titans fell behind 3-0 midway through the first quarter but scored the next 24 points. Zyon McKenzie had nine receptions for 135 yards, and Ahmontae Pitts had touchdown runs of 1 and 18 yards. Top-ranked Gainesville, the state runner-up last season and two-time Region 8 champion, beat South Paulding 46-27 last week. Gainesville trailed 14-13 before taking control with a 20-point run. Gavin Hall rushed for 209 yards and three touchdowns, putting him over 1,500 yards for the season. Baxter Wright passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Wright has 1,906 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. This will be the first meeting between these schools.
*Lanier (9-2) at Roswell (10-1): Lanier, the No. 2 seed from Region 8, won a playoff game for the first time since 2019 when it rallied to defeat East Paulding 21-14 last week. East Paulding led 14-7 and was at the Lanier 5-yard line with about nine minutes left when Logan Laughlin intercepted a pass and returned it for the tying touchdown. Chase Jameson caught the game-winning touchdown pass on a fourth-and-4 play from the East Paulding 34 in the closing seconds. Region 7 champion Roswell, a semifinalist last season, advanced to the second round with a 51-24 victory over River Ridge. K.J. Smith passed for 224 yards and a touchdown and ran for 100 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. He has 1,949 yards passing, 413 yards rushing and 35 combined touchdowns for the season. Nykahi Davenport, a 1,500-yard rusher for the season, ran for 172 yards and three TDs on 12 carries.
*Brunswick (7-3) at Marist (10-1): Brunswick is the only remaining team in the field from Region 2, and Marist is the only team left from Region 4. Brunswick lost in the first round last season as a region champion but won this year as a No. 3 seed. The Pirates trailed Mundy’s Mill 22-7 at halftime last week but scored three second-half touchdowns for a 28-22 victory. Waseem Murray passed for one touchdown and ran for two, including the game-winning 7-yarder with 2:10 remaining. Seventh-ranked Marist advanced with a 38-21 victory over Northside of Warner Robins 38-21. Jack Euart completed four passes, two of which went for touchdowns, and ran for 72 yards and a touchdown. Joseph Pizzo ran for 83 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. The War Eagles intercepted four passes, the first two of which were turned into early touchdowns. Marist led 38-7 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
*Hughes (9-2) at Rome (10-1): This is a rematch of last year’s semifinal game that Hughes won 42-3 on the way to its first state title. Fourth-ranked Hughes, a No. 2 seed this year, beat North Forsyth 41-7 last week. Hughes led 14-7 at the end of the third quarter but broke the game open with four fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two on Justus Savage runs. Savage finished with 170 yards on 24 carries, giving him 1,192 yards for the season. Air Noland passed for 225 yards (2,242 for the season) and two touchdowns. No. 6 Rome ranks second in scoring average (50.82) and first in points allowed (7.0) among Class 6A teams after a 56-0 first-round victory over Sprayberry. It was the Wolves’ fifth shutout and ninth game allowing eight points or less and their eighth time scoring at least 55 points. Reece Fountain had thrown for 2,285 yards. D.K. Daniel had 808 yards receiving.
*Jonesboro (8-3) at Thomas County Central (11-0): Jonesboro, the No. 3 seed from Region 3, won at Glynn Academy 32-31 to advance to the second round for the first time since its 2015 team reached the Class 4A quarterfinals. That team beat Thomas County Central 17-14 in the first round in their most recent meeting. Against Glynn Academy, the Cardinals took a 32-29 lead midway through the fourth quarter on a short touchdown pass from Jamon Jones to Jontavious Wyman, then took a safety with four seconds left. Lucious Murray rushed for 101 yards. No. 2 Thomas County Central beat St. Pius 49-0 last week for its 23rd victory in 24 games since moving from 4A to 6A last year. It was the fourth shutout in six games, and fifth overall, for the Yellow Jackets, who are allowing just 7.9 points per game. Trey Brenton, a 1,000-yard rusher during the regular season, ran 118 yards and two touchdowns.