Semifinal preview: Class A Division I and Division II
Class A Division I
Bryan County at Prince Avenue Christian
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Brad Akins Field, Bogart
Records, rankings: Bryan County is 12-1, the No. 1 seed from Region 3-A Division I and No. 10; Prince Avenue Christian is 12-1, the No. 1 seed from 5-A Division I and No. 1.
Last meeting: This is the teams’ first meeting.
Things to know: Bryan County is playing in its first semifinal since it began football in 1976 while Prince Avenue is playing in its eighth in nine seasons with the goals of a fourth straight finals appearance and third championship in four years. Bryan County beat Commerce 24-16 in the quarterfinals and broke a 16-16 tie with Austin Clemons’ 2-yard run in the final minute. Clemons rushed for 75 yards. Jacari Carney rushed for 63. Sean Kelly Hill was 5-of-7 passing for 77 yards and a touchdown. Tanner Ennis scored on a 20-yard run and a 17-yard pass. Clemons has rushed for 1,660 yards and 21 touchdowns. Carney has rushed for 951 yards and is averaging 121 over his past six games. Bryan County gets 84.4% of its total yards rushing, although Hill has thrown one TD pass in each playoff game. Bryan County held Commerce, which had been Class A’s leading rushing team, to 181 rushing yards. Prince Avenue, the classification's leading passing team, beat Irwin County 41-7 last week. Aaron Philo was 28-of-42 passing for 448 yards and four touchdowns. Connor Causby had six receptions for 201 yards. Philo (committed to Georgia Tech) has thrown for 3,788 yards and can become the first player in state history to pass for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons. His 49 TD passes are seven shy of K’hari Lane’s state record. Philo is 790 yards short of Trevor Lawrence’s state career record for passing yards, which is 13,902.
Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Prince Avenue Christian 32, Bryan County 20
Swainsboro at Brooks County
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Veterans Stadium, Quitman
Records, rankings: Swainsboro is 11-2, the No. 3 seed from Region 3-A Division I and No. 8; Brooks County is 8-5, the No. 1 seed from 1-A Division I and unranked.
Last meeting: Brooks County won 15-14 in the first round of the 2010 Class 2A playoffs.
Things to know: Swainsboro, the 2022 Class A Division I runner-up, is back in the semifinals despite losing its final two regular-season games to Bleckley County and Dublin. Brooks County is in its fifth semifinal in seven seasons despite starting 1-5, each loss suffered against bigger schools, two that are still playing (Thomas County Central, Cook). In the quarterfinals, Brooks County beat Rabun County 39-13. Chris Cole rushed for 206 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. He's gone over 100 in every playoff game and rushed for 1,617 yards this season. Junior Burrus was 8-of-16 passing for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Brooks held Rabun County to 127 total yards and intercepted three passes. Swainsboro beat Elbert County 34-28 and scored the winning touchdown midway in the fourth quarter after trailing 28-26. Swainsboro rushed 54 times for 455 yards while going 0-for-2 passing. Demello Jones (committed to Georgia) led the way with 155 yards, followed by Qin Brown (116), Jordon Williams (105) and freshman Ja’bios Smith (79). Williams has rushed for 1,152 yards this season; Jones has run for 1,026, and Brown has rushed for 936. Brooks County is 2-0 all-time against Swainsboro with playoff victories in 1986 and 2010.
Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Brooks County 20, Swainsboro 14
WRITTEN BY CHIP SAYEClass A Division II
Telfair County at Manchester
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, Manchester
Records, rankings: Telfair County is 10-2, the No. 2 seed from Region 4-A Division II and unranked; Manchester is 10-2, the No. 2 seed from 6-A Division II and No. 2.
Last meeting: Manchester won 27-0 in 1981.
Things to know: Telfair County was 7-0 and ranked No. 8 in late October but fell out of the top 10 after losing its final two regular-season games against Dooly County (21-15) and Treutlen (20-10). Telfair County now has beaten top-10 teams Portal and Macon County in back-to-back weeks to reach the semifinals for the first time in a history that dates to 1967. In a 38-14 victory over third-ranked Macon County last week, Bradyn Cook rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Telfair County rushed for 240 yards as a team. Jeremiah Quinn returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown. The Trojans are allowing 11.3 points per game in the playoffs. Manchester trailed Clinch County 17-7 with three minutes to play in the quarterfinals but scored two touchdowns down the stretch, with the help of an onside-kick recovery, for a 21-17 victory that put the Blue Devils in the semifinals for the first time since their 1997 championship season. Darius Favors scored on an 8-yard run with 2:55 left to cut the lead to 17-14, and Qua Cooper scored the game-winner on a 29-yard run with 1:18 remaining. Favors rushed for 134 yards, putting him at 967 for the season. Cooper ran for 114 yards and has 871 for the season. Both are juniors. They are the leading rushers for a team that gets 281.3 yards per game on the ground and 46.6 passing.
Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Manchester 20, Telfair County 7
Schley County at Bowdon
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Warren P. Sewell Field, Bowdon
Records, rankings: Schley County is 12-0, the No. 1 seed from Region 6-A Division I and No. 1; Bowdon is 11-2, the No. 1 seed from 7-A Division II and No. 5.
Last meeting: Bowdon won 39-31 in the 2022 Class A Division I championship game.
Things to know: This is a rematch of last year’s championship game, which Bowdon won to claim its first state title since 1992. Gone from that Bowdon team are T.J. Harvison (Pittsburgh), who rushed for 212 yards in the final, and quarterback Robert McNeal (East Tennessee State). The offensive load this year has fallen to Alabama transfer Kyler McGrinn, who has been up to the challenge. He has 1,847 rushing yards, 1,767 passing yards and 52 combined touchdowns and was recently named his region’s offensive player of the year. McGrinn rushed for a season-high 340 yards and six touchdowns last week in a 55-28 victory over Dooly County. Schley County is led once again by quarterback Jay Kanazawa, who threw for 239 yards against Bowdon last year and 315 in a 28-24 victory over Early County last week. Kanazawa has passed for 2,750 yards and 31 touchdowns this season. Jalewis Solomon, committed to South Carolina as a defensive back, had 10 catches for 122 yards against Bowdon and has 907 receiving yards this season. In the quarterfinals, Schley County trailed Early County 24-14 in the fourth quarter but scored two touchdowns, including a game-winning 21-yard touchdown pass from Kanazawa to Carson Westbrook in the final two minutes.
Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Schley County 31, Bowdon 26