Semifinal preview: Classes 5A and 4A

Class 5A

Jefferson at Creekside

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Arrowhead Stadium/The Swamp, Fairburn

Records, rankings: Jefferson is 13-0, the No. 1 seed from Region 8-5A and No. 3; Creekside is 12-1, the No. 1 seed from 5-5A and No. 2.

Last meeting: This is the teams’ first meeting.

Things to know: Both teams have won all their playoff games by 21 points or more. Aided by six sacks, Creekside beat No. 9 Warner Robins 35-14 last week, avenging a 2022 quarterfinal loss. Vinson Berry was 13-of-20 passing for 220 yards and four touchdowns, three to Shane Kelley. Roderick McCrary rushed for 194 yards on 34 carries. On the season, McCrary has 1,885 rushing yards, Berry has 2,188 passing yards, and Kelley has 1,030 yards receiving. Creekside’s lone loss was to California’s Mater Dei, the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Jefferson, allowing less than 200 total yards, beat No. 10 Harris County 35-12 on the road in the quarterfinals. Sammy Brown rushed for 244 yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries and accounted for all but 47 of the Dragons’ total yards. Brown, committed to Clemson as a linebacker, has rushed for 2,140 yards and 35 touchdowns this season. Gavin Markey has thrown for 1,372 yards in an offense that gets two-thirds of its yards rushing. Jefferson is in the semifinals for the first time since its 2020 Class 4A runner-up finish. Creekside is in the semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Both schools won their only state titles in the previous decade, Creekside in 2013 and Jefferson in 2012.

Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Creekside 24, Jefferson 23

Coffee at Cartersville

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Weinman Stadium, Cartersville

Records, rankings: Coffee is 13-0, the No. 1 seed from Region 1-5A and No. 1; Cartersville is 13-0, the No. 1 seed from 7-5A and No. 4.

Last meeting: Cartersville won 56-28 in the 2022 Class 5A quarterfinals.

Things to know: Both teams are coming off quarterfinal shutouts. It was Coffee’s sixth shutout of the season and Cartersville’s fifth. They’re the only Class 5A teams allowing fewer than 10 points per game, Coffee at 5.2 and Cartersville at 9.9. Coffee defeated Cass 30-0. Fred Brown rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown. He has rushed for a school-record 2,099 yards this season and at least 100 in all 13 games. Maurice Hansley has thrown for 1,265 yards. Coffee gets 68% of its yards rushing. Cartersville beat Jenkins 35-0 while allowing 74 total yards. Andrew Purdy rushed for 96 yards. Khristian Lando has rushed for 1,152 yards this season, and Nate Russell has thrown for 1,629.  Cartersville gets 58% of its yards rushing. This is Cartersville’s seventh semifinal in 10 seasons. Cartersville has won four of them, with state titles in 2015 and 2016. Coffee has made three semifinals in seven seasons and reached one final (2017) and never won a state title. Cartersville beat Coffee in the 2022 quarterfinals and 2020 semifinals in their previous meetings. Cartersville went up 21-0 in the first nine minutes of the 2022 game and scored two defensive touchdowns in the second half.

Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Coffee 21, Cartersville 9

WRITTEN BY CHIP SAYE

Class 4A

Benedictine at Stockbridge

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Tiger Stadium/The Jungle, Stockbridge

Records, rankings: Benedictine is 13-0, the No. 1 seed from Region 3-4A and No. 1; Stockbridge is 11-2, the No. 1 seed from 5-4A and No. 6.

Last meeting: Benedictine won 34-14 in the 2022 Class 4A quarterfinals.

Things to know: Benedictine, the two-time defending state champion, beat North Oconee 48-26 last week in a matchup of the two top-ranked teams in Class 4A and won their 13th consecutive playoff game. Luke Kromenhoek was 12-of-16 passing for 193 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown. Kromenhoek, the nation’s consensus No. 6 quarterback prospect who is committed to Florida State, also made five tackles. He participated in more than 110 plays against North Oconee. Bryce Baker ran for 156 yards and four touchdowns and had four tackles, a tackle for a loss, one sack, two caused fumbles and one recovered fumble. Wilkes Albert had 12 tackles, and Third Scroggins had 3.5 sacks. Stockbridge has won 11 consecutive games since starting the season with losses to Douglas County and Colquitt County. The Tigers got to the semifinals three times between 2014 and 2018 but went 0-3 in those games. They are back for the first time since then after a 35-14 victory over previously unbeaten Spalding. Jayden “Duke” Scott (committed to N.C. State) ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, putting him at 2,047 yards and 35 touchdowns on the season. Cobey Thompkins passed for 136 yards and a touchdown. He has 1,655 passing yards for the year. Last year’s quarterfinal game between these teams was the only time Benedictine and Stockbridge have faced each other.

Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Benedictine 27, Stockbridge 24

Perry at Starr’s Mill

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Panther Stadium, Fayetteville

Records, rankings: Perry is 11-2, the No. 2 seed from Region 2-4A and No. 7; Starr’s Mill is 10-3, the No. 1 seed from 4-4A and No. 8.

Last meeting: This is the teams’ first meeting.

Things to know: Perry, the only No. 2 seed remaining in the Class 4A field, reached the semifinals for the first time since 1959 with a 34-20 victory over Stephenson last week. It was the Panthers’ ninth playoff victory under seventh-year head coach Kevin Smith, who inherited a program that had won just three state playoff games in its 63-year history before his arrival in 2017. Perry trailed 7-0 at the end of the first quarter but outscored the Jaguars 27-0 over the next two quarters. Ahmad Gordon rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and Colter Ginn passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Gordon has rushed for 1,650 yards and 29 touchdowns on the season, and Ginn has passed for 1,744 yards. Starr’s Mill reached the semifinals for the second time in five seasons with a 35-29 victory over previously unbeaten Central of Carrollton. The Panthers scored the winning touchdown on a 41-yard Hail Mary pass from Logan Inagawa to Lincoln DeLaere on the final play of the game. Central had tied the game 29-29 on a touchdown pass and two-point conversion with 56 seconds left. Inagawa passed for 183 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 122 yards. He has 1,458 yards passing and 508 yards rushing for the season. Dorsey Benefield had 187 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, putting him at 1,147 yards for the year.

Maxwell Ratings’ projected score: Perry 25, Starr’s Mill 15