Two reigning champions survive quarterfinals in OT

Defending champions Warner Robins and Fitzgerald won in overtime last week while Dutchtown, St. Francis and Schley County made the semifinals for the first time. Fellowship Christian was the only unranked team to advance in what’s been a relatively predictable postseason.

Warner Robins, the two-time reigning Class 5A champion, beat No. 2 Creekside 31-28. After Creekside failed on a fourth-and-10 on its overtime possession, Warner Robins’ Daniel Barber kicked a 31-yard field goal.

Fitzgerald, the 2021 Class 2A champion, beat Rockmart 21-14. Fitzgerald saved itself with a 11-play, 94-yard touchdown drive, scoring with 2:55 left in regulation. Fitzgerald scored on its overtime possession and stopped Rockmart on a fourth-and-6 from the 11-yard line.

Dutchtown, an 18-year-old Henry County school, is a first-time semifinalist for beating Mays 40-34 in overtime in 5A. Dutchtown coach Niketa Battle came out on top against his former team. Sim Singh kicked a 36-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, Tishaun Brown stopped Mays’ overtime possession with an interception, and Amarion Yarbough scored on a 3-yard run to finish it.

St. Francis, a north Fulton County private school that started football in 2010, beat Bleckley County 37-21 in Class A Division I to make its history. Schley County,, opened in 2000, of A Division II beat Wilcox County 55-23.

In Class 2A, Fellowship Christian got through as an unranked team by beating No. 6 Pierce County 40-22. Fellowship Christian was ranked No. 5 in preseason but had not returned to the rankings since a 2-3 start.

Several quarterfinal games provided drama.

Lincoln County, reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2012, held Dooly County out of the end zone on four tries inside the 10-yard and two inside the 2 in the closing moments of a 24-21 victory.

Bowdon, the No. 1 team in A Division II, trailed 19-0 in the second quarter but overcome Early County 36-26. In Class 6A, No. 3 Roswell trailed No. 2 Thomas County Central 24-6 at halftime but won 42-34.

Thomson and South Atlanta scored nine touchdowns in a wild fourth quarter of a Class 2A game that Thomson won 56-38.

The higher-ranked teams won 27 of 32 games Friday, but the computer Maxwell Ratings projections were even better, going 27-4-1. It had Thomson-South Atlanta as a tossup.