CLASS 5A
The first round of the playoffs did not disappoint, as three No. 1 seeds went down and one game went to triple overtime. The biggest upset in 5A had to be Woodstock cruising past Walton 28-7. It was the first loss for the Raiders in Raider Valley in two years. … Another No. 1 seed to go down was Stephenson, which fell to Coffee in overtime. Aaron Lott for Coffee kicked a 24-yard field goal to advance to the second round. … Etowah was the third No. 1 seed go home early as Lassiter came back to beat the Eagles 23-20. That game also went to overtime. Trojan quarterback Hutson Mason threw three touchdown passes despite multiple injuries. … There was another game to go past regulation and that was Milton and East Paulding. The Raiders came out on top 43-41 in triple overtime. Toney Williams scored five touchdowns to go with his 246 yards on the ground, but it wasn’t enough as quarterback Jesse Groover and wide receiver Ed Cazanave connected on three touchdowns and the two-point conversion to win the game. … Lowndes, Newnan, Grayson, Peachtree Ridge and Camden County were the other No. 1 seeds and won their first-round games convincingly.
CLASS 4A
The state playoffs got underway on Friday night and a familiar face stole the spotlight in Class 4A one year after finishing runner-up. Ware County (6-5), which lost to Northside-Warner Robins in the 2007 title game, defeated host Thomas County Central (8-3) 21-3 in a rematch of last season’s semifinal showdown. … Top-ranked Westside-Macon (11-0) clobbered Glynn Academy (5-6) 49-6 to join Sandy Creek (11-0) as one of two undefeated teams in the second round. Chamblee (6-5) gave Sandy Creek all it could handle, but ultimately fell 14-7. … A third previously unbeaten team was not so fortunate. Evans (10-1) suffered a stunning 36-10 home loss to Mt. Zion, Jonesboro (7-4). … Two other favorites joined Evans as No. 1 seeds to go down in the first round. Interestingly, the top team in Region 7 (Sprayberry) lost to the No. 4 team in Region 8 (Cedar Shoals), and the No. 1 team in Region 8 (Loganville) lost to the No. 4 team in Region 7 (Hillgrove). Cedar Shoals prevailed 11-8 and Hillgrove advanced with a 27-21 triumph. Sequoyah, the No. 3 seed in Region 7, also came through on the road by knocking off Clarke Central 34-13. … Those two regions produced another close game in the form of Rome’s 16-8 victory over visiting Apalachee.
CLASS 3A
The powers of Class 3A football flexed their collective muscles the first weekend of the 2008 state playoffs. Score Prep/GPB’s No. 1 Cairo trounced Troup 48-0 as the Syrupmakers held Troup to just one first down the entire game while rolling up over 400 offensive yards, including 347 on the ground. Ronnie Wooten ended any hope of a Troup miracle comeback in the third with a game-breaking touchdown. Cairo will face Burke County in the second round, after Burke annihilated Mary Persons. … Defending 3A champ Carver-Columbus received two touchdown runs from Isaiah Crowell en route to a 28-0 blanking of Crisp County. … Baldwin, meanwhile knocked off Region 4’s No. 4-seeded Eagle’s Landing 28-3. … In the night’s only real upset, Donavan Tate tallied three total touchdowns on 290 total yards of offense as Cartersville eked past St. Pius X 34-31. Cole Moon rushed for 99 yards and two scores in the loss. … The team that beat St. Pius last week continued its run. Dunwoody cruised past Central-Carroll 24-7. … The night’s most outstanding player had to be Flowery Branch’s Connor Shaw. The Falcons’ QB threw for five scores and 296 yards and also ran one in as Flowery Branch picked up a win at The Reservation over Stephens County.
CLASS 2A
The quest for Dec. 12 began Friday night in Class 2A with a couple intriguing matchups and a few “foregone conclusions.” Top-seeded Buford handled its business against Heard County, beating the Braves 56-21 at Tom Riden Stadium. The Wolves seem to have worked out any late regular-season kinks offensively as Buford rushed for 315 on the evening. Cody Getz had 136 yards on the ground with two scores. … Quarterback Darius Minor and the Jefferson Dragons overcame a sluggish start to coast againt Coosa 31-13. Minor led three second-half touchdowns drives and had 212 yards through the air. The Dragons will face the Lovett Lions next. Lovett advanced by beating Macon County 48-12. … Region 2 had all of its teams exit the playoffs Friday. Charlton County’s season ended with a resounding thud, falling to Fitzgerald 39-7. The Purple Hurricanes rushed for over 500 yards as a team and Nick Williams had three first-half touchdowns in the win. Appling County lost to Cook 25-10 in a surprising result. McIntosh County Academy looked poised for a deep run in the postseason, but was tripped up by Thomasville Friday night, 20-7. Tattnall County ran into a red-hot Brooks County team and was soundly beaten 41-13. Brooks will face the winner of the delayed Jefferson County/Northeast Macon game, which will be played Saturday.
CLASS A
The top teams in Class A won big in the first round of the playoffs with big contributions from the running game. Defending state champions, Emanuel County Institute, showed off their rushing attack by defeating Greenville 51-8 behind four more touchdowns by running back Washaun Ealey. … Second-ranked Wilcox County defeated Seminole County 34-20. Antonio Marshall rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns. … Third-ranked Lincoln County shut out Social Circle 32-0 as A.G. Middlebrooks ran for 113 yards and a touchdown. … Fifth-ranked Savannah Christian defeated Chattahoochee County 18-8 behind 145 yards and three touchdowns by Chris Barnwell. … But it was Wesleyan sophomore running back Kyle Karempelis that stole the night with 208 yards and four touchdowns as the Wolves defeated Warren County 42-19. Upsets were rare as Holy Innocents’ was the only higher seed to advance as they shut out Bowdon 13-0. Will Aitkins had two touchdown runs. … And Gordon Lee, the fourth seed in Region 6, nearly upset Region 5 champion Whitefield Academy but lost to the Wolfpack 14-12. Trey Miller threw for 183 yards and Christian Willis ran for two touchdowns for Whitefield.
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