We are down to the final four teams in each of the five classifications of the high school football playoffs! Here is a look at all of the semifinal matchups in the state …
CLASS 5A
Peachtree Ridge vs. Grayson: The Grayson Rams hope they can keep the good times rolling after upsetting defending champion and No. 1-ranked Lowndes last Friday. The Rams will take on a red-hot Peachtree Ridge team that has won its last 11 games. Grayson will keep the formula that it has been using all season long: run the ball and stop the run. The Rams have one of the best run games in the state and are led by Ean Pemberton, who tore apart the Lowndes defense last week with two touchdowns. Quarterback Tyler Horne can run the rock if needed and James Earl Jones will look to be in the mix as well. But the Lions can also run the ball well with Ronnie Smith leading the way, and on defense, linebacker and LSU-commit Kevin Minter will be all over the field. This should be a low-scoring game with both teams relying on their running backs. The Lions shut out Coffee last week by a score of 38-0.
Newnan vs. Camden County: The winner of the above-mentioned all-Gwinnett matchup will have to face one of these two giants. Newnan is one of the few teams left in the playoffs that prefers to throw the ball more often than depending on its run game. The Cougars run their version of the spread with quarterback Russell Powell throwing and running his way through the playoffs. In fact, he has thrown or run for at least one touchdown in 25 of 26 games that he has started throughout his career. But Camden would like to end that streak with a defense that has pitched four shutouts this season. The Wildcats, making their fifth semifinals appearance since 2002, will run the ball with Danny Valdez and Greg Baker. Camden will be the favorite, but Newnan is playing its best football now so this one should be a great contest.
Brian Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
CLASS 4A
Griffin vs. Tucker: Griffin opened the Class 4A state playoffs with a 34-0 blowout of Glenn Hills. The Bears followed that up with a narrow 34-30 road win over Brunswick and 10-7 home victory at the expense of Southwest DeKalb. Following a 3-3 start featuring losses to Dunwoody, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro and North Clayton, Griffin has since won seven in a row. Tucker took care of Whitewater and Hillgrove at home in Rounds 1 and 2 before shocking top-ranked Westside-Macon 31-20 on the road in quarterfinal action. The Tigers, at 12-1, are enjoying an eight-game winning streak since getting erased by Marist 38-0. Will a Bears defense that has posted three shutouts and held five opponents to seven points or less be able to slow down Tucker running back Jonathan Davis and flanker Drayton Calhoun? Both Griffin and Tucker are No. 2 seeds (Tucker in Region 6 and Griffin in Region 4).
Rome vs. Marist: Rome had to pull out a 16-8 defensive battle against Apalachee in order to pack its bags as playoff visitors. And what road warriors the Wolves have been! They stunned Sandy Creek 19-13 in Round 2 and booked their spot in the semifinals with a 41-21 drubbing of Statesboro. Rome has been able to right the ship after a crushing 27-6 loss to Sprayberry in the Region 7 championship game on Nov. 7. Marist has found different ways to prevail in all three of its home playoff games en route to the semifinals. The War Eagles eased past Northgate 42-0 in Round 1, beat Sequoyah 28-12 in a game that was closer than the score suggested, and survived a furious fourth-quarter rally to subdue Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 34-33 in the quarterfinals. Marist, which again holds home-field advantage as a No. 1 seed, lost its season-opener to St. Pius but went undefeated in region play and has won 12 straight overall.
Ricky Dimon can be reached at rdimon@scoreatl.com.
CLASS 3A
Cairo vs. Carver-Columbus: The Final Four for Class 3A is dominated by teams outside of the Atlanta area and features the return of a traditional power as well as a rematch of last year’s title game. The Cairo Syrupmakers fell to Carver-Columbus last season in the state championship, but this year it will be Cairo, which comes in as the favorite. The Syrupmakers are led by a potent three-pronged backfield of quarterback Angelo Pease and running backs Ronnie Wooten and Reginald Bryant. The running backs are dubbed Thunder (Bryant) and Lightning (Wooten), and the ground game opens up the aerial for Pease. Last week against Eastside, “Thunder and Lightning” went for 200 yards rushing and Pease also ran one in for a score. The Tiger defense, meanwhile, will be without the state’s top college prospect linebacker Jarvis Jones but still features hard-hitting LeRon Furr. The Carver-Columbus offense is led by Devin Burns and running backs Jarkuis Morgan and Isaiah Crowell.
LaGrange vs. Flowery Branch: The other semifinal matchup finds LaGrange returning to the semifinals for the first time since 2005. The Grangers have a mobile quarterback in Rodney Tolbert and fine running back complements in Ocie Salter and Darren Hairston. Tristian Johnson can bring the heat from the defensive end position and Qua Huzzie makes plays at linebacker. LaGrange will host the Falcons of Flowery Branch and head coach Lee Shaw’s bunch can put points on the scoreboard. The team is averaging 32.6 points per game during the playoffs and the coach’s son, Connor Shaw, runs the offense flawlessly. When Connor isn’t running the ball, he is handing off to Daniel Drummond, a predicted fullback next season at Georgia Tech. Izaan Cross is a big target for Connor at tight end and will be a tough matchup for the Granger defense. Watch out for Chris Lipscomb at wideout as well.
Fletcher Proctor can be reached at fproctor@scoreatl.com.
CLASS 2A
Brooks County vs. Calhoun: Brooks County earned its place in the semis by erasing an 11-point deficit and outlasting Lovett 33-32 at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The same venue will host the semifinal tilt on Friday as a result of a coin flip won by the Trojans last Saturday morning. Calhoun had little trouble dispatching Toombs County 41-14 to reach its semifinal spot, thanks to quarterback Michael Johnson’s 306 passing yards. There are other things the teams have in common besides their No. 1 seedings in the playoffs: both teams yield less than 14 points per game on defense and both teams score over 34 points per game. It will be interesting to see how the Yellow Jackets execute their spread offense on the road, while Brooks County will look to score on the ground with Arlester McKinnon, coming off a 135-yard rushing performance.
Fitzgerald vs. Buford: In the other semifinal matchup, Fitzgerald will take on the daunting task of traveling to Tom Riden Stadium to face Buford, the year-long top-ranked team in the classification and defending state champion. Ever since their lackluster effort in the first half against Greater Atlanta Christian in their regular-season finale, Jess Simpson and the Wolves have righted the ship by outscoring their playoff opponents 144-38. Their 44-10 drubbing of fellow No. 1 seed Dublin last Friday ran their record to 13-0 on the season. If running back Storm Johnson can continue to find the end zone, the Wolves will be right on pace for their second consecutive undefeated season. The Purple Hurricanes have also played dominating football in the postseason, however, winning each of their three playoff games by at least three touchdowns. The margin of victory in Fitzgerald’s 41-19 win over Pepperell in the quarterfinal round sent the clear message that this will be a big test for the homestanding Wolves. Buford will have to watch out for Jamea Thomas, who scored two touchdowns—on a kickoff and a pick-six—last week.
Corey Mitchell can be reached at cmitchell@scoreatl.com.
CLASS A
Lincoln County vs. Wesleyan: Lincoln County has won 14 state championships and 34 region championships. Its semifinal opponent, Wesleyan, won its first region championship this season and is in the state semifinals for the first time in school history. The Red Devils and Wolves have met once before in the first round of the 2000 playoffs; Lincoln County was dominant, winning 45-7. But that was a completely different Wesleyan team. This year’s Wolves have won 10 straight games and have outscored their opponents in the playoffs 80-26. The Wolves have won with a balanced offense led by junior quarterback Conor Welton and sophomore running back Kyle Karempelis. The Red Devils like to run the football with A.G. Middlebrooks and Taivious McGahee. Both teams feature strong defenses. The Red Devils have given up only 12 points in the playoffs, all of those coming last week to Wilcox. If the Wolves are going to advance to their first state championship game and upset the Red Devils, they must come up big in the red zone.
ECI vs. Wilkinson County: As defending state champions, Emanuel County Institute was expected to be here. The same cannot be said for opponent Wilkinson County, however. The Warriors began their season losing two of their first three to Region 2-A teams Twiggs County and Wilcox County. They then won five in a row before losing to Lincoln County, 20-0. Since then, they have begun another streak, winning four straight—including last week’s 7-6 upset over Turner County—to advance to the semifinals. While ECI is led by touchdown machine and UGA-bound Washaun Ealey, the Warriors have a couple of talented backs of their own. Immanual Shinholster ripped off touchdown runs of 60 and 75 yards to beat Commerce 21-7 in the first round. Ricky Jones ran for 135 yards and a touchdown in a second-round win over Whitefield Academy. Ealey has rushed for 542 yards and nine touchdowns in the playoffs for the Bulldogs.
Derek Wiley can be reached at dwiley@scoreatl.com.
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