CLASS 5A (by Brian Jones)
Just when you thought the Georgia high school football playoffs couldn’t get any better, the four games from the Class 5A quarterfinals provided scintillating upsets, close calls and blowouts. The biggest upset of the night (and one of the biggest of the decade) was Grayson defeating Lowndes 17-7. Grayson running back Ean Pemberton rushed for 188 yards with two touchdowns while the defense shut down an offense that was averaging 37 points a game. … Camden County survived a scare as the Wildcats edged Woodstock, 18-17. The Wolverines came out swinging, as they took a 14-0 lead early in the first half. But down by 11 in the third, Michael Green intercepted a Taylor Trotter pass and returned it for a touchdown. Camden was able to win the game with a Daniel Valdez 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth. … Newnan got revenge against North Gwinnett for last year’s quarterfinal defeat, winning 20-3. Quarterback Russell Powell led the Cougars, going 10-for-12 for 126 yards, two passing touchdowns and one rushing. On the other side Michael Tamburo finished the night with 72 passing yards and was constantly pressured by the Cougar defense. … Peachtree Ridge is the fourth member of the semifinal squad as the Lions pounced on Coffee 38-0. Ronnie Smith scored three touchdowns for the Lions, who have won 11 consecutive games.
CLASS 4A (by Ricky Dimon)
Thanksgiving week narrowed the field in the Class 4A state playoffs from eight to four on Friday night. Among those advancing to the semifinals were the Rome Wolves (11-2), who enjoyed a glorious feast at the expense of host Statesboro (11-2). Rome surged to a 27-7 lead and never looked back, crushing the Blue Devils 41-20. … Another team with home-field advantage exited post-season play with a sour taste in its mouth, and this one came in even more shocking fashion. Top-ranked Westside-Macon (12-1) got clobbered by Tucker 31-20. The upset-minded Tigers (12-1) broke open a close game in the third quarter to seize a 31-12 advantage, and they held on with ease. … At Marist, the host War Eagles (12-1) thwarted a furious rally by Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (8-5). The Bulldogs, seeded fourth out of Region 4-AAAA, refused to let their dream playoff run die quietly. They stormed back from a seemingly insurmountable fourth-quarter deficit to close within 34-33, but could not get over the hump. … Griffin booked the last semifinal ticket after emerging from a battle featuring two teams with the same seed (No. 2) and record (9-3). The Bears edged visiting Southwest Dekalb 10-7.
CLASS 3A (by Fletcher Proctor)
The quarterfinal round saw a championship favorite bounced and a rematch of last season’s championship game set up for the semifinals. Jesse Hicks’ Baldwin Braves stormed out to a 17-7 halftime lead only to see the Falcons of Flowery Branch come back to pull off the 35-17 upset. Running back Daniel Drummond led the Falcons’ steady comeback in the second half and notched three touchdowns down the stretch. The Falcons will now head down to LaGrange after the Grangers outlasted Dunwoody 20-5. A pair of fumbles on two consecutive Wildcat drives did Dunwoody in, as Tristian Johnson took one to the house and quarterback Rodney Tolbert scrambled for 17 yards on offense several plays later for the other. Darren Hairston also scored for the Grangers. Carver-Columbus played without LB Jarvis Jones, but it didn’t seem to matter in a 28-14 victory over Gainesville. Red Elephants QB Blake Sims passed for 240 yards, but it was not enough to overcome Isaiah Crowell’s two rushing scores in the first half. Crowell had 118 yards by halftime. Finally, Cairo cruised to a 23-6 win over Eastside behind the scoring of Reggie Bryant. He had two first-half scores and Ronnie Wooten did the rest with over 100 yards rushing.
CLASS 2A (by Corey Mitchell)
The Brooks County Trojans continued their winning ways on Friday evening, beating visiting Lovett 33-32 in the Class 2A quarterfinal matchup. The loss dashed any hopes of a championship game rematch between the Lions and undefeated Buford as Lovett winds up the season with a respectable record of 9-4. Calhoun crushed Toombs County’s glass slipper in emphatic fashion, winning 41-14 and advancing to play Brooks in the semifinals. The host of that game will be determined on a coin flip as both teams are No. 1 seeds. … Buford had a game on its hands against fellow one-seed Dublin … for about two quarters. Quarterback Michael May’s 22-yard scamper put the Wolves in the lead for good, breaking the early 10-10 deadlock en route to a 44-10 victory. Catalyst Cody Getz showed his scary consistency once again by rushing for 161 yards and two scores for Buford in the victory. Jess Simpson’s team has clinched its seventh trip to the semifinals since 2000. … Fitzgerald played lights out again Friday night in its 41-19 destruction of Pepperell. Fitzgerald took control early with a 27-13 halftime lead and closed the Dragons out with another good defensive performance. The result presents an absolute delicacy for football fans next week as the red-hot Purple Hurricanes face Buford for a spot in the title game in the Georgia Dome.
CLASS A (by Derek Wiley)
The final four is set, with two teams very familiar to the semifinals and two which are there for the first time. Defending state champion Emanuel County Institute bounced back from a 7-0 halftime deficit to defeat Bremen 13-7. Running back Washaun Ealey tied the game at seven with a touchdown run and quarterback Michael Robinson gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with a touchdown run of his own. The Bulldogs will play Wilkinson County next week, as the Warriors upset Turner County 7-6 to advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history. … Lincoln County, the 2005 and 2006 Class A state champion, is back in the semifinals after beating the team that eliminated it in the quarterfinals a year ago, Wilcox County. The Red Devils were once again led by their strong running game and stout defense. Running back A.G. Middlebrooks scored three touchdowns and the Red Devils defense held Wilcox to only 47 yards of total offense in the second half to earn the 27-12 victory. Lincoln County will meet another stout defense next week when it plays Wesleyan, which defeated Miller County 17-0 to advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history. The Wolves’ defense held Shawndre Sheffield, Miller County’s leading rusher, to only 28 yards. Kyle Karempelis rushed for 136 yards and Conor Welton passed for 144 yards to lead the Wolves’ balanced offensive attack.
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