Class 5A Blog: Upsets and expected victories set up big round two matchups

There were a series of high-end games that will define the early rounds of the playoffs in Class 5A last week. And with so many big contests in the coming weeks, the playoffs will be some of the most exciting in recent memory.

Lee County went on the road to Sprayberry and won its 10th straight first-round matchup in a34-21 victory. The Trojans will advance to play Langston Hughes. They held superstar Sprayberry athlete Jorden Edmonds to one catch for five yards and limited the Yellow Jackets to under 300 total yards of offense and just 89 passing yards. Lee County had nearly 450 yards of offense and over 300 yards rushing.

Clarke Central had maybe the biggest upset in the class, defeating Effingham County 34-33 on the road. The 34 points were the most the Gladiators have scored all season and marked their best offensive performance by far. The traditional power had a down season by their standards, finishing 5-5 and third in the region. However, the offensive explosion on Friday night gave them a huge win and set up a battle with Roswell next week.

Looking ahead to this week, the biggest matchup will be Houston County at Rome.

The Bears are having one of the best seasons in school history, going 9-1 in the regular season, beating Lee County 34-28 for the first time ever, and earning the No. 2 seed in Region 2. Rome, on the other hand, is on a nine-game winning streak and sits at 9-2, not having lost since Week 2 against Carrollton (28-21). In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated Lovejoy 47-16. Houston County, meanwhile, defeated Creekview 59-14. The battle will see two of the best teams in the class meet earlier than expected. Houston County plays in Region 2, which includes powerhouse Thomas County Central. Both teams’ losses are to elite opponents: the Bears’ lone loss is to Thomas County Central, 31-7, while Rome’s two losses are the aforementioned Carrollton game and an opening-weekend 48-28 loss to Creekside, who has proven to be even better than expected.

5A second round schedule

Statesboro vs Woodward Academy

Villa Rica vs Thomas County Central

Clarke Central vs Roswell

Newnan vs Sequoyah

Lee County vs Hughes

Gainesville vs Brunswick

Houston County vs Rome

Milton vs Jackson County

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