Drive for the GHSA State Title: Lee County travels to Sprayberry for second-straight postseason matchup against the Yellow Jackets

It’s a rematch of last year’s Class 5A quarterfinals as Dean Fabrizio and his talented Lee County Trojans will travel to Sprayberry to take on first year Sprayberry head coach Pete Fominaya and his Yellow Jackets in the first round of the GHSA Class 5A football postseason.

Friday’s matchup will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and streamed live on the Atlanta News First app. From your home, download the free ANF+ app anywhere you stream — FireTV, AppleTV, Roku and YouTube TV — simply by searching for “Atlanta News First” on those platforms. If you are on the go, you can download Atlanta News First for free in the app store on your Apple or Android device. You can also watch live here on the WANF – Special Events channel.

Last season's quarterfinals matchup between the two programs is the only time that Lee County and Sprayberry have taken the field against one another, with the Trojans winning handily with a 64-0 shutout victory.

Inaugural Mr. Georgia-recipient Ousmane Kromah totaled 196 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns in the quarterfinals last season before the Trojans traveled to Milton where they were defeated in the semifinals against the Eagles.

As talented as the Trojans were a season ago, this is a new team with fresh faces that have been making a massive impact on the season thus far.

The Trojans finished third in a very talented Region 2-5A that includes Thomas County Central, Houston County, and Coffee as Lee County finished 7-3 with close losses to Colquitt County, Thomas County Central and Houston County to close out the season.

Fabrizio leads the Trojans in his 17th season at the helm of the program where he is seeking his third state championship at the school.

The Trojans have a handful of playmakers on their offense that have been difference makers thus far including senior quarterback Marcus Snipes who was dealing with an injury earlier in the season. Snipes has thrown for 730 yards and seven touchdowns in five games this season along with 105 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.

Snipes has an excellent skill position group around him as four players have rushed for over 300 yards this season, along with star wideout Jaden Upshaw who has brought in 36 receptions for 705 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging close to 88 yards per game through the air.

The quartet of upperclassmen running backs in Jordan Bush, Dominique Ball, Canton Williams and JR Walker have been outstanding this season for the Trojans offense, totaling 1,659 yards on the ground, finding the end zone 28 times between the four of them.

As talented as they are on offense, the Trojans defense has been phenomenal this season, allowing under 14 points in four different matchups this season.

Leading the way for the Trojans is four-star Stanford-commit Lasiah Jackson as he has been committed to the Cardinal since July of this year. Jackson has totaled 60 tackles with two tackles for loss along with four pass deflections on the season. Along with Jackson, the newest Florida State Seminole, senior linebacker Gregory Batson has been a huge piece to the Trojans this season. Batson has totaled 48 tackles along with four tackles for loss, a sack, six QB hurries and an interception on the season, performing at a high level for Lee County.

On the opposite side of the ball, Fominaya in his first season leading the Yellow Jackets has accumulated a 9-1 record with the only loss coming to the Region 6-5A champions, Sequoyah. Fominaya came to Lee County following the departure of Brett Vavra to Etowah and after Fominaya spent seven seasons as the head coach of Hiram.

This year's Sprayberry team is filled with plenty of exceptional players on both sides of the ball.

Everything starts with five-star two-way athlete and Alabama-commit Jorden Edmonds as he has been incredible both as a shut-down cornerback (his primary position) and as the number one pass-catching option for the Yellow Jackets this season.

On offense, Edmonds has totaled 554 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 31 receptions followed by 36 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three pass deflections and an interception this season. Edmonds has been stuffing the stat sheets all season long and will have to make an impact on Friday night against Lee County.

Senior quarterback Jaden Duckett has totaled 1,399 passing yards, 580 rushing yards and 24 total touchdowns on the season. Duckett is a problem for opposing defenses as he has played clean football throughout this season, using both his arm and his legs to his advantage.

Senior Kobe Lewis has been tremendous alongside Edmonds this season for the Yellow Jackets, totaling 32 catches (team-high) for 506 yards and six touchdowns, proving to be a reliable option in the Sprayberry passing attack.

The Yellow Jackets have four players that have rushed for over 400 yards this season including Duckett as Jrue Keeling, Kealon Jones and Ian Hulbert have been phenomenal out of the backfield. Like Edmonds, Jones has excelled on both sides of the ball where he plays most of his snaps at safety, his natural position. Jones is committed to Georgia and will look to make an impact in the back end of their defense next season.

Along with Jones and Edmonds, the Sprayberry defense is filled with playmakers such as linebacker Noah Voltaire who has totaled 29 total tackles and a pass deflection so far this season. Voltaire is a Class of 2026 Austin Peay-commit.

Senior linebacker Jack Trout leads the defense in total tackles this season with 72 so far.

This postseason matchup will be just the sixth time the Trojans will be playing on the road in the playoffs in their last 32 playoff matchups including their trip to Milton a year ago.

This Friday, the action will start ahead of the Score Atlanta broadcast of the Lee County and Sprayberry matchup at 8 p.m. with the Georgia High School Countdown to Kickoff, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and streaming on the Atlanta News First website/app. The pregame show, which will feature on-air talent Brandon Adams and Kaylee Mansell, will preview the upcoming matchup with each person picking their winning team, along with interviews from each participating head coach. After the clock hits zero, stay tuned after the game for the Georgia High School Postgame Show, which will be broadcast live from the Score Atlanta Studio, with Score Atlanta’s Craig Sager II, Max Wolborsky, Hayden Gilbert and Landon Knight featured on the program. The postgame show will run from game’s end till midnight every Friday night, with a full breakdown of each game, call-in guests chiming in to voice their opinions, and updates from other top-tier games around the state. The postgame show, like the pregame show, will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First and stream on the Atlanta News First website/app.