FRIDAY NIGHT PLAYOFFS RECAP -- NO. 8 LEE COUNTY SECURES 10TH STRAIGHT 1ST-ROUND VICTORY WITH TIMELY EXPLOSIVE PLAYS IN 34-21 BATTLE AT NO. 10 SPRAYBERRY

Three-seed Lee County secured a hard-fought opening-round victory over host Sprayberry in a back-and-forth battle defined by clutch conversions on 3rd and 4th down, advancing to the second round of the GHSA postseason for the 10th straight year.

“This was a heck of a football game,” said longtime Lee County Coach Dean Fabrizio after the win. “It’s the only matchup between two top-10 teams in the state in the first round, and it certainly seemed like it out here tonight.”

After both teams found the end zone on their opening drives, defense took over until Jordan Bush converted on 3rd-and-long to set up a Marcus Snipes-to-Jamari Arnold scoring strike for a 14-7 Trojans lead at the break.

Jaden Duckett answered for Sprayberry to kick off the second half, scoring on the ground for the second time of the night after first finding Kobe Lewis on 4th-and-10 to extend the drive.

“They hit us on some things early, and the quarterback option presented us with a lot of problems,” explained Fabrizio. “We had to make some adjustments to get a spy on him, but hats off to our kids and how hard they played tonight.”

The Yellow Jackets again knotted it up — this time on a 54-yard run by Jrue Keeling — after Bush reclaimed the lead for Lee County out of the wildcat, but back-to-back touchdowns and a late pick thrown by Duckett sealed the Trojan victory.

“Coach made a good play, he knew I could come up with it, and I had to go execute for my team,” said Bush, the recipient of the game’s Robbie Hunter MVP award, of his last touchdown. “It was a win-or-die game. I had to go score.”

The No. 8 Trojans will make the trip to top-ranked Hughes next week.

Check out the class-by-class recaps below or follow the link to the Prep Scoreboard to see all the first round playoff scores.

First Round Updates

Class 6A

Walton 28, McEachern 24

The Walton Raiders stunned host McEachern with a 28-24 comeback victory in the opening round of the postseason, avenging their 50-17 loss to the fourth-ranked Indians in Week 1 to advance to the second round as the four-seed. Trailing 24-13 entering the final frame, Walton got a pair of touchdowns from quarterback Christion Peacock — including the game-winner from 11 yards out in the game’s final minute — alongside key defensive stops to complete the upset. The 6-5 Raiders, who will travel to East Coweta next week, also scored on a pair of field goals by Daniel Stricklin and Mario Dixon’s punt return for a touchdown on the first play of the game.

Colquitt County 35, Mill Creek 24

Host Mill Creek took a 17-14 lead over No. 9 Colquitt County on its first drive of the second half before the Packers went on a 21-0 run en route to a 35-24 victory. UGA commit Jae Lamar found the end zone four times on the night — including once from more than 50 yards out on the last play of the third quarter — for three-seed Colquitt County, which advances to the second round for the 16th time in 17 seasons to take on top-ranked Grayson.

Hillgrove 28, North Paulding 25

Host North Paulding took the lead midway through the final frame against three-seed Hillgrove, but quarterback Donovan Mack led the Hawks down the field on a game-winning drive capped with a pass to senior receiver Michael Shelby for the score with under two minutes to play. The Wolfpack had one last shot to keep their season alive, but the potential game-tying field goal went wide left for the 28-25 final.

In other Class 6A first-round games: No. 3 Carrollton has now scored 50+ points in four straight games for the first time in program history following a 58-17 first-round win over North Forsyth. … West Forsyth trailed four-seed Westlake by two scores before closing the game with 28 unanswered points for a 42-28 win. Senior Andrew Davis had five touchdowns on the night and all four during the offensive spree. … Two-seed Brookwood pulled away from a 21-21 tie with a trio of touchdowns for a 42-21 victory over visiting Archer. … Marquis Fennell broke the 1,000-yard mark on the final touchdown of No. 5 Valdosta’s 56-28 win over Dacula, becoming the second Wildcat to reach that number this season alongside fellow junior Deron Foster. … Quarterback Dayton Raiola amassed four first-half touchdowns in Buford’s 45-0 win over visiting Richmond Hill.

Class 5A

Woodward Academy 34, Seckinger 7

Quarterback Ryan Harrigan threw four touchdown passes in Woodward Academy’s first-round matchup with four-seed Seckinger to lead the War Eagles to a 34-7 win. Harrigan found Blake Stewart in the first, Christian Durmeyer in the second, Zaydn Young in the third and Harlan Hubbs in the final frame, and Princeton Woods scored from 8 yards out for a 34-0 edge before Seckinger found the end zone to avoid the shutout. The War Eagles have now advanced to the second round for 13 straight seasons and will host Statesboro next week.

Thomas County Central 73, Woodstock 14

The second-ranked Yellow Jackets scored the first 45 points in their rout of visiting Woodstock and are advancing to the second round of the postseason for the fourth time in Coach Justin Rogers’ four years with the program. Thomas County Central got a trio of touchdown passes from starting quarterback Jaylen Johnson before backup Roland Waldrop came in and threw back-to-back scoring strikes to DJ White, and sophomore Cooper Creech closed the night with a touchdown completion to Malik Wolf.

In other Class 5A first-round games -- No. 9 Sequoyah avenged last season’s 72-48 quarterfinals loss to Coffee, defeating the Trojans by a margin of 31-14 to set up a second-round matchup with Newnan. … Clarke Central trailed host Effingham County 19-7 at the break before completing the 34-33 comeback to set up a second-round showdown with No. 3 Roswell. … Qwantavius Wiggins had a trio of touchdowns in Langston Hughes’ 45-28 victory over visiting East Paulding, including one from 82 yards out and a 98-yard kickoff return.

Class 4A

Blessed Trinity 28, Stockbridge 27 (OT)

No. 9 Blessed Trinity trailed host Stockbridge 14-0 before taking the lead with a trio of touchdowns, then blocked the host Tigers’ extra point in overtime to secure the 28-27 first-round victory. The Titans finally got on the board with 0:45 remaining in the second quarter when Ahmontae Pitts capped off a drive that was extended by a faked punt for a fresh set of downs. MJ Craft knotted the game on Blessed Trinity’s opening drive of the second half on a run from 27 yards out, then answered back-to-back interceptions on defense by Ryder Register and Brody Bohannon with a go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes in regulation. Stockbridge added a score in the final moments of the fourth to force overtime, but JD Calloway put Blessed Trinity back on top with a 2-yard keeper before the blocked kick after the Tigers’ touchdown sealed the Titans win.

Cambridge 24, Ola 21

No. 8 Cambridge narrowly defeated visiting Ola, securing the 24-21 win with Leo Attard’s game-winning field goal as time expired. The Bears got their first lead of the game in the final frame on Connor Langford’s touchdown pass and two-point completion, both to Drew Hardwick, before Ola tied it at 21-21. Langford also connected with Craig Dandridge for a pair of earlier touchdowns.

Cass 21, Mays 12

No. 10 Cass is advancing to the second round for the third time in four years following a 21-12 win over visiting Mays. Brodie McWhorter threw a 30-yard touchdown to Jah Abdullah-Kortey and connected with Bear McWhorter after the lineman reported as an eligible receiver for a 14-0 lead at the break. Kalil Charles added a 2-yard trip to the end zone in the third before Mays put two late scores on the board, thanks to a successfully recovered onside kick.

In other Class 4A first-round games -- Jalen Hill contributed a trio of touchdowns in Warner Robins’ 28-14 win over Eastside to earn the Demons a trip to No. 2 Cartersville next week. … No. 4 Benedictine put up 35 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 42-7 victory over visiting East Forsyth and will host Cass in the second round. … M. L. King is advancing to the second round for the first time since 2012 following an emphatic first-round win over visiting Hiram. The Lions will take on third-ranked North Oconee next week.

Class 3A

No. 2 Calhoun 35, Lumpkin County 13

Defending champion and No. 2-ranked Calhoun did all its scoring in the first half and then held on for victory against visiting Lumpkin County. The Yellow Jackets went up on a rushing touchdown from Isiah Nalls with 9:41 left in the opening quarter. Sophomore quarterback Trace Hawkins passed for Jaxon Moore to push the lead. The Yellow Jackets went ahead 21-0 after a passing touchdown with a minute left in the first quarter.  With 5:49 left in the first quarter, Hawkins passed to senior Justin Beasley to push the lead. Hunter Wilson scored on a short run, set up by a long run from Tony Reid Jr., with 5:16 left in the first half. Beasley scored again late in the half to give Calhoun a 35-0 lead at the half. Two touchdowns from Logan Matthews with 6:39 and 1:23 left in the third quarter were all the offensive production Lumpkin could muster. In the second round, Calhoun will play Douglass-Atlanta after it beat Gilmer 19-15 in the first round.  

No. 1 Sandy Creek 42, Cedar Grove 9

Top-ranked Sandy Creek led 21-0 after the first quarter and 42-3 at the half in a romp of Cedar Grove. Caleb Hill passed 68 yards to Corey Hadley Jr to put the Patriots ahead 7-0. Amari Latimer scored on a 67-yard reception from Hill to push the lead. Latimer’s 21-yard touchdown reception with 5:10 left in the first quarter gave Sandy Creek a 21-0 lead. Hill passed to Trey Love on the first play of the second quarter to expand the margin. With 3:39 before the half, Latimer scored on a 19-yard reception, leaving Sandy Creek with a 35-0 lead. Hill passed to Alijah Ferrell on a 61-yarder to push the lead to 42-0 and put the game out of reach. The Patriots will play against Monroe Area at home in the second round.

Class 3A Blurbs: No. 3 North Hall moved past Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 62-26 and will play against the winner of Saturday’s matchup between No. 8 LaGrange and North Clayton. … No. 4 Peach County had little issues against Cherokee Bluff in a 53-28 victory at home. Peach County led 53-6 at halftime. The Trojans will play against Jenkins in the second round. The Warriors outlasted Whitewater 50-46 to advance. … No. 5 Jefferson performed as it should in a 55-13 victory against Dougherty. Jefferson will play Harlem in the second round. …No. 6 Troup defeated Westover 45-15 Thursday night and will play No. 10 Cairo in the second round. Cairo moved past Liberty County 36-7 to advance. The Syrupmakers led 23-7 at the break before holding Liberty scoreless in the second half. … No. 7 West Laurens led 7-0 after the first quarter and 31-0 at halftime in a romp of Beach. The Raiders will play Oconee County in the second round after Oconee outlasted Northwest Whitfield 39-37. … No. 9 Stephenson enjoyed a 42-18 victory against Richmond Academy and will play against Westside-Augusta in the second round. The Jaguars led 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-10 at halftime.

Class 2A

North Murray 22, Cook 14

North Murray (10-1) and Cook (5-6) were tied at halftime 7-7, but the host Mountaineers got a touchdown and two-point conversion from Layten Myers midway through the third quarter and made it a two-score game on a short Hudson Hulett touchdown rush. No. 25 Cook scored to cut the deficit to eight points with 5:37 remaining, but North Murray never gave possession back and ran out the clock from there. Hulett put the first points on the board with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter for No. 8 North Murray, which will now host No. 9 Sumter County in the second round.  

Appling County 31, Hart County 20

The underdog Hart County (3-8) gave host Appling County (8-3) all it could handle for much of the game. The No. 5 Pirates were down 20-17 to the No. 28 Bulldogs until late in the third quarter when Jaiden Knight scored on a 25-yard touchdown rush on a fourth down. Appling County then scored the game's final points on a 25-yard pass from Harrison Hickox to Mikel Crayton, also on fourth down, with 7:52 remaining. Knight scored his first touchdown in the first quarter on a 71-yard rush. Titus Wallace added a 66-yard scoring rush for Appling County in the second quarter. The Pirates will host No. 12 Hapeville Charter in the second round.

In other Class 2A first-round games -- Top-seeded Carver-Atlanta defeated No. 32 Butler 69-6. For the second round, the Panthers will now get to host No. 16 Pierce County, which was a 45-7 winner over No. 17 Ringgold. ... Sumter County, the No. 9 team, handled KIPP, No. 24, by the score of 42-7. ... No. 12 Hapeville Charter had no problem with No. 21 Columbus, 48-0. ... No. 4 Morgan County beat No. 29 Westside-Macon 29-8, setting up a second-round matchup with No. 13 Miller Grove, which was a 20-9 Thursday winner over No. 20 Spencer in the school's first-ever playoff victory. Morgan County got two rushing touchdowns from Christian Monfort in the win. ... No. 3 Carver-Columbus held a 42-0 lead over No. 30 Redan at halftime and notched a 56-0 win. The Tigers will host No. 19 Stephens County, which held on for a 24-21 win over No. 14 Crisp County. ... No. 11 Callaway fended off a challenge from No. 22 Franklin County, winning 25-15. The Cavaliers will travel in the second round to No. 6 Thomson, which was a narrow 14-7 winner over No. 27 Jackson. ... No. 10 Burke County will meet No. 7 Columbia in the second round. Burke County defeated No. 23 Sonoraville, 57-21, and Columbia defeated No. 26 East Jackson, 32-18. ... No. 18 Laney got a big 48-29 road win over No. 15 Lakeview Fort-Oglethorpe, setting up a second-round clash with No. 2 Rockmart, a 50-20 winner over No. 31 South Atlanta.    

Class A-Division I

Berrien 7, Lamar County 0

Visiting Berrien (4-7) shocked previously undefeated Lamar County (10-1) on the road, taking down the No. 2 team in the Class A Division I playoffs. Berrien, the No. 31 team, got a passing touchdown on the game's opening possession and held on from there. The Rebels now travel up to Rabun County for the second round.

Rabun County 56, Dodge County 21

Host Rabun County (9-2) and Dodge County (7-4) were tied at 14-14 in the second quarter, but No. 15 Rabun County ran away from No. 18 Dodge County from there. Ty Truelove threw two touchdown passes, both to Reed LaFevers, of 70 and 40 yards. Lake Evans rushed for three touchdowns, his final one from 28 yards and set up by an interception by Reid Giles, who also rushed for two touchdowns for Rabun County. The Wildcats also got a 35-yard return for a score from J.K. Fruster off a blocked punt.  

Dublin 40, Washington County 7

Dublin (9-2) led just 19-7 heading into the fourth quarter but turned on the jets from there to defeat visiting Washington County (5-6). Dublin, the No. 8 team, scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put away Washington County, the No. 25 team. Jeff Davis threw two touchdown passes to Travion Bostic and also rushed for a short score. Dontavious Cannon and Bennett Lake also rushed for scores for the Fighting Irish, and Jamarcus Knight had a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown. Dublin will host Fitzgerald in the second round.

In other Class A Division I first-round games -- The top team in the playoffs, Heard County, handled No. 32 East Laurens 49-0. The No. 1 Braves will host No. 17 Social Circle after it survived a road shootout at No. 16 Haralson County, 34-33. ... No. 9 Fitzgerald defeated No. 24 ACE Charter, 42-9. ... No. 5 Northeast blanked Fannin County, 41-0. Northeast will host No. 12 Swainsboro, a 40-21 winner over No. 21 Bacon County, in the second round. ... No. 13 Thomasville shut out No. 20 Putnam County, 38-0, thanks to Cam Hill touchdown passes to Demario Sawyer and Lavonte Cole, who also had a short rushing score. A.J. Hill and Leeland Chapman also scored touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who will travel to No. 4 Toombs County next week. Toombs County was a 50-6 winner over No. 29 Temple. ... No. 3 Worth County had no trouble with No. 30 McNair in its 68-0 win. The Rams will get ready to host No. 14 Bleckley County, a 26-7 winner over No. 19 Jeff Davis. ... No. 6 Gordon Lee got past No. 27 Towers, 41-10, and will host No. 11 Elbert County, which outlasted No. 22 Oglethorpe County, 24-7. ... No. 10 Pepperell managed a 28-21 victory over No. 23 Bremen, as Pepperell held a 28-14 lead in the fourth quarter before Bremen scored to make it a one-score game with three minutes remaining. But Pepperell was able to hang onto the ball after that and run out the clock. Pepperell will travel to No. 7 Jasper County, a 44-13 victor over No. 26 Gordon Central.    

Class A-Division II

Hawkinsville 24, Trion 21

No. 2 seed Hawkinsville (9-2) hung on at home against an upset bid from No. 3 seed Trion (4-7). The Red Devils held a 24-14 after a fourth-quarter touchdown from Nieem Blair on an 8-yard rush. Trion scored to cut it to three points with 2:29 remaining, but Hawkinsville was able to run out the clock without giving it back up. The Red Devils held a 17-14 halftime lead after a 25-yard field goal from Felipe Taylor and a 3-yard rushing scorer from Sebastian Clark in the first quarter and a 7-yard rushing touchdown from Martin McDonald midway through the second quarter. Hawkinsville will now have to travel to No. 1 seed and top-ranked Lincoln County in the second round.

Clinch County 48, Chattahoochee County 20

No. 1 seed Clinch County (11-0) held a 48-0 lead over No. 4 seed Chattahoochee County (5-6) in the third quarter before the visitors scored their first points. Clinch County got two touchdowns from Kamarion Johnson, one a 65-yard punt return and the second a 12-yard rush. Traviian Miller had scoring rushes of 39 and 3 yards, and Xavion Johnson (5 yards) and Lamarion Gainey (4 yards) also scored on the ground for Clinch County. Jaiden Reed took the kickoff to open the second half back for a touchdown of 73 yards. Clinch County will now host No. 2 seed Emanuel County Institute in the second round.  

In other Class A Division II first-round games -- No. 2 seed Warren County was able to outlast No. 3 seed Mitchell County 36-30 after one overtime period. Warren County now will travel to No. 1 seed Wheeler County, which was a 55-20 winner over No. 4 seed Manchester. ... No. 2 seed ECI handled No. 3 seed Georgia Military 63-7. ... No. 3 seed Washington-Wilkes went on the road and defeated No. 2 seed Seminole County, 32-23. Washington-Wilkes will now travel to No. 1 seed Bowdon, which was a 42-7 winner over No. 4 seed Wilcox County. Bowdon is shooting for its fourth-straight state title and got four touchdown passes from quarterback Josh Hopkins in its home blowout win. ... No. 3 seed Jenkins County was another road winner, notching a 38-27 victory over No. 2 seed Wilkinson County. No. 1 seed Schley County, a 55-33 shootout winner over No. 4 Lanier County, will play host to Jenkins County in the second round. ... Visiting No. 3 seed Charlton County cruised to a win over No. 2 seed Macon County, 35-7. The Indians next week will travel to another blowout winner, No. 1 seed Screven County, which handled No. 4 seed Glascock County 48-0. ... No. 2 seed Mt. Zion-Carroll led 20-0 until the last minute of the third quarter when No. 3 seed Treutlen scored a touchdown, winning 20-7. No. 1 seed Early County, a 43-6 winner over No. 4 seed Greene County, will host the Eagles in the next round. ... No. 2 seed Brooks County beat No. 3 seed Taylor County, 24-6, and will have to travel to No. 1 seed Johnson County, a 34-7 winner over No. 4 seed McIntosh County Academy, in the second round. ... And No. 1 seed Lincoln County moved on with a 43-6 win over No. 4 seed Randolph-Clay.

Private

Mt. Vernon 23, Savannah Country Day 13

No. 16 Mt. Vernon (6-5) took down No. 17 Savannah Country Day (4-7) at home, opening up a 20-0 lead at halftime. Keon Clealand threw three touchdown passes, two to Taurean Rawlins of 75 and 42 yards, and one to Ethan Siggers for 30 yards. With Mt. Vernon ahead 20-7 in the fourth quarter, Nico Tur put it back to a 16-point lead with a 25-yard field goal. Mt. Vernon will now in the second round travel to the top team, Fellowship Christian, which is coming off a bye.

Holy Innocents' 50, Mt. Paran Christian 7

No. 14 Holy Innocents' (8-3) hosted No. 19 Mt. Paran (5-6) and led just 14-0 at halftime but opened up the lead with a three-touchdown third quarter. Quarterback Ryan Woods threw three touchdowns, hitting Jake Berte (55 yards), Sam Chasteen (51 yards) and Khalid Worthy (17 yards) while also rushing for a 16-yard touchdown. Brayden Bailey also scored twice for the Golden Bears, his first on a 54-yard rush (with a two-point conversion by Chasteen after) and his second on an 80-yard kickoff return that came after Mt. Paran's lone touchdown. Denim Stevens started the scoring for Holy Innocents' with a 3-yard rush in the second quarter. Holy Innocents' will travel in the second round to No. 3 Athens Academy, which is coming off a bye.

In other Private first-round games -- No. 12 Aquinas took down No. 21 Darlington, 52-21, and will travel next Friday to No. 5 Whitefield Academy, which is coming off a bye. ... No. 13 King's Ridge Christian held off No. 20 North Cobb Christian, 32-28. North Cobb Christian was up 21-7 late in the third quarter, but two Austin Drye touchdown rushes cut the lead to 21-19. North Cobb Christian scored again to take a 28-19 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but then two Mason Dyer touchdown runs put King's Ridge ahead for good. King's Ridge will travel to Calvary Day, the No. 4 team, which is coming off a bye. ... No. 11 Landmark Christian handled No. 22 Mt. Pisgah, 44-14, and for the second round will go to No. 6 Greater Atlanta Christian, which is coming off a bye. ... No. 10 Wesleyan defeated No. 23 Providence Christian, 48-7, and gets to go on the road to meet No. 7 Prince Avenue, which had a bye this week. ... No. 18 Trinity Christian went on the road to end No. 15 Lovett's season, defeating the Lions 30-8. Trinity Christian earned a trip to No. 2 Hebron Christian for the second round. Hebron enjoyed a bye in the first round.

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