Here's a look at five things we learned from first round of the high school football playoffs...
1. West Hall was more than ready for the postseason
Leading into last week's first round playoff showdown at Troup, Spartans coach Tony Lotti noted his team's regular season schedule, it's toughness, and how it was designed to prep West Hall for the playoffs. Well, it obviously worked. The Spartans traveled to Troup on Thursday (playing a day early) and dropped the Tigers, 24-21. Obviously, West Hall had ability -- as displayed by the performances of players like A.J. Favorite (game-winning touchdown) and Ashun Favorite (four interceptions), quarterback Jacob Satterfield and running back Tyrese Osborne and plenty more -- but you can guarantee that that ability was bolstered by playing a schedule that included the likes of Gainesville (Class AAAAAA playoff team), Rabun County (Region 8-AA champion, Class AA second round appearance), Dawson County (Class AAA playoff team) and Jackson County (Class AAA playoff team), not to mention a region slate that included Blessed Trinity and Marist. And with that experience under their collective belts its no wonder that Spartans traveled to Troup and triumphed -- earning the program's first state playoff win since 2000 in the process against a team that had spent time in the Class AAAA top 10. And while West Hall will be considered a heavy underdog this week at Thomson, there is certainly no reason for the Spartans to fret. In fact, we bet they are relishing the chance to prove themselves, again, against another top 10 foe.
2. Stars shine when the playoffs start
Never was that more evident than on Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Jefferson. Heading into the postseason Jefferson junior running back Colby Wood was undoubtedly one of the best players in northeast Georgia with 1,111 yards rushing and 14 TDs -- but those were relatively quiet numbers compared with a sophomore season that saw him roll up 2,119 yards and 32 rushing scores. Yet in the first round of the postseason, Wood showed that any worries about him being a less effective back are WAY out of line. Despite continuing to share the offensive backfield with talented runners Zack Boobas and quarterback Colby Clark, Wood busted out in the first round, rushing for 219 yards -- 180 of that in the first half -- and three touchdowns in a 59-21 win over Pickens. And the dynamic dynamo could just be getting going. West Laurens would do well to keep at least two or three sets of eyes on Wood at all time. Yet with an offensive line and teammates like Wood has flanking him, it may not matter.
3. Noah Venable ended his season impressively
The Jackson County running back may not have any more contests left in 2016, but he certainly left his mark on the campaign. He ended Friday's 28-14 loss at North Murray with a touchdown and over 100 yards rushing, giving him roughly 1,400 yards for the year. The Panthers standout finished the regular season with the 29th best rushing mark in the entire state and certainly made his name both in Region 8-AAA and beyond, averaging over 5 yards per carry. The good news for Jackson County? He's only junior. And after helping the Panthers back into the postseason in 2016, you can expect Venable to continue his assault and ascent in the months to come.
4. Region 8-AAAAA is pretty danged good...
We already knew how good the top of the league was with Buford locking down the top spot, but we learned this week just how deep the region was, as No. 2 seed Loganville and No. 3 seed Clarke Central also won their first round contests. The Red Devils pushed past Riverwood, 24-10, while the Gladiators eged out Carver-Atlanta, 35-32. Region 4-AAAAA also saw its top three teams fight through the first round (as did Region 7-AAAAA). Yet 8 and 4 will get a chance to test each other on Friday, as Buford will face Jones County (Region 4-AAAAA No. 3 seed), while Clarke Central will take on 4-AAAAA champ Stockbridge -- the team that has been ranked ahead of the Wolves in one poll for much of the season. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. But it also says just how good Buford is this season that it cruised through a region that had that much success in week 1 of the postseason.
5. ...But so is Region 6-AAA
Region 7-AAA has plenty of good teams -- and yet it went 1-3 against programs from 6-AAA this past weekend, including a four-quarter fight for 7-AAA champ Greater Atlanta Christian. The Spartans, which sprinted to the 7-AAA title, found themselves in a dogfight with Region 6-AAA No. 4 seed Pace Academy. Granted, Pace Academy is not your typical No. 4 seed -- the Knights won the 2015 Class AA title (beating GAC in the semifinals). But it says just how good that region now is. And one suspects that had 7-AAA been matched up with any other region, we would still have northeast Georgia representatives alive in the AAA bracket.
FIRST ROUND STATE PLAYOFF SCORES
CLASS AAAAAAA
Mill Creek 41, Newton 0
South Gwinnett 17, North Gwinnett 13
CLASS AAAAAA
Harrison 45, Gainesville 24
Allatoona 28, Lanier 6
Dalton 42, Winder-Barrow 7
CLASS AAAAA
Buford 45, North Springs 7
CLASS AAAA
Cartersville 77, Chestatee 14
Jefferson 59, Pickens 21
Heritage (Catoosa) 37, Stephens County 30
West Hall 24, Troup 21
CLASS AAA
Lovett 49, Dawson County 28
North Murray 28, Jackson County 14
Westminster 49, North Hall 18
SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
(Area teams listed first)
CLASS AAAAAAA
Mill Creek vs. Cherokee
CLASS AAAAA
Buford vs. Jones County
CLASS AAAA
Jefferson vs. West Laurens
West Hall at Thomson
CLASS AA
Banks County at Benedictine
Rabun County vs. Vidalia
CLASS A
Commerce vs. Taylor County
