The much-anticipated first round of the Georgia High School Association football playoffs is finally upon us...and a dozen northeast Georgia area teams are left standing as they begin their chase Friday night for state titles across seven different classifications, counting the split in Class A.
Perennial playoff teams like Buford, Commerce, Jefferson, and Gainesville all advanced to extend long streaks. Cinderella teams like Habersham Central, who is making its first playoff foray since 2011, and Riverside Military Academy, who is making its first playoff appearance since 2009, also are looking to nab victories.
Some intruiging matchups include Gainesville, which is making its 19th consecutive playoff trip but come in as one of those Cinderella teams. The Red Elephants had a roller coaster season losing their first seven games but winning two of their last three to get into the playoffs behind a defense that has been as stout over the final as any in the area. They travel to Creekside in Class 6A.
North Hall and Dawson County bring in a pair of top seven offenses as they begin their trek in a brutal Class 3A bracket. The Trojans travel to Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe while the Tigers play host to Haralson County.
Rabun County, the Class 2A state runner-up in 2017, begins the playoffs at home against Spencer looking to see if it can win one more than last year when they lost in the championship game to Hapeville Charter.
Flowery Branch, White County, Jefferson, and Union County also are ready to get their playoff pushes going.
For a look at all of the night's contests involving area teams, simply scroll down. And be sure to check back with AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night throughout the night for score updates and game stories and video highlights. You can also check for scores and highlights on our Twitter feed: @FridayGameNight
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR Nov. 9
(Games listed by largest classification and in alphabetical order of visiting team)
CLASS 6A
GAINESVILLE at CREEKSIDE
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Arrowhead Stadium (The Swamp), Fairburn
-- RADIO: 94.5 The Lake
-- GAINESVILLE (R8, S4) (2-8): Lost 6-2 to Lanier last week
-- CREEKSIDE (R5, S1) (7-3): Defeated South Paulding 44-7 last week
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... The Seminoles won six straight games after a 1-3 start to capture their first region title since 2014. They won the Class 5A state title in 2013. ... The Red Elephants rallied from an 0-7 start to win 2 of their last 3 to sneak into the playoffs. It is the 19th consecutive playoff appearance for the Red Elephants, however, they are looking for their first playoff win since 2015. ... The difference in this one is the offenses. The Seminoles are a balanced attack (141 yards passing, 128 yards rushing per game) averaging 27.2 ppg while GHS has scored just 133 points (13.3 ppg) behind mostly a power rushing attack behind Sr. RB Quintavious Hayes. ... But the Red Elephants defense has been as stout as any group over the final three weeks giving up just 19 points (6.3 ppg). Creekside is giving up 21.3 ppg. ... Creekside is just 3-2 at home while GHS is 1-4 on the road in 2018. ... The Red Elephants have lost 4 straight road playoff games. Their last playoff away from City Park was a 49-40 victory over Harris County in 2014.
-- NEXT: Winner of Alpharetta/Sequoyah in 2nd round
HABERSHAM CENTRAL at DOUGLAS COUNTY
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Tiger Stadium, Douglasville
-- RADIO: 99.3 FM
-- HABERSHAM CENTRAL (R8, S3) (6-4): Defeated Apalachee 28-21 last week
-- DOUGLAS COUNTY (R5, S2) (8-2): Defeated Alexander 34-28 last week
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... The Raiders are making their first playoff appearance since 2011 and had one of the biggest one-season turnarounds in 2018 with 6 wins after going just 2-8 in 2017. ... The Tigers are making their back-to-back playoff appearances since 2004-05 but advanced to the second round last season. ... The key matchup should be the Raiders offense vs. the Tigers defense. The Raiders still possess one of the classifications best offenses behind senior quarterback Tre Luttrell, who is in the top 5 in Class 6A in passing with 2,014 yards (23 TDs, 5 INTs). Habersham sits 16th in scoring in 6A (295, 29.5 ppg) while the Tigers have yielded just 127 points (12.7 ppg) but they gave up 52 points (26.0 ppg) in their final two games. ... Douglas is averaging 21.6 ppg on offense while only Valdosta (333, 33.3 ppg) has yielded more points than the Raiders (305, 30.5 ppg) among Class 6A playoffs teams. However, the Raiders have given up just 14 total points in the 2nd half of the last two games combined, both victories. ... Habersham is looking for its first playoff win since beating Cherokee 36-35 in the 2nd round of Class 4A playoffs.
-- NEXT: Winner of Pope/Creekview in 2nd round
CLASS 5A
MILLER GROVE at BUFORD
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Tom Riden Stadium, Buford
-- MILLER GROVE (R5, S4) (3-7): Defeated Chamblee 39-3 last week
-- BUFORD (R8, S1) (8-2): Defeated Clarke Central 45-3 last week
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... It looks like a huge mismatch on paper and with good reason. Buford has won 19 straight first round games going back to 1997 when the Wolves fell to Manchester 29-3 in the Class A playoffs that season. The Wolverines, basketball powerhouse, are making their third consecutive playoff appearance but are still looking for their first-ever football playoff victory. ... The Wolves are paced by Derrian Brown, who leads the team with 1,269 yards rushing. Buford is 2nd in Class 5A in scoring (443, 44.3 ppg) and 5th in defense (124, 12.4 ppg) and has given up just 13 points to teams from Class 5A on the season. ... Miller Grove has scored the 7th-fewest points in 5A (124, 12.4 ppg) and given up 215 points (21.5 ppg) on defense.
-- NEXT: Winner of Kell/Carver-Atlanta in 2nd round
CLASS 4A
FLOWERY BRANCH at RIDGELAND
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Ridgeland Stadium, Rossville
-- RADIO: WDUN AM 550
-- FLOWERY BRANCH (R7, S3) (8-2): Defeated Denmark 28-19 last week
-- RIDGELAND (R6, S2) (7-3): Defeated Southwest Whitfield 37-21 last week
-- NOTABLE: Flowery Branch leads series 2-0. The Falcons won 17-14 in 2009 in 1st round of Class 3A playoffs and 21-14 in 2008 in 2nd round of Class 3A playoffs. Both victories came in Rossville. ... The Falcons showed remarkable resilience over the final two weeks battling a plethora of injuries and managed to win its final two games to secure its playoff spot. They are without their top two running backs in Jaizen Ellingham (ankle, out for season), Zarian Brawner (undisclosed, out first round), top receiver Jalin Strown (not on the roster), and starting defensive end Ethan McKay (knee, out for season). ... But the defense has been mostly intact the entire season and has been stout giving up the 6th-fewest points in Class 4A (126, 12.6 ppg) led lately by Chase Dial-Watson. They have not yielded more than 21 points to any team in 2018. ... The Panthers offense will offer a challenge. They are averaging 36.4 ppg, 7th-best in 4A, behind a solid ground attack that averages over 200 yards a game with four different runners with over 200 yards on the season. ... The Falcons offense, after averaging 43.3 ppg over their first 6 games, managed just 75 (18.7 ppg) over the last four after being ravaged by injuries. ... The Panthers are giving up 21.8 ppg on defense.
-- NEXT: Winner of Stephens County/Cartersville in 2nd round
WHITE COUNTY at PICKENS
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Dragon Stadium, Jasper
-- RADIO: 93.9 FM
-- WHITE COUNTY (R7, S4) (3-7): Lost 42-7 to defending state champion Blessed Trinity last
-- PICKENS (R6, S1) (10-0): Bye last week; defeated LaFayette 48-19 on Oct. 26
-- NOTABLE: White County leads series 22-19-2. Pickens won 42-35 on Sept. 7 during the regular season. ... Longtime region foes as recently as 2009 and it has been a streaky series. Only once have the two teams alternated wins in a 4-year stretch. The Dragons have won three straight while the Warriors won three straight before that. The most recent White County victory came in 2009, 49-7. ... This will be the first time in 44 meetings they have met in the playoffs. ... It was the first undefeated regular season for the Dragons in program history. White County won 2 of its last 4 games to get into the playoffs. ... Pickens has been rolling on offense and is 2nd in 4A in scoring averaging 46.4 ppg. The Warriors have allowed 31.7 ppg on defense. ... In the first meeting the Dragons managed 42 points despite missing 6 starters. The Warriors rallied in the second half but could not tie the game.
-- NEXT: Winner of Oconee County/Troup County in 2nd round
CLASS 3A
HARALSON COUNTY at DAWSON COUNTY
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Tiger Stadium, Dawsonville
-- RADIO: nogasportslink.com
-- HARALSON COUNTY (R6, S3) (8-2): Defeated Murray County 55-29 last week
-- DAWSON COUNTY (R7, S2) (9-1): Defeated North Hall 17-10 in OT last week
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... Dawson County has been dominating all season behind one of the state’s best, and most punishing, ground games. Sr. RB Ahmad Kamara and Sr. QB Sevaughn Clark have been nearly unstoppable all season. Kamara leads the Tigers in rushing with 1,064 yards while Clark has added just under 800 yards on the ground and over 700 yards passing in the Tigers retooled spread attack that is seventh in Class 3A in scoring (404, 40.4 ppg). ... The Rebels are 11th in scoring (325, 32.5 ppg) but the Tigers are 9th in defense allowing just 11.3 ppg. Haralson has allowed 226 points (22.6 ppg). ... The Rebels are making their first playoff appearance since 2007 and have never won a playoff game in its history. The Tigers are making their fourth straight playoffs, a program-best stretch, after advancing to the second round in 2017 and the quarterfinals in 2015.
-- NEXT: Winner of Pace Academy/Monroe Area in 2nd round
NORTH HALL at LAKEVIEW-FORT OGLETHORPE
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Tommy Cash Stadium, Ft. Oglethorpe
-- RADIO: WDUN 102,9 FM
-- NORTH HALL (R7, S3) (8-2): Lost 17-10 in OT to Dawson County
-- LAKEVIEW-FORT OGLETHORPE (R6, S2) (7-3): Lost 49-0 defending Class 3A champion Calhoun last week
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... North Hall completed its best regular season since 2013 and is looking for its first playoff win since 2012 when it advanced to the Class 3A semifinals. ... The Warriors are making their first playoff appearance since 2009. They have not won a playoff game since 2004. ... The key matchup is the North Hall offense vs. the Warriors defense. The Trojans bring in their No. 3 wing-T offense (431 43.1 ppg) paced by Sr. RB Daniel Jackson, who leads the team in rushing and receiving, and Sr. QB David Seavey. The LFO defense had been stingy until last week allowing just 100 points in the previous seven games (14.2 ppg). ... But defensively is where the Trojans have made the most improvement allowing just 101 points (14.4 ppg) seventh-fewest in Class 3A. The LFO offense averaged 29.4 ppg on the season but scored just 19 points in its final two games.
-- NEXT: Winner of Cedar Grove/Hart County in 2nd round
WESTMINSTER at JEFFERSON
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Memorial Stadium, Jefferson
-- WESTMINSTER (R5, S3) (6-4): Lost 34-28 to Lovett last week
-- JEFFERSON (R8, S2) (8-2): bye last week; defeated Jackson 38-3 on Oct. 26
-- NOTABLE: Jefferson leads series 2-0. Every meeting so far has been in the playoffs. The Dragons won 28-0 in 2013 and 35-7 in 2012 in their Class 2A championship run. ... The Wildcats have played a difficult schedule as Jefferson will be the seventh ranked team they have played this season. They are 3-3 in those games. ... Jefferson, much like Flowery Branch above, battled late-season injuries but should be near 100 percent after completing its season two weeks ago. The Dragons were missing four key starters for most or parts of the second half of the season, including quarterback Colby Clark, who missed the last five games, and offensive lineman J.J. Middleton, who missed the past two games. ... Defensively Jefferson is still among the best in 3A yielding just 112 points (11.2 ppg) with only No. 3 Monroe Area managing more than 20 in a game. The Wildcats offense is averaging 28.9 ppg but most of that (136 points) came against the bottom three teams in 5-3A. They averaged just 21.8 ppg vs. everyone else. ... Westminster has won at least one playoff game in 10 of the last 11 seasons. Only in 2013 did they fail to reach at least the second round.
-- NEXT: Winner of GAC/North Murray in 2nd round
CLASS 2A
BREMEN at UNION COUNTY
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Frank McClure Stadium, Blairsville
-- BREMEN (R5, S3) (8-2): Lost 20-7 to Heard County last week
-- UNION COUNTY (R8, S2) (9-1): Lost 56-28 to Rabun County last week
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... How much does experience counts could be a factor in in this one. The Blue Devils have advanced to the playoffs 19 of the last 21 seasons and just six times have they failed to reach the second round. Union County has now made the postseason 5 of the past 6 seasons but is still searching for its first-ever playoff win. ... This has all appearances of an offensive explosion. The Panthers are third in Class 2A in scoring (425, 42.5 ppg) while Bremen is 9th (354, 35.4 ppg). Union is led by Jr. QB Pierson Allison (2,669 yards, 23 TDs, 4 INT) who is the top passer in Class 2A and sixth in the state in all classifications. ... Both defenses have been among the top 10 most of the season. Bremen is 5th allowing just 11.0 ppg while the Panthers had allowed just 10.4 ppg (94 points) until Rabun County’s top-ranked offense hung a season high on them last week.
-- NEXT: Winner of South Atlanta/Rockmart in 2nd round
SPENCER at RABUN COUNTY
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Frank Snyder Stadium, Tiger
-- SPENCER (R5, S4) (3-7): Defeated Jordan 35-8 last week
-- RABUN COUNTY (R8, S1) (9-1): Defeated Union County 56-28 last wek
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... This is another that looks like a huge mismatch on paper. The Wildcats, who the reigning Class 2A state runner-up, are the top scoring team in Class 2A (485, 48.5 ppg) but also have a defense that has yielded just 167 points (16.7 ppg) over the past eight games. Spencer sits in the bottom half in Class 2A in scoring (162, 16.2 ppg) and is allowing over 22.6 ppg on the season. ... The Greenwave Owls also have lost 10 straight to ranked teams going back to 2015 while Rabun County has won 46 straight games against non-ranked opponents going back to a 27-9 loss to Mount Pisgah in 2014. ... Rabun County rolled to its ninth-straight win last week and has gotten more potent as the season has gone on behind Fr. QB Gunner Stockton (2,203 yards, 25 TDs, 5 INT) who is second only to Union’s Allison in Class 2A.
-- NEXT: Winner of Washington/Chatooga in 2nd round
CLASS A PUBLIC
SEMINOLE COUNTY at COMMERCE
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Tiger Stadium, Commerce
-- SEMINOLE COUNTY (No. 24) (5-5): Lost 29-7 to Miller County last week
-- COMMERCE (No. 9) (8-2): Lost 21-14 to No. 1 Athens Academy last week
-- NOTABLE: Seminole County leads series 1-0. The Indians won 36-7 in the first round of the 2012 playoffs in Donalsonville. ... It may one of the longest road trips in the first round in all classifications as the Indians head 286 miles to take on the Tigers. ... Commerce is sure to be smarting after a rare two-game losing streak to end the regular season. The Tigers had been rolling opponents averaging 38.3 ppg before being held to just 33 total points in losses to Riverside Military and the No. 1 Spartans. ... The Tigers are still 14th in a offensive-minded Class A (342, 34.2 ppg) but it’s actually the defense that has had opponents taking notice. Commerce is 8th in Class A allowing just 113 points (11.3 ppg) and has not allowed more than 21 in any game. ... The Indians are averaging 23.5 ppg but are surrendering 23.7 ppg on defense. They have lost three straight and allowed 120 points (40.0) in that span.
-- NEXT: No. 8 seed Mitchell County (bye)
CLASS A PRIVATE
RIVERSIDE MILITARY at GEORGE WALTON
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Keith Henderson Stadium, Monroe
-- RIVERSIDE MILITARY (No. 23) (5-5): Lost 49-27 to Prince Avenue last week
-- GEORGE WALTON (No. 10) (8-2): Defeated Hebron Christian 17-7 last week
-- NOTABLE: George Walton leads series 7-3. The Bulldogs won 16-13 in 2017. George Walton has won four straight. The last Eagles win came in 2007, 49-6, when both teams were in GISA. ... Two Region 8-A foes that are very familiar with each. The Eagles have been the surprise team in the region making the playoffs for the first time since 2009. ... RMA won 4 of its last 6, including knocking off then-No. 6 Commerce on the road two weeks ago. Four of the Eagles’ 5 losses are to teams who made the playoffs in Class A Private and they are 3-2 on the road in 2018. ... The Bulldogs dropped 2 of their last 4 games. They are averaging 30.6 ppg. ... The RMA defense gave up 102 points in a pair of losses to Prince Avenue and just 110 points (13.7 ppg) to everyone else.
-- NEXT: No. 7 seed Greene County in the second round
