A half-dozen Northeast Georgia boys teams kept it between the ditches on the road to Macon in the first round of the Georgia High School Association's state tournament.
White County's win over fourth-ranked Salem, out of the daunting Region 5-3A, on Wednesday had some heads turning around the state.
With Salem leading 38-18 behind a smoking 68 percent shooting performance in the first half, Warrior head coach Robbie Bailey shifted the team's defense from zone to man. The move paid off and set the Warriors on a 14-5 run to take the lead and the eventual win, 62-58.
Now, thanks to No. 4 seed Beach knocking off No. 1 seed Long County, White County gets another home playoff game on Saturday.
Also advancing to the second round in what some could call an upset was Commerce's win over No. 2 seed Fulton Leadership, 68-67. The Tigers will travel to No. 1 seed Dublin on Saturday.
As expected, however, No. 1 seeds Jefferson (Class 4A) and Rabun County (Class 2A) pushed through to the second round.
Buford, on the other hand, had a battle on its hands through 2 1/2 quarters in the opening round of the Class 6A bracket. But the Wolves found a rhythm over the next quarter and 1/2 to pull off the win over Pope. They'll travel to No. 1 seed Statesboro on Saturday.
And Towns County, the only defending state champion in the area, still has its title defense going strong as they beat No. 3 seed Bowdon to advance in Class A Public. The Indians will travel to Charlton County on Saturday.
2nd ROUND PLAYOFF SCHEDULE, Friday, Feb. 25
CLASS 2A
Woodville-Thompkins (R2, S2) at Rabun County (R8, S1), 7:30 p.m.
2nd ROUND PLAYOFF SCHEDULE, Saturday, Feb. 26
CLASS 6A
Buford (R8, S2) at Statesboro (R2, S1), 6 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Westside-Macon (R4, S3) at Jefferson (R8, S1), 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A
Beach (R3, S4) at White County (R7, S2), 6 p.m.
CLASS A PUBLIC
Towns County (R8, S2) at Charlton County (R2, S1), 6 p.m.
Commerce (R8, S3) at Dublin (R4, S1), 6 p.m
