Several northeast Georgia teams will have to break out their best Road Warrior outfits if they want to advance in the Georgia High School Association playoffs this week.
Mill Creek, Jefferson, Rabun County, and Commerce all face huge road battles this week in the quarterfinals as they look to advance to the semifinal round. Buford is the lone area team that will get to play at home.
The Wolves take on a resurgent Carrollton team in Class AAAAA at Tom Riden Stadium, where they have a 39-game home win streak cooking. They are also 14-2 in the quarterfinal round since 1999.
In Class AAAAAAA, Mill Creek travels to McEachern in a battle of top 5 teams. The Hawks are looking for their second straight trip to the semifinals.
In Class AAAA, Jefferson travels to Cairo to battle the Syrupmakers in a battle of top 6 teams. The Dragons bring a dominant ground game behind Colby Wood and Colby Clark to south Georgia looking for their first semifinal berth since winning the 2012 Class AA state title.
In Class AA, Rabun County sports the classification’s No. 1 offense and No. 2 defense but face a major road obstacle in Fitzgerald, the Class AA state runner-up in 2015. The Wildcats, who are looking for their first-ever semifinal appearance, will lean on the classification’s top passer in Bailey Fisher.
And in Class A Public, Commerce will head back to defending state champion Clinch County in a rematch of last year’s semifinal showdown. The two teams have split a pair of games the past two seasons with each team winning at home.
For a look at all of the night's playoff 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. 25
(Games listed by highest classification and in alphabetical order of visiting team)
CLASS AAAAAAA
It should be a war every week in every matchup the rest of the way as seven of the top eight ranked teams at the end of the year advanced. And, this week, three of the matchups involve ranked teams. ... Four of the top six teams all on the same side of the bracket with No. 1 Mill Creek traveling to No. 5 McEachern and No. 3 Grayson heading to Moultry to take on No. 6 and defending state champion Colquitt County. ... On the other side No. 7 North Cobb heads to No. 2 Roswell and Westlake will play host to No. 8 Lowndes, who has scored 149 points in the first two rounds. ... Six of the eight teams also are region champs with North Cobb and Westlake as No. 2 seeds. ... Colquitt County has won 11 straight home playoff games since 2011. The Packers last loss at home in the playoffs was in 1999 to Chattahoochee (25-22). However, they did not host a home playoff game between 2000-2009. ... Roswell and Mill Creek are the only undefeated teams left in AAAAAAA. McEachern and Grayson have just one loss each, though Grayson has not lost to a team from Georgia this season. ... Lowndes leads the classification in scoring by a wide margin (573, 47.7 ppg) but also has yielded a whopping 312 points (26 ppg) by far the most of any team left. By comparison, the top three defensive teams -- Roswell, Grayson, Mill Creek -- have given up just 321 total points combined.
MILL CREEK at McEACHERN
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Walter H. Cantrell Stadium, Powder Springs
-- MILL CREEK (12-0, Region 6, No. 1): Defeated Cherokee 56-21 in second round
-- McEACHERN (11-1, Region 3, No. 1): Defeated Parkview 47-29 in second round
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... Mill Creek has not played the Indians before but is no stranger to Cantrell Stadium having played Colquitt County there in the 2014 Corky Kell Classic. ... The Hawks are in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season and fourth time in school history and are looking for their second straight trip to the semifinals. McEachern last reached the semifinals in consecutive season in 2013 and 2014. ... The Indians have cranked up their rushing attack in recent weeks behind Quay Holmes and Paris Brown. The pair blistered Parkview for 341 combined yards last week. However, the Mill Creek defense is yielding just 28 yards a game on the ground. ... A tight game should favor the Hawks and their special teams, which is led by PK Brenton King, who has not allowed a kick return in the playoffs. King also has field goal range of 60-yards in.
CLASS AAAAA
All eight remaining teams were ranked in the final poll of the season but only four region champs -- Stockbridge, Buford, Ware County, Rome -- advanced to the quarterfinals. ... Region 7 has proven to be the dominant one in AAAAA with three teams -- Rome, Carrollton, Kell -- all advancing to the Elite 8. ... Region 4 with Stockbridge and Woodland (Stockbridge) has two teams make the quarterfinals. ... For Woodland (Stockbridge), the Wolfpack got their first-ever playoff wins and advanced to their first-ever quarterfinals in 2016. ... But, playoff experience dominates this classification. ... No. 9 Ware County is no stranger to deep runs having advanced to the quarterfinals 6 of the last 7 years and lost to Gainesville in the 2012 Class AAAAA state championship game. ... Buford is making its 17th consecutive quarterfinals run. Stockbridge is making its fifth straight quarterfinals appearance. Griffin isto the third round for the fourth time since 2008.
CARROLLTON at BUFORD
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Tom Riden Stadium, Buford
-- RADIO: WDUN AM 550
-- CARROLLTON (11-1, Region 7, No. 2): Defeated Thomas County Central 41-14 in second round
-- BUFORD (12-0, Region 8, No. 1): defeated Jones County 56-26 in second round
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... Buford advanced to the quarterfinals for the 17th consecutive time. The Wolves are 14-2 in third round games since 1999. ... The Trojans are just 2-7 in third round games since winning the 1998 Class AA state championship. ... Something will have to give in this one. Buford is 8-0 at home in 2016 while the Trojans are 5-0 on the road. The Wolves also have won 39 straight at Tom Riden. Their last loss at home was in 2012 to Gainesville and Deshaun Watson (19-15). ... Buford showed its balance last week with Christian Turner and Anthony Grant each rushing for over 100 yards. ... The Buford defense gave up its second-most points of the season last week, but most of that came against the reserves after the the Wolves had built a big lead. However, the 26 points were the most allowed by a Buford defense to a same-classification team since 2012. ... Carrollton QB Mark Wright is emerging as a rising star. He has thrown for 1,770 yards and 20 touchdowns.
CLASS AAAA
Seven of the eight region champs escaped through to the quarterfinals, with only Region 2, No. 3 seed Spalding breaking through. The seven region champs also were the top seven ranked teams in the final poll so pollsters had this classification right on the money. ... No. 1 Cartersville travels to No. 3 Woodward Academy as the classifications best offense matches up against the best defense in AAAA. ... Spalding travels to No. 2 Thomson, has won five straight, and is looking for its first semifinal berth since 2003. The Bulldogs are looking for their first semifinal appearance since winning the 2002 Class AAAA state title. ... No. 7 Mary Persons plays host to No. 5 Blessed Trinity. This is another game where something will have to give. The Titans have not lost to an instate opponent this season, while Mary Persons hasn’t lost to a Class AAAA team.
JEFFERSON at CAIRO
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: West Thomas Stadium, Cairo
-- RADIO: 102.9 FM
-- JEFFERSON (11-1, Region 8, No. 1): Defeated West Laurens 21-0 in the second round
-- CAIRO (11-1, Region 1, No. 1): Defeated Sandy Creek 10-7 in the second round
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... Both teams come in rolling. Jefferson is riding a 9-game win streak while Cairo is on a 10-game winning streak. ... The Dragons handed West Laurens last week it’s first-ever playoff shutout loss in program history. ... This one will feature two of the AAAA’s best defenses. The Dragons have yielded just 56 points over their past seven games (8.0 ppg) while the Syrupmakers have allowed just 34 points over their past five games (6.8 ppg) and just 9 points (4.5 ppg) in their two playoff wins. Eight players have INTs for the Syrupmakers and they have 29 sacks on the season. ... Balance has been a key for the Cairo offense, which had a streak of eight straight games of scoring 34 or more points snapped last week. Cairo has had 12 different receivers score TDs and seven different RBs score TDs on the season. ... Jefferson will look to control the game with its power OL and the two Colbys, Wood and Clark, who offer deadly choices for the defense. FB Zack Boobas also will get plenty of work as they have averaged nearly 300 yards a game on the ground. ... The Dragons are looking for their first semifinal berth since winning the 2012 Class AA state title.
CLASS AA
The top six ranked teams, led by 2014 state champion Benedictine, advanced to the quarterfinals, and all six will matchup against one another. The two unranked teams, Chattooga and Hapeville Charter, will meet in South Atlanta. ... Perhaps the juiciest matchup is No. 4 Rabun County heading to No. 2 Fitzgerald. Rabun County has the No. 1 offense and the No. 2 defense in Class AA. The Hurricanes have the No. 2 offense. ... No. 6 Pepperell travels to No. 1 Benedictine riding a 9-game win streak. But the Cadets lead AA in defense having given up just 88 points (7.3 ppg) on the season. ... No. 5 Screven County plays host to No. 3 Callaway. Screven County is looking for its first semifinal appearance since winning the Class AAA state title in 2002. Callaway is looking for its first semifinal berth since 2013.
RABUN COUNTY at FITZGERALD
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Jaycee Stadium, Fitzgerald
-- RABUN COUNTY (11-0, region 8, No. 1): Defeated Vidalia 42-7 in the second round
-- FITZGERALD (11-1, Region 1, No. 1): Defeated Rockmart 48-21 in the second round
-- NOTABLE: First-ever meeting between the two schools. ... It should be a classic. Rabun County has the No. 1 offense (47.9 ppg) and the No. 2 defense (9.2 ppg) in Class AA. The Hurricanes have the No. 2 offense (44 ppg). ... The Hurricanes also are trying to get back to the AA state title game, where they lost to Pace Academy in 2015. ... Wildcats QB Bailey Fisher leads all of Class AA with 2,442 yards and 27 TDs passing and 48 combined TDs on the season. RB Cal Drummond offers a bruising complement with 1,501 yards and 16 TDs rushing. ... The Rabun defense will be challenged for sure by the Hurricanes ground attack, which is averaging 285 yards a game behind Sr. RB J.D. King (1,449 yards) who has amassed over 5,000 yards rushing in his career.
CLASS A
Three of the top eight in Class A, both Public and Private combined, are still alive on the Public half. Three of the top 4 seeds -- No. 1 Macon County, No. 3 Emanuel County Institute, No. 4 Clinch County -- and six of the top 8 teams advanced to the quarterfinals, showing, at least for 2016, that the power rankings and seedings were pretty accurate. ... Irwin County (No. 21) is the lowest seeded team left while No. 14 Greene County has won two playoff games in a season for the first time since making the Class AA semifinals in 2005. ... Defending champion Clinch County is looking for its third state title since 2010.
COMMERCE at CLINCH COUNTY
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: Panther Stadium (The Boneyard), Homerville
-- COMMERCE (9-2, Region 8): Defeated Taylor County 35-20 in the second round
-- CLINCH COUNTY (10-1, Region 2): Defeated Mitchell County 54-12 in the second round
-- NOTABLE: Series tied 1-1. Clinch County won 26-19 in 2015 in the Class A semifinals in Homerville. The Tigers won 37-7 in 2014 in the first round of the Class A playoffs in Commerce. ... The brief history of this series has not been kind to the road team. But, the Panthers only loss this season came at The Boneyard. The Tigers are 3-2 on the road this season. ... The Commerce OL and DL were the difference last week. The Tigers rushed for 402 yards behind Cole Chancey (212 yards) and Lane Sorrow (134 yards) and held Taylor County and its Division I RB Lyn-j Dixon, who came in averaging nearly 190 yards by himself, to just 109 yards on the ground. ... The Tigers defense will have to keep a watch on QB/RB/LB Trezman Marshall, who rushed for 86 yards on eight carries and scored three touchdowns, and was 3-of-6 passing for 57 yards and a TD. ... The Panthers have allowed just 11.6 ppg during their 8-game win streak. Commerce has averaged 46 ppg during a 6-game win streak.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/11/473514/quarterfinal-round-playoff-previews-area-teams-look-for-best-road-warrior-impersonations