2008 HS Football Playoffs GA (and anybody else)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Although we won't have the two day football feast that the Georgia Dome has hosted for the past several years (semi-finals moved back to home sites, finals only in the Dome this year), there's still plenty of FOFC familiar names busy as the Georgia High School Association Football Playoffs kicked off tonight.

I'll hit some highlights where I can to help make this more interesting for those with no connections but I'm also hoping that anybody following HS football closely in other states will add their perspectives to the thread as well.

The first week's posts will be the busiest with 160 teams involved (32 teams X 5 classifications) but it should get more manageable pretty quickly as the fields narrow down. Rankings are from the final AP regular season poll. Dashes try to indicate bracket pairings, first set is top left of bracket, second set is bottom left, third set is top right, fourth set is bottom right.
Opening round matchups are by regions with 1 vs 4 & 2 vs 3 from pre-assigned region pairings (roughly geographical).

Georgia Class A Round One
Miller County (#t9) 14 vs Dooly County 6
Savannah Christian (#6) 18 vs Chattahoochee Co. 8
Wesleyan 42 vs Warren County 19
Bowdon 0 vs Holy Innocents 13
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Wilcox Co (#2) 34 vs Seminole Co. 20
Schley Co 13 vs Johnson Co. 12
Lincoln Co (#3) 32 vs Social Circle 0
Eagles Landing Chr. Acad. 17 vs Darlington 6
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Bremen (#5) 40 vs Landmark Christian 14
Athens Academy (#8) 24 vs Washington-Wilkes 14
Emanuel Co. Institute (#1) 51 vs Greenville 8
Clinch Co (#t9) 44 vs Twiggs Co. 19
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Whitefield Academy (#7) 13 vs Gordon Lee 12
Wilkinson Co 21 vs Commerce 7
Brookstone (#4) 28 vs Savannah Country Day 3
Turner Co 43 vs Terrell Co. 19
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15 of the 16 hosts were winners on a relatively uneventual opening night but the big game for me personally was Region 8 #2 seed Athens Academy (K-12 school where my son is in 5th grade) holding off a game Washington-Wilkes 24-14. Just a darned solid game to watch after starting more than an hour late due to a strong thunderstorm that passed through the area earlier in the evening. Trailing 7-0 after missing two FG's early, the Spartans got even headed to the half on a nifty 40 yd QB draw by senior Will Daniel.

A field goal on the first drive of the second half & 9 yd run around the left end by Daniel put us up 17-7 and in control in the third. W-W comes right back with their second loooong pass of the night, pulling back to 17-14 with about 4 mins left in Q3. With momentum tenuous at best, an undersized Academy offense put together 5 minute TD drive capped by the latest in a series of great catches by senior WR McKay Matthews, a 19 yd TD grab at the goaline through the hands of a DB.

From there it was the world's softest pass defense that held the Tigers to two unproductive possessions and it's on to the second round & a date on the road at 5th ranked Bremen.

Elsewhere in Class A ... UGA-bound RB Washaun Ealey had 293 yds & 4 TD's on 29 carries to lead top-ranked ECI to an easy win. His teammate LB Dexter Moody will join him at Georgia while DT J.C. Lanier is committed to Georgia Tech. ... The night's only upset winner, Holy Innocents, features TE John Farrell, who has committed to Duke ... The upset victim, Bowdon, was unbeaten & ranked 10th before losing in the regular season finale to Bremen ... ECI, Wilcox, Brookstone all remain unbeaten on the year, while #3 Lincoln has lost only to Abbeville, SC ... In addition to the four playoff team's from Region 8 that I saw in person, I also saw #7 Whitefield Academy as AA beat them earlier in the year

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Class AA Round One
Brooks County (#3) 41 vs Tattnall Co 13
Jefferson Co vs NE Macon - Postponed to Saturday due to weather
Jefferson (#4) 31 vs Coosa 13
Lovett 45 vs Macon Co 12
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Appling Co (#7) 10 vs Cook 25
SW Macon 0 vs Toombs Co 13
Calhoun (#10) 63 vs Banks Co 0
Pike Co 7 vs Westminster 33
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Buford (#1) 56 vs Heard Co 21
North Oconee 28 vs Rockmart 21
Dublin (#2) 17 vs Central Macon 6
Thomasville 20 vs McIntosh Co. Academy (#8) 7
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Callaway 19 vs Greater Atl. Christian 14
Pepperell (#6) 38 vs Riverside Military Acad. 10
Henry Co (#9) 34 vs Laney 25
Charlton Co (#5) 7 vs Fitzgerald 39
------

Upsets shake up the AA bracket a bit, as four home teams were toppled & four Top 10 teams lost ... but they weren't the same four teams.

-- Fitzgerald avenged last year's playoff loss by routing #5 Charlton Co and in doing so ended the Indians regular playoff date with Buford (5 straight years the two powers had met in the round of 8 or beyond)
-- #7 Appling County falls to the Cook Hornets just a week after earning the Region 1-AA top seed by winning a tiebreaker procedure.
-- #8 McIntosh County Academy also lost to an unranked Thomasville but did so on the road, as the odd team out in an evenly matched Region 1-AA tiebreaker.
-- Unranked Pike County also lost badly at home, to Atlanta area private school Westminster. The Pirates once held the distinction of the state's longest losing streak back in the 90's but rallied from a 3-17 stretch in the past two years to win Region 5-AA this season before getting bombed tonight.

Other notes from the bracket
-- Henry County QB Drew Little (6'5", 260) is roughly 300 yards shy of becoming the state's all time leader in passing yards. He's had some help though, along with this year's receiving standout Jamal Patterson (see below), he's also thrown to Alabama's Chris Jackson and well regarded junior Markeith Ambles (multiple offers from both ACC & SEC schools already). But after having an offer from Georgia Tech withdrawn when Chan Gailey was fired, Little is currently committed to ... Georgia STATE, who will launch a I-AA football program in 2010 under Bill Curry.

-- Names from this bracket you might hear again on future Saturdays include:
-- Henry County WR Jamal Patterson, reportedly committed to Stanford (also considered/considering Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame, & LSU among others)
-- Calhoun DT Eric McDaniel, committed to Purdue
-- Early County S Shawn Williams, committed to Georgia
-- Charlton County OG Ricky Hart, committed to Maryland
-- Buford DT Dallas Lee, committed to Georgia
-- Fitgerald S Jamea Thomas, committed to Georgia Tech
-- Jefferson Co. DE Chris Crenshaw, committed to Georgia Tech
-- GAC LB Shane Mullarkey, committed to North Carolina
-- GAC LB Blake Southerland, committed to Vanderbilt
-- GAC QB Colton Chappell,uncommitted (considering Duke, Wake, Rice,NCSU)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Class AAA Round One

Cairo (#1) 48 vs Troup County 0
Burke Co 42 vs Mary Persons 14
Eastside (#9) 20 vs Creekview 6
Carrollton 23 vs Washington 7
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Carver-Columbus (#5) 28 vs Crisp Co 0
Woodward Academy 21 vs Washington Co 7
Gainesville (#4) 49 vs Oconee Co 21
St Pius (#6) 31 vs Cartersville 34
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Ridgeland 33 vs Carver-Atlanta 0
Stephens Co 21 vs Flowery Branch 42
Baldwin (#2) 28 vs Eagles Landing 3
Peach Co (#10) 7 vs Shaw 22
------
Dunwoody (#3) 24 vs Central-Carrollton 7
North Hall 10 vs Hart Co 9
Jackson (#7) vs Thomson - play Saturday night
LaGrange (#8) vs Dougherty - play Saturday night
------

No shortage of offense in Class AAA, as star quarterbacks abound.
-- Oconee County's Zach Mettenberger, another UGA signee, came up short against Gainesville. Starting 12 for 12 with 2 TD's en route to a surprising 14-0 lead, he finished 30-43 for 267 yds & only those 2 TD's as Oconee finished the year 4-7.

-- Gainesville's Blake Sims (uncommitted, offers from GT, Ole Miss, and Arkansas so far) rallied the Red Elephants with 336 yds & 4 TD's in just three quarters of action. for the year he has 19 passing TD's & 18 rushing TD's.

-- Gainesville's next opponent will be Cartersville, who upset St. Pius behind 290 yds total offense & 3 total TD's from Donovan Tate (son of former UGA RB Lars Tate). The senior has offers from virtually every major college program & has visited USC & Michigan already. Problem is that he's also expected to be a first round pick in the next baseball draft as an outfielder compared to (the good version of) Jeff Francouer.

-- Flowery Branch junior QB Connor Shaw threw for 296 yds & 5 TD's and ran for another score in their upset win at Stephens County. He's the younger brother of current GT freshman Jaybo Shaw & some think he's the better QB of the two.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Class AAAA Round One

Westside Macon (#1) 48 vs Glynn Academy 6
Hephzibah 17 vs Jonesboro 18
Loganville 21 vs Hillgrove 27
Tucker (#4) 33 vs Whitewater 7
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Brunswick (#10) 34 vs Bainbridge 20
Griffin 26 vs Glenn Hills 0
Sprayberry 8 vs Cedar Shoals 11
Villa Rica 7 vs SW DeKalb 27
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Marist (#3) 42 vs Northgate 0
Clarke Central 13 vs Sequoyah (#5) 34
Evans (#6) 10 vs Mt-Zion Jonesboro 36
Thomas Co. Central (#t8) 3 vs Ware Co 21
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Sandy Creek (#2) 14 vs Chamblee 7
Rome 16 vs Apalachee 8
North Clayton (#t8) 41 vs Richmond Academy 14
Statesboro (#7) 22 vs Harris Co 0
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And you thought Class AA had some upsets? 7 of the 16 road teams pulled out wins in the opening round of the AAAA post season while some other familiar names took care of business in their own house.

-- FOFC's most familiar Georgia high school team, the Tucker Tigers, rolled to an easy opening round win, holding Whitewater without a first down in the second half. Their only loss this season was a 38-0 shellacking at the hands of arch rival Marist & you know they'd like another crack of them. The D1 prospect tradition continues with LB Jonathan Davis weighing offers from over a half dozen teams (UGA, GT, Penn State, Miami, Oklahoma State among them) and CB Drayton Calhoun is an LSU commitment.
-- Speaking of Marist, they lost their season opener to St Pius & haven't stumbled since.
-- Old Tucker nemesis Statesboro suffered their only loss of the season in the regular season finale against Brunswick but could be challenged next week by North Clayton & Georgia Tech signee Emmanuel "Too Tall" Dieke, a 6'7", 220 pound DE.
-- The classification does not have a defending champion since back to back winner Northside-Warner Robins moved up to class AAAAA this season.

[Ben E Lou]

Following Brookstone and Tucker closely here as usual. I'm still in regular communication with one of the assistant coaches at Tucker and several key long-time insiders in the program, and word is that the Marist loss may have been one of the best things to happen to the program in a while. As for Brookstone (my alma mater), my buddies back home who follow the program closely tell me that this Cougar squad is a nice team, but probably not a legit state title contender.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Class AAAAA Round One

Lowndes County (#1) 41 vs Luella 13
Bradwell Institue 19 vs East Coweta 6
Grayson (#5) 31 vs Collins Hill 7
Milton 41 vs East Paulding 43 (3 OT)
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Stephenson (#7)14 vs Coffee Co 17 (OT)
Chapel Hill 23 vs Windsor Forest 12
Peachtree Ridge (#9) 17 vs Dacula 0
Harrison 21 vs Kell 18
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Walton (#6) 7 vs Woodstock 28
Parkview 17 vs Norcross 20
Camden Co (#2) 49 vs Creekside 0
Northside-WR (#4) 24 vs Union Grove 7
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Etowah (#8) 20 vs Lassiter 23
North Gwinnett (#10) 34 vs Brookwood 10
Newnan (#3) 55 vs Johnson,Savannah 0
M.L. King vs Tift Co -- play Saturday night
------

The state's big boys are just loaded with D1 signees & prospects & some serious showdowns loom down the road with four of the national ESPN Top 50 high schools still in play and four teams that have combined for seven state title in the past five years (two in a lower classification).

-- You have to start with Lowndes County because to be the man you gotta beat the man. Ranked #3 in the nation, the defending state champion, three titles in the past four years, and riding a 25 game winning streak after their demolition of newcomer Luella. CB Greg Reid is bound for Florida and S Gerald Demps is on his way to FSU but they combined for 140 yds & a TD running the football in week one.

-- Ranked 10th in the nation, Camden County would love to get a chance to avenge their final four loss to Lowndes last season. Averaging 49.8 ppg while giving up just 7.0 ppg (and only 14 total points in the last five weeks) they're a definite threat to Lowndes. But to keep that dream championship matchup alive, they have a tough task ahead ...

-- Northside-Warner Robins, who have back to back titles one classification below, is next up for Camden. The Eagles are 54-2 since 2005 and had their 35 game winning streak snapped by Lowndes back in early October. With a defense led by DT Abry Jones (UGA), DT John Drew (Duke), and LB Eric Fields (offers from most of the SEC & ACC), they have as good a chance as anybody at dethroning the Vikings.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

As for Brookstone (my alma mater), my buddies back home who follow the program closely tell me that this Cougar squad is a nice team, but probably not a legit state title contender.

I don't know if Class A has anyone who can stop ECI. Brookstone sounds as though they're in situation similar to Athens Academy, which would love to make a third straight final four appearance but probably doesn't have the pure horses to do it this time no matter how willing the hearts might be.

It's been a fun year for me, being able to watch a team consistently strictly as a fan for the first time in quite a few years. Working from the press box is a whole different deal but yelling at refs is sort of like riding a bicycle apparently

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Etowah (#8) 20 vs Lassiter 23

I graduated from Lassiter, and having never made the playoffs any of my four years I played, I guess the team is a bit better these days. Go Trojans!

Looking through ajc.com i guess they redid the divisions a ton since I was there.. Sprayberry who used to be our big rival is in AAAA and not even in the same region anymore. Looks like Walton and Pope are still there though.. Of course with the way Cobb County was growing 20 years ago, I wouldn't be suprised if there are 3-4 new high schools in that area which is why they redistricted it all.

Looks like Lassiter gets North Gwinnett next, so will be the underdogs again there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Heh. Anyone familiar with the various teams/areas around Georgia should get a good chuckle or three out of the AJC's version of a high school BCS and the matchups in fictional bowl games it could provide.

Gallery | High School Football: A BCS playoff, GHSA-style | ajc.com

[BYU 14]

Here are some highlights of 3 of our Touchdowns from our opening round 48 - 14 win over Marana Mt View in the Arizona 5A II playoffs from one of the local sports wrap up shows (No commentary)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thanks to BYU for the highlight reel, not only because it added some variety to the thread but also because it reminded me I hadn't checked the local paper for last week's game photos. Not only do they upload their best photos but they also upload every shot they took at some games each week. As it happened, I ended up in another candid last week (we've shown up in the photos several times this season), signaling change of possession on a turnover.

[BYU 14]

That looks much fancier than the standard metal bleachers we have out here Jon. Is that at a neutral site or is that an actual high school stadium?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

That looks much fancier than the standard metal bleachers we have out here Jon. Is that at a neutral site or is that an actual high school stadium?

That's our home field, a decidedly unimpressive facility (albeit adequately sized, clean, and well maintained). We're in the smallest of the state's five classifications, and the school (private) won't even accept donations to the athletic department until the source has contributed roughly $5k or more to the other financial departments (general fund, capital fund, etc) so it's definitely not the biggest or brightest around.

I can't find a long shot of it but this one should give you a better idea of the layout on the home side. The area where I was standing in the earlier photo would be the last section seen here on the far right.


I'm guessing that what you were talking about being standard out there is something more like what we (and a lot of places) have on the visitors side of the stadium as shown here.


I suck at estimating capacity so I won't even hazard a guess but there are statewide minimums for hosting playoff games, it's pretty unusual that anyone fails to meet these standards
# Total seating capacity for each class is as follows:
Class A 2,000 seats
Class AA 2,500 seats
Class AAA 3,000 seats
Class AAAA 4,000 seats
Class AAAAA 6,000 seats

One of the best in the state would have to be Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta. Also home to Valdosta State University football, the primarily HS facility seats 11,249 and was recently featured on espn.com

And Parkview HS ain't bad either from what I can tell (haven't been up there since the latest renovation)

[BYU 14]

My god, a 3 story enclosed brick press box!! Even your facility puts ours to shame. And I won't even talk about Valdosta's...amazing the difference in passion for the game between states like Arizona and Georgia/Florida/Texas.

Granted we have a nice 1800 sq foot weightroom and got an in ground fertilizer system installed on our field this year, but our "stadium" pales in comparison to those. I will take some pics before our second round game tomorrow so you can see what I mean.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

My god, a 3 story enclosed brick press box!!

Heh, that's Parkview for you (or several of the other Gwinnett County schools). Brookwood HS (their rival) does similar or more, with one of the largest booster club budgets I've ever run across (rumored to be in excess of $1m annually as far back as several years ago).

the difference in passion for the game between states like Arizona and Georgia/Florida/Texas

On the other hand, in fairness, I'd say less than 1/3rd of the schools in Georgia even participate in soccer or volleyball, almost certain less than half have wrestling, no more than 2/3rds field a full track squad.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Heh, that's Parkview for you (or several of the other Gwinnett County schools). Brookwood HS (their rival) does similar or more, with one of the largest booster club budgets I've ever run across (rumored to be in excess of $1m annually as far back as several years ago).



On the other hand, in fairness, I'd say less than 1/3rd of the schools in Georgia even participate in soccer or volleyball, almost certain less than half have wrestling, no more than 2/3rds field a full track squad.

Heh, at Lassiter back when I was there at least, we had all of those sports as well in name though.. the baseball coach was also coach of the cross country team and it was usually highly recommended that many of us also try out for that. Unfortunately I never made the cross country team.. I was devestated let me tell you

Anyways.. Lassiter vs North Gwinett is tonight at 7:30pm.. I guess these games aren't broadcast online anywhere or anything to listen to so I'll have to just wait and see how it ends up.

[Ben E Lou]

Alan, if you're that interested and around the 'net tonight, head over to gavsv.com and check out the forums. There is virtually *always* someone giving a series-by-series (if not pbp) report there live from the stadium during playoff games.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And SD's advice is good for probably 80% or more of the games tonight, there'll be threads for most games organized under the appropriate classification. Those threads also do a good job of pointing out any of the various broadcasts/webcasts for any of the games.

Looks like I may be on there myself tonight, as my mother-in-law is visiting & wouldn't be up for a 3 hour road trip for football (plus my son is technically still grounded).

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Those threads also do a good job of pointing out any of the various broadcasts/webcasts for any of the games.

Very true. If there's a local podunk AM station carrying the game on the web, that board is where you'll find out about it.

[Alan T]

Ok thanks, I'll try to check it out if I am near a computer long enough to tonight. I don't have very high expectations that we'd win though but can always hope

[JonInMiddleGA]

Bremen killing Athens Academy 14-0 early in the 2nd. Just pushing us around, running the wishbone at will and we can't pass protect. We're getting some yardage in the air but can't run at all & can't really stop the pressure for enough plays in a row to sustain it. We've now failed to convert 4th down twice right around their 30 Bremen gets a big run to midfield & then got too cute, double reverse pass is intercepted (by one of the best darned secondaries I've seen).
And I'll be damned if we don't fumble on the first play, lucky to recover it. And promptly throw an interception of our own, only the third of the season IIRC. Wheels are coming off the season I'm afraid.

We get a nice drive to start the second half, find a little running room after going to the I, score but the PAT is blocked. 14-6 Bremen with 8:03 left in Q3.
And after an exchange of punts, Bremen gets a nice pass for 20 and a couple of nice runs before punching it in on the third try from about the two. Now 21-6 very late in the third quarter. ... 11 minutes left to play, our QB escapes three rushers & hits a 30 yd strike to a wide open receiver, 2 point conversion good, now down 21-14. ... and sadly, they answer with a KOR to midfield & score very quickly to go back up 28-14 as the clock becomes our enemy too, just 7:58 left. ... and we turn it over on downs, in & out of the receiver's hand on 4th & 9, gives Bremen the ball inside our 40 with under 7 minutes left. ... We hold, quickly drive & score and promptly miss the PAT again. Down 28-20 with 1:03 left, they go up high & recover the onside kick ... AND FUMBLED the snap in the victory formation BUT we were offside
Online at http://www.wgmiradio.com/page/page/5626535.htm

Elsewhere Clinch County led ECI 14-7 at the half, Washaun Ealey held to 24 yds rushing through two quarters.
Now 14-14 middle of Q3 ... And now 21-14 ECI on a long run by Ealey. ... and now 27-14 as ECI starts to pull away in the fourth.
" 11/21/08 Emanuel County Institute Football: Clinch County at ECI "

Tucker 41-0 over Hillgrove, at the half
SW DeKalb 7-0 over Cedar Shoals at the half
Buford (aka Goliath) killing North Oconee (aka David) 37-0 at the half
Marist now leads Sequoyah 14-6 at the half
Marist game also with live streaming video on Watch the Games | Georgia Public Broadcasting

Gainesville blasting Cartersville 28-0 getting late in the half. ... Cartersville trying to make it interesting, scoring on the opening drive of the second half to pull back within 35-21.
NewsTalk AM 1270 - WYXC, Cartersville, GA

Camden County leads Northside-Warner Robins 14-7 at the half ... now 14-13 Camden late 3rd qtr. ... swapping TD's as Camden goes back in front 21-20 in the 4th.
" 11/21/08 Camden County Football: Northside Warner Robins at Camden County "

Lowndes County up 34-0 on Bradwell Institute at the half.

AJC.com reporting North Gwinnett 15-7 over Lassiter at the half

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Second Round Playoffs
Finals rolling in now

Class AAAAA
Lowndes Co(#1) 62-21 over Bradwell Institute ... 26th straight win for the Vikings
Camden Co (#2) 28-20 over Northside-WR (#4) ... A pair of TD drives in the final 8 minutes rally Camden ... NS only losses came to #1 and #2
Newnan (#3) 42-0 over Tift Co ... sixth straight shutout for Newnan
Grayson (#5) 17-7 over East Paulding ... Wing-T wins it behind a 20 play scoring drive
Peachtree Ridge (#9) 17-7 over Harrison ... LSU commit Kevin Minter leads stout defense
North Gwinnett (#10) 41-23 over Lassiter ... sorry AlanT, sorry North too, Lowndes is next for them
Coffee Co 35-14 over Chapel Hill ... Coffee playing well again after losing 3 of 4 to end the regular season
Woodstock 14-10 over Norcross ... Defense keeps newcomer alive under ex-Valdosta coach O'Brien

Class AAAA
Westside-Macon(#1) 49-11 over Jonesboro ... first time Westside has allowed double digits all season
Marist (#3) 28-12 over Sequoyah (#5) ... Home playoff winning streak continues, 14 years & counting
Tucker (#4) 48-14 over Hillgrove 14 ... Davis rushes for 198 & 4 TD's in less than three quarters
Statesboro (#7) 14-12 over North Clayton(#8t) ... All points scored by the half, a late sack prevents a game-winning FG try
SW DeKalb 13-0 over Cedar Shoals ... Legendary coach Godfrey insists football is still simple, just don't let the other team score
Mt-Zion Jonesboro 19-14 over Ware Co ... 4th seed still alive after beating a .500 team
Rome 19-13 over Sandy Creek (#2) ... Wolves escape after leading 19-0
Griffin 34-30 over Brunswick (#10) ... Bears rally after trailing 24-14
-----

Class AAA
Cairo(#1) 41-28 over vs Burke Co ... Nearly 400 yds rushing to remain unbeaten
Baldwin (#2) 29-19 over Shaw ... rallies after trailing 19-14 in Q4, Rico Ford has 265 & 3 TD's on 29 carries
Dunwoody (#3) 18-13 over North Hall ... NH has only 65 yds total offense but almost rallied with a KOR & a turnover
Gainesville(#4) 42-28 over Cartersville ... Big lead early, followed by a letdown, but Red Elephants hold off 'Canes
Carver-Columbus(#5) 21-6 over Woodward Academy ... Big plays,79 yd & 65 yd runs, spark Tigers
Eastside (#9) 21-9 over Carrollton ... Balanced attack too much as Carrollton held to 160 total offense
Flowery Branch 21-14 over Ridgeland ... Connor Shaw throws the game-winner in Q4, goes 12/15 for 173 & 2
-----
LaGrange (#8) vs Thomson play Saturday night

Classs AA
Buford (#1) 44-7 over North Oconee ... best line I heard tonight "Looks like David missed the team bus"
Dublin (#2) 21-14 over Thomasville ... 90 yd KOR for the game-winner
Brooks Co(#3) 27-7 over Jefferson Co ... JeffCo held to four first downs & minus 8 yds rushing
Pepperell (#6) 40-20 over Callaway ... Brandon Whitaker runs for 256 & 4 TD's on 31 carries
Calhoun(#10) 38-20 over Westminster ... QB Johnson throws for 244 & 3 TD's
Lovett 34-24 over Jefferson (#4) ... unbeaten gets knocked out early, as Lions score 21 in Q2
Fitzgerald 45-20 over Henry Co(#9) ... Efficient offense gets 4 TD's on only 7 completions, while holding star QB Little to 297 yds & 1 TD
Toombs Co 19-7 over Cook ... 2-way player Demery Hawkins runs for 174 & 2, has 10 solo tackles, 10 assists and an INT

Class A
Emmanuel Co. Inst.(#1) 33-21 over Clinch Co (#t9) ... Ealey held to 24 yds at half, finishes with 255 & 4 TD's
Wilcox Co (#2) 34-13 over Schley Co ... TD's on punt return & fumble return help keep Wilcox unbeaten
Lincoln Co (#3) 7-0 over Eagles Landing Christian ... 59 yd run in Q2 holds up thanks to five drives stopped inside the 20 & four forced turnovers
Bremen(#5) 28-20 over Athens Academy (#8) ... home team holds on late to advance to face ECI
Miller Co(#t9) 20-13 over Savannah Christian (#6) ... Pair of TD passes in Q4 make the difference in a 6-6 game after three
Turner Co 20-14 over Brookstone (#4) ... Turner blows 14-0 halftime lead but recovers to pull the upset on the road
Wilkinson Co 38-8 over Whitefield Academy (#7) ... Speed kills, with both an INT return & KOR for scores in a rout
Wesleyan 21-7 over Holy Innocents ... Wolves avenge their only regular season loss to advance

[Celeval]

Looks like a big upset in the Sandy Creek game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Celeval

Looks like a big upset in the Sandy Creek game.

Maybe not quite so big as it would appear.

Rome lost to Sprayberry in the final week of the regular season to drop to a second seed, otherwise they're a number one seed themselves. And that was the really bizarre circumstance where the referees were never assigned to the game & after a 2+ hour trip for the game, Rome had to then sit & wait until after 10pm for kickoff while officials could get a police escort after the end of another nearby game.

A different result in that one and this would have looked a little less surprising IMO.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

My god, a 3 story enclosed brick press box!! Even your facility puts ours to shame. And I won't even talk about Valdosta's...amazing the difference in passion for the game between states like Arizona and Georgia/Florida/Texas.

Granted we have a nice 1800 sq foot weightroom and got an in ground fertilizer system installed on our field this year, but our "stadium" pales in comparison to those. I will take some pics before our second round game tomorrow so you can see what I mean.

Don't leave out the Palmetto state.
Gaffney juts installed a $1MM jumbo tron complete with 245" LCD display.

For anyone who has been to Doak Campbell, its the identical brand only 80% the size.

This was in response to Byrnes adding one last year.

South Carolina high school football | PalmettoFootballTalk.com | GoUpstate.com

There are the brackets.
Byrnes will play Dorman in a game that has no less than 17 Division 1 scholarships on the field (and Im only counting seniors)

Dorman won an upset early this year, the stadium seats 12,000 and they are pre selling tickets Monday to prevent a riot at the stadium next Friday.

Rock hill and Sumter get to play to see who is the sacrrificial lamb.

[Alan T]

Ahh well, just got back. THanks for the update, I actually am suprised they made it this far. Wish I had been around to go see the games in person!

[BYU 14]

5A-1 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Mesa Mt View - 29
#8 Corona Del Sol - 8

#5 Brophy Prep - 34
#13 Highland - 10 (Cinderella run ends abruptly)

#2 Hamilton - 14
#7 Chandler - 0

#11 Red Mountain - 55 (Big upset over a 1 loss Salpointe squad)
# 3 Salpointe Catholic - 47

We should see a matchup of unbeaten Mountain View and Hamilton, whose only loss came to the #1 team our class, Centennial. Hamilton arguably has the best best athletes in the state and beat Booker T Washington of Miami on the road to open the season. Mountain View rarely sends a kid to a D1 school, they just constantly churn out disciplined, hard nosed kids that know how to win. Some notable MT View alumni that did go D1 include BYU QB's John Beck, (Dolphins) Max Hall (currently BYU's starter) and Ravens TE Todd Heap.

5A-2 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Centennial - 35 (They are ranked # 7 in the West region by USA today)
#7 Desert Ridge - 7

#4 Ironwood Ridge - 24
#5 Sunnyside - 17

#3 Marcos De Niza - 38
#11 Skyline - 3

#2 Westview - 35
#7 Boulder Creek - 10

Our starting QB (also our best athlete) was benched for a half. His backup, a sophomore, stepped in and threw 2 1st half TD passes and did a great job managing the game in his first ever varsity start. Big rematch with Marcos from last years playoffs, where we defeated them 38-36 on TV in the quarters. There is no love lost here and it should be a great game. Unbeaten, 2 time defending champ Centennial is expected to roll next week and will be the favorites to repeat. They handed us our only loss of the season (14-0) as we failed to get points after driving inside their 30 three times. They have an exceptionally fast Defense and only allowed 67 points in 12 games, with 5 shutouts.

4A-1 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Scottsdale Saguaro - 28
#8 Cactus - 10

#4 Peoria - 33
#5 Millenium - 27 (They move up to 5A-2 next year and will be in our region)

#6 Canyon Del Oro - 27
#3 Paradise Valley - 20

#2 Chaparral - 35
#7 Cienega - 21

Seedings pretty much holding true to form, minus CDO's upset of Paradise Valley. Saguaro and Chap are region rivals and they should meet for all the marbles in finals. Saguaro won the regular Season meeting 21-0.

4A-2 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Notre Dame - 54 (Still one Notre Dame that can win )
#9 Mingus - 16

#5 Greenway - 22
#4 Queen Creek - 21

#6 Santa Rita - 23
#3 Palo Verde - 21

#2 Coronado - 55
#10 Arcadia - 27

Some tight games here, though it is doubtful anyone will challenge Notre Dame, now 12-0. They average over 40 points a game and their only real test was a 15-13 win in California over a very tough Marin Catholic squad in an interstate matchup.

3A (Semifinals) - Saturday
#1 Payson - 28
#4 Wickenburg - 7

#2 Blue Ridge - 40 (They are probably the most successful 3A team ever in AZ)
#3 Fountain Hills - 0

This is a great matchup for the 3A title. Payson defeated Blue Ridge 13-7 in week 8.

2A (Semifinals) - Saturday
#1 Phoenix Christian - 17
#6 Benson - 14

#2 St Johns - 44
#3 Valley Christian - 27

Another great small school matchup, both teams enter the finals at 13-0

1A (Final) Played Saturday November 15th
#3 Mogollon - 66
#1 Pima - 34

This class plays 8 man ball

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Quarterfinals Nov 28. (scores updated 1001 pm)

Class AAAAA
Grayson over Lowndes Co (#1) 17-7 FINAL ... was 7-7 at the half, Lowndes tries to start bench clearing brawl after loss
Peachtree Ridge (#9) over Coffee County 31-0 FINAL ... was all Ridge all night
Camden Co (#2) 18-17 over Woodstock 18-17 FINAL ... was 17-6 Woodstock at the half
Newnan(#3) over North Gwinnett (#10) 20-3 FINAL ... first points allowed by Newnan since mid-October ending streak of 6 shutouts

Class AAAA
Tucker (#4) over Westside-Macon(#1) 31-20 FINAL... was 12-10 Westside at the half
Griffin over SW DeKalb 10-7 FINAL ... was 3-0 at the half
Marist (#3) over Mt-Zion-Jonesboro 34-33 FINAL ... was 28-13 Marist at the half, survived furious rally by underdogs
Rome over Statesboro (#7) 41-21 FINAL... was 14-7 at the half, RB PJ Green goes 22 carries for 261 & 4 TD's

Class AAA
Cairo (#1) over Eastside (#9) 23-6 FINAL ... was 13-6 at the half
Carver (#5) over Gainesville (#4) 28-14 FINAL ... was 21-0 at the half
Flowery Branch over Baldwin (#2) 35-17 FINAL ... was 17-7 Baldwin at the half, FB holds them to one first down in second half
LaGrange over Dunwoody 20-5 FINAL... was 3-0 Dunwoody at the half

Class AA
Brooks Co(#3) over Lovett FINAL ... was 18-14 Lovett at the half
Calhoun (#10) over Toombs Co 41-14 FINAL
Buford (#1) leads Dublin (#2) 44-10 FINAL ... was 20-10 at the half
Fitzgerald over Pepperell (#6) 41-19 FINAL ...was 27-13 at the half

Class A
Wesleyan over Miller Co(#9t) 17-0 ... was 6-0 at the half
Lincoln Co(#3) over Wilcox Co(#2) 27-12 early Q4 ... was 14-12 at the half
ECI(#1) over Bremen (#5) 13-7 FINAL ... 27 play drive rallies ECI from 7-0 half deficit, Bremen runs out of time at the ECI 17.
Wilkinson Co over Turner Co 7-6 FINAL ... halftime score holds up

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yes, you're reading it correctly. If Tucker could get by Griffin and Marist could get past Rome, then the AAAA state championship would come down to Tucker & Marist.

Meanwhile, HUGE upset of national proportions as Grayson stuns the nation's #3 team. ... Great comeback by the Branch on the road at Baldwin ... ECI comes from behind again to win a nailbiter ... Buford is a $@#$% machine, just crushing Dublin in the second half.

[digamma]

Huge win for Tucker. Five years after my dad and brother's trip to the semifinals, Tucker returns (though they were there last year, too).

I'm also following Peachtree Ridge pretty closely, as most of the old Tucker coaching staff from my dad's days has moved over to the Ridge. I'm sure they are much happier playing Grayson than Lowndes, who beat them 22-7 in the second game of the season.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Yes, you're reading it correctly. If Tucker could get by Griffin and Marist could get past Rome, then the AAAA state championship would come down to Tucker & Marist.

The final that should have happened in 2003 (had we not turned it over 5 times) could well happen in 2008. Both teams should be considered favorites in the semis. I've left that weekend as the only free one in December, and am planning on being there if Tucker is playing. It really couldn't get any sweeter than Tucker's first-ever state championship win coming over Marist.

[MacroGuru]

The High School I graduated from, Timpview High School in Utah, just hit a three-peat in State Championships, they have become a Div I powerhouse sending BYU most of their OL, their QB's, WR's and LB's tend to go on to other places to play.

Their Website is TIMPVIEW HIGH SCHOOL - Football 2008 - Thunderbirds Home

I am trying to find pictures of their stadium as well, nothing like the GA ones but a decent one for the state.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Grats Macro, by extension at least. It's funny, for as close as I follow this stuff, there's no history of football success in my background anywhere. My HS sucked before I got there, sucked while I was there, sucked after I left, and continues in suckitude today.

But I do have some sort of odd connection, however tenuous, to several of the teams left alive in this year's playoffs.

In AAAAA, Newnan is the school where my best friend is zoned, making them "his" team to some extent (his own loyalties actually lie elsewhere).

In AAAA, the connection to Tucker for FOFC is established. Griffin is the school I did p-b-p for during my last stint. And Rome is the descendant HS for my dad.

In AAA, Flowery Branch is from the same region as my alma mater. Both LaGrange & Carver were familiar opponents from the time I spent at Griffin.

In AA this year I basically got nothing, although Buford is probably the closest remaining team to me geographically at this point. In A, Wesleyan is the team that handed my son's school their only regular season loss so my preference there is obvious.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

The High School I graduated from, Timpview High School in Utah, just hit a three-peat in State Championships, they have become a Div I powerhouse sending BYU most of their OL, their QB's, WR's and LB's tend to go on to other places to play.

Their Website is TIMPVIEW HIGH SCHOOL - Football 2008 - Thunderbirds Home

I am trying to find pictures of their stadium as well, nothing like the GA ones but a decent one for the state.

Timpview is definitely the Football factory in Utah. Seems like they put 3-5 kids in a DI school yearly. I wish we had some of their linemen here at Westview. Our starting guards go 5'9" 215 and 5'10 210 respectively. Good thing they are tough.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Timpview is definitely the Football factory in Utah. Seems like they put 3-5 kids in a DI school yearly. I wish we had some of their linemen here at Westview. Our starting guards go 5'9" 215 and 5'10 210 respectively. Good thing they are tough.

Yeah, when I played, we were just hitting the scene, we won one state in 91, and my senior year in 93, we lost in the semi finals but we really didn't send anyone anywhere except for Bret Engemann to BYU at that time.

Right after that though it was a weird transformation for the school and they just exploded on the scene, much like Skyline was in the 80's and early 90's, Timpview had become the powerhouse there.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Yeah, when I played, we were just hitting the scene, we won one state in 91, and my senior year in 93, we lost in the semi finals but we really didn't send anyone anywhere except for Bret Engemann to BYU at that time.

Right after that though it was a weird transformation for the school and they just exploded on the scene, much like Skyline was in the 80's and early 90's, Timpview had become the powerhouse there.

Well, if it makes you feel any better after starting out at Layton we moved close to downtown SLC and I finished up for now defunct South HS (closed in 87/88 I believe to become a SLC community college annex) We took a regular dose of beatings from most everyone, won 5 games combined my Jr and Sr year.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Semifinals schedule

All games Friday.

Class AAAAA
No. 4 Grayson at No. 7 Peachtree Ridge, 7:30 p.m.
No. 2 Camden County at No. 3 Newnan, 7:30 p.m.

Class AAAA
Griffin at No. 4 Tucker, 7:30 p.m.
Rome at No. 3 Marist, 7:30 p.m.

Class AAA
No. 1 Cairo at No. 5 Carver-Columbus, 8 p.m.
Flowery Branch at No. 8 LaGrange, 7:30 p.m.

Class AA
Calhoun at No. 2 Brooks County, 7:30 p.m.
No. 4 Fitzgerald at No. 1 Buford, 7:30 p.m.

Class A
No. 4 Lincoln County at No. 10 Wesleyan, 7:30 p.m.
Wilkinson County at No. 1 ECI, 7:30 p.m.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Semi Finals
(Links should take you to webcast audio)

Class AAAAA
No. 4 Grayson at No. 7 Peachtree Ridge -- Still tied 7-7 headed to OT ... both teams miss FG's, headed to 2OT. Grayson gets a FG but PR gets six and wins it 13-10 in double OT
No. 2 Camden County at No. 3 Newnan -- Camden led 20-0 at the half, wins 27-7.

Class AAAA
Griffin at No. 4 Tucker - Tucker storms past Griffin 34-0 (was 21-0 at half)
Rome at No. 3 Marist -- Blocked punt leads to FG for Rome, blocked PAT keeps Marist down by four, Rome leads 17-13 headed to Q4 ... And now another blocked kick, Rome inside the 20, but manages only a missed FG of their own. Now 5:35 to play with Marist quickly out to their own 31 and just as steadily driving to the Rome 26 with 3 mins left. ... 4th & 2 for Marist inside 2 minutes left, they get four to stay alive. Loss of two back to the 15 on first down, TO Marist. Incomplete brings up 3rd & 12. Pass complete to about the 3 yd line. Sweep for no gain with :33 left and running. Toss to the corner again is stuffed, Marist takes their final timeout with :11 left ... Halfback pass into the end zone goes incomplete, :06 left on the clock ... And Marist wins it with a reverse as time expires ! No PAT as time expires & both players and fans swarm the field .(was 14-7 Rome at the half)

Class AAA
No. 1 Cairo at No. 5 Carver-Columbus -- Cairo trying to pull away up 28-7 late in Q3 but Carver fights back to within 28-13 but Cairo pulls away in the 4th qtr to win 42-13
Flowery Branch at No. 8 LaGrange -- Branch shuts out the Grangers 28-0 (was 7-0 at the half)

Class AA
Calhoun at No. 2 Brooks County, -- Brooks runs the KO back to start the 2nd half, pulls within 24-21. Calhoun responds to lead 31-21 but has turned the ball over to Brooks late in Q3, leads to another score to cut the lead to 31-28. Now in Q4 Brooks scores again to take the lead but Calhoun answers with a nice drive to go back in front 38-35 with 4:38 left. Brooks drives inside the three but is stopped less than a yard from the goaline as time expires, Calhoun hangs on for a wild 38-35 upset.
No. 4 Fitzgerald at No. 1 Buford -- Buford cruises to a 44-21 win(was 24-7 at the half)

Class A
No. 4 Lincoln County at No. 10 Wesleyan - Now 13-12 Wesleyan late Q3, as Lincoln tries for 2 and fails. 20 yd TD pass puts Wesleyan up 20-12 with 9:30 left. And that's how it ends, as the upstart from region 8-A heads to the Dome. (was 6-6 at the half)
Wilkinson County at No. 1 ECI -- WilkCo tied it at 7 early in Q3, but ECI goes up 15-7 with just 1:38 left to play and intercepts a pass shortly thereafter to seal the 15-7 win. That 2 pt conversion at the end btw, a 44 yd conversion after a series of penalties.

[SirFozzie]

Go Tucker!

[JonInMiddleGA]

I believe it's safe to now call them the Dome Bound Tucker Tigers, one of the few games that's been decided so far tonight.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I was pulling hard for Rome but one heck of an incredible finish in the Marist win.

So it'll be Tucker vs Marist next Friday at 9pm from the Georgia Dome

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

So it'll be Tucker vs Marist next Friday at 9pm from the Georgia Dome

It just doesn't get any better than that.

[SirFozzie]

yes it does Ben.

When the clock hits 0:00 with Tucker winning.

[digamma]

And the Ridge in the state finals too!

[Recoil]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Grats Macro, by extension at least. It's funny, for as close as I follow this stuff, there's no history of football success in my background anywhere. My HS sucked before I got there, sucked while I was there, sucked after I left, and continues in suckitude today.

Well, we've had a couple playoff runs. Mostly (or maybe only) in AA. We may be an AAA school in terms of enrollment, but our talent level is definitely AA.

Go Flowery Branch!

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

5A-1 (Quarterfinals)
#3 Marcos De Niza - 38
#11 Skyline - 3

It was a little bit disconcerted to see my old HS (attended Marcos freshman-soph years) in a thread. The school was only 3 years old when I first attended and we were in the top 3 in the state back then too.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

It was a little bit disconcerted to see my old HS (attended Marcos freshman-soph years) in a thread. The school was only 3 years old when I first attended and we were in the top 3 in the state back then too.

We defeated Marcos 14-7 Friday in the semi-finals and will get a rematch with #1 Cetennial for the 5A 2 State title this Friday at Cardinals Stadium. The Marcos game was a hard fought defensive battle, with both offenses a little sloppy. Our top Running back (only a Sophomore) was out with a sprained ankle, but in a bit of irony, his older brother (A defensive lineman) filled in at Fullback in some short yardage sets and scored the winning TD for us. Video below....

online video - channel 12 video - arizona republic video - phoenix video

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia HS Championship Games Schedule
All played at the Georgia Dome

Class AA
#1 Buford (14-0) vs #10 Calhoun (12-2)
5pm Friday

Class AAAA
#3 Marist (13-1) vs #4 Tucker (13-1)
8pm Friday

Class A
#1 Emmanuel Co. Inst. (14-0) vs #10 Wesleyan (12-2)
2pm Saturday

Class AAA
#1 Cairo (13-0) vs Flowery Branch (12-2)
5pm Saturday

Class AAAAA
#2 Camden Co ( ) vs #7 Peachtree Ridge (12-2)
8pm Saturday

[JonInMiddleGA]

Middle of Q2, Buford & Calhoun all tied at 7.

Games should be available online at
Watch the Playoffs | Georgia Public Broadcasting

(bandwidth permitting I imagine)

[JonInMiddleGA]

TD Buford to complete a nice drive, 14-7 with 7:12 left in the first half.