The state playoffs are down to the semifinals in Georgia’s five classifications. Here’s what you need to know:
Five playmakers
Alec Ogletree, Newnan: Ogletree, who has committed to Georgia, made a leaping, one-handed catch for the go-ahead touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Lendell Arnold in the third quarter, then blocked a potential game-winning field goal in the final seconds in Newnan’s 9-7 victory over No. 1-ranked Grayson in Class AAAAA.
Da’Rick Rogers, Calhoun: Rogers, who has committed to Georgia, caught six passes for 215 yards and four touchdowns in Calhoun’s 49-35 victory over Jefferson County. Calhoun is ranked No. 1 in Class AA.
Connor Shaw, Flowery Branch: Shaw, who has committed to South Carolina, was 18-of-27 passing for 242 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 65 yards and four touchdowns in Flowery Branch’s 35-33 upset of No. 2 Carver of Columbus in Class AAA. Shaw completed first-down passes on third-and-25 and fourth-and-5 on touchdown drives in the fourth quarter that allowed Flowery Branch to overcome a 33-21 deficit.
Blake Sims, Alabama: Sims, who has committed to Alabama, was 9-of-14 passing for 120 yards and returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown in Gainesville’s 33-19 victory defending Class AAA champion Cairo. Gainesville is ranked No. 1 in AAA and faces Shaw and Flowery Branch this week.
Brison Williams, Northside: Williams, who has committed to South Carolina, caught a 66-yard touchdown pass with four minutes left remaining in regulation, then blocked a field goal in overtime in Northside’s 20-17 victory over Peachtree Ridge.
Five story lines
Mason jarred: Hutson Mason, the Lassiter High quarterback who had thrown for state records in passing yards (over 4,500) and touchdowns (54) for an undefeated team, was stopped, finally. Colquitt County, coached by Rush Propst, held Mason to less than 300 yards, sacked him six times and intercepted five passes, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Mason's five interceptions equaled his total for the first 12 games, and it was his only game this season without a touchdown pass. "If that isn't the best defense in the state, I don't know what is,’’ Mason told the Marietta Daily Journal. "They were big and strong, and they put pressure on us all night.’’
North Georgia Rising: A couple of schools in Northeast Georgia were expected to do well. Gainesville is ranked No. 1 in AAA, and Buford is the defending champ in AA. But four others were rather startling. Among them are Clarke Central, Eastside and Rockdale County (see below in Cinderellas). Another is Flowery Branch, a team that was ranked No. 3 in the preseason but flew off the radar with three regular-season losses. There has never been this many teams from this part of the state in the semis.
Gwinnett County falling: The top county for high school football in metro Atlanta took a hit. Grayson, ranked No. 1 in Georgia’s Class AAAAA and No. 11 in MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25, lost 9-7 to Newnan. North Gwinnett, No. 2 in AAAAA, lost 35-0 to Camden County 35-0. Peachtree Ridge, the 2008 runner-up in AAAAA, lost to Northside 20-17 in overtime. Defending Class A champion Wesleyan lost 20-15 to Wilcox County. The only Gwinnett team left is Buford, the defending champion in AA.
Region 1-AAAAA affirmation: This is Georgia’s most famous region, and it has two teams in the semifinals of the highest classification – Northside and Colquitt County. The team many felt was the region’s best, Lowndes, went down in the second round to defending champ Camden County. On Wednesday, the GHSA will remake the region for 2010-14, and there’s a chance Camden could be the region’s newest member.
Public-private standoff: In the Class A playoffs, each of the four quarterfinals matches a public and a private school. One coach said before the games that there had been talk of the smaller public schools pulling out of the Georgia High School Association and forming their own league. The publics and privates split 2-2, although it should be noted that key players on the two losing private school teams were injured and didn’t play the second half – Wesleyan quarterback Connor Welton and Holy Innocents’ running back Wills Aitkens. The semifinals match two public schools in one half (Clinch County vs. Wilcox County) and two privates in the other (Darlington vs. Savannah Christian), which guarantees a public-private final.
Five Cinderellas
Rockdale County (AAAA): The Bulldogs were 5-5 last season and started this year 1-3. Then, to ensure that no one would predict them to the final four, they nipped winless Monroe Area 18-15 in the 10th game. Since then, it’s been three decisive playoff victories on the road – Banneker (41-18), Hiram (21-7) and Westside (23-7).
Darlington (A): The Tigers were 6-5 last season and started 0-3. This is the private school in Rome that lost star quarterback Nash Nance to Calhoun, the No. 1-ranked team in Class AA. Darlington won its region but lost to Trion in the 10th game. Who saw this coming? Not me. Coach Tommy Atha has Darlington in the semifinals for the first time since the state championship season of 1998.
"There's a lot of teams that win by out-athleting people, and there's a lot of teams that rise to the occasion, and we're one of those teams that just refuses to give up even though the other team may have a little more talent,'' Darlington coach Tommy Atha told the Rome News-Tribune.
Clarke Central (AAAA): Talk about a blast from the past. Clarke was North Georgia’s top program in the largest class from the mid-‘70s through the mid-‘80s under Billy Henderson, a hall of fame coach, but hadn’t won a playoff game since 1997. The program hadn’t hit bottom, just become mediocre. Leroy Ryals has improved the school’s victory total each since since he arrived in 2006. Still, Clarke Central was 8-2 in the regular season. "We are just trying to bring the glory back to this team,'' wide receiver Dimitri Holmes told the Athens-Banner Herald.
Colquitt County (AAAAA): Colquitt is the only semifinalist that is coming off a losing season. Colquitt was 4-6 in Rush Propst’s first season in Moultrie, but the coach who won five state titles in Hoover of Alabama has the program in the semifinals for the first time since 1998. Colquitt finished third place in powerful Region 1-AAAAA.
Eastside (AAA): The Eagles of Covington lost most of their starters from last season’s region champions. That included player of the year Justin Wray. Eastside started 1-2, losing to its Newton County rivals, but has won 10 straight. Remember that this is a program that suffered consecutive 0-10 seasons in 2004-05.
Five quotes
"We pass a lot. That's what we do. I have a lot of good receivers, and my job is to hit them,’’ Wilcox County junior quarterback Nick Marshall told the Gwinnett Daily Post after completing 24-of-41 passes for 275 yards in his team's 20-15 victory over reigning Class A champion Wesleyan.
"He had pneumonia Monday and Tuesday and was sick the whole trip up here. He would've played more both ways if he hadn't been sick. Monday and Tuesday he couldn't lift his head. He got well in a hurry, didn't he?" Camden County coach Jeff Herron told the Florida Times-Union after Ean Days rushed for 135 yards and scored three touchdowns in his team's 35-0 victory over North Gwinnett in Class AAAAA.
"His heart was up to the challenge, but his knee wasn't. He wanted to play and I hoped he'd be OK. But by halftime, it was obvious that he couldn't stay in there,’’ Wesleyan coach Franklin Pridgen told the Gwinnett Daily Post after quarterback Conor Welton tried to endure an injured knee in the first half but couldn't play in the second half in a 20-15 loss to Wilcox County in Class A.
"It means the world to this program. There are a lot of folks that have gone through that thing and fought really hard to get this program established. We may not be the Thomas County Central with all the tradition, but we've built a pretty good tradition ourselves the last 11 years. For us to come down here and beat Thomas County Central is good for us,'' Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker told the Times-Enterprise of Thomasville after his team's 31-17 victory over Thomas County Central and first trip to the semifinals in Class AAAA.
"You get the ball on the 1-yard line and you don't score, you can blame that on the head coach,'' Lincoln County coach Larry Campbell told the Augusta Chronicle about his team's failure to score after blocking a punt and getting a first-and-goal at the Savannah Christian 1-yard line in the fourth quarter of a game Savannah Christian won 7-0 in Class A.
Todd Holcomb is the editor of Georgia High School Football Daily, a free email newsletter. To join his mailing list, go here.