We move on to the second round of the 6A GHSA Football Playoffs. Last week, the Houston County Bears scored the biggest upset in round one as they beat #1 seed Evans by 10. Region 1 advanced 4 teams into the second round while Region 2 and Region 5 advanced three teams to the second round. This preview features matchups between Johns Creek-Valdosta, Richmond Hill-Lanier, Mays-Coffee and Stephenson-Allatoona. Please let us know if there are any errors. As always, thanks for reading. Best of luck to all the teams competing this weekend!
The Skinny
The Johns Creek Gladiators got their first playoff win this past weekend as they beat Alexander. The win pushed the Gladiators to 10 wins for the first time in school history. Johns Creek has also won nine consecutive games and have not lost to a team in Georgia this season. The Gladiators have now defeated four playoff teams. The 34 points surrendered last Friday are the most the Gladiators have surrendered in a victory this season.
The Valdosta Wildcats advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. The win was Valdosta’s second consecutive win and have now defeated five playoff teams. The Wildcats are 9-1 when they score 28 points or more this season. Valdosta will be on the road this week, but we like them to advance. Wildcats by three touchdowns.
The Skinny
The Richmond Hill Wildcats are in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Wildcats have now won six consecutive games. In Richmond Hill’s three losses, they’ve been held to 23 points or less. The Wildcats have now defeated four playoff teams.
The Lanier Longhorns outlasted a scrappy Sprayberry team last week to advance to the second round for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in school history. The 15 points the Longhorns scored was the second lowest point production for the Longhorns this season. The Longhorns have defeated six playoff teams this season. We believe Taj Barnes and the Longhorns will get rolling this week. We like Lanier by a touchdown on the road.
The Skinny
The Mays Raiders have advanced to the second round for the sixth time in seven years. The Raiders have now won 10 straight games. The Raiders have now beaten four playoff teams this season. The Raiders have been held to under 20-points 3 times this season.
The Coffee Trojans bounced back from their regular season finale loss with a big win on the road against Heritage-Conyers. The 60 points scored Friday night was the most the Trojans have scored in a game since September 22, 2006. The Trojans have now defeated four playoff teams this season. We expect Coffee to have a much more difficult time this week against Mays, but we like the Trojans by a touchdown this week.
The Skinny
The Stephenson Jaguars advanced to the second round for the first time since 2016 as they downed Bradwell Institute last week. The Jaguars have now won eight consecutive games. The 20-points that the Jaguars gave up on Friday were the most in a game this season. Prior to that, the Jags had held their previous seven opponents to 7-points or less. The Jaguars defense is allowing 8.1 points per game this season.
The Allatoona Buccaneers are in the second round of the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. The Bucs have now won four straight games. Allatoona has won three games against playoff teams. Their two losses have come by a combined 4-points. Allatoona’s 49 points were the most they’ve scored all season. This should be a defensive battle. We like the Bucs to edge the Jags by three this Friday.