Up next, we preview the 2A GHSA Football semifinals. There are three No. 1 seeds and 1 No. 2 seed that make up the final four. There are two teams from Region-1 remaining. Perhaps the biggest surprises to us are the Brooks County Trojans. We did not expect them to get past Rockmart two weeks ago, but now they’ve defeated two No. 1 seeds and face perhaps the best team in Class AA all season this week. Matchups this week are Thomasville-Dublin and Callaway-Brooks County . Best of luck to all teams competing this weekend. As always, please let us know if there are any corrections. Thanks as always for reading and sharing!!!
The Skinny
The Thomasville Bulldogs have advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1993. The Bulldogs have now won seven consecutive games. Thomasville’s run is impressive considering they lost a ton of seniors and their star freshman quarterback from last year’s team. Nevertheless, Coach Grage has the youngBulldogs moving on in the post season. Last week, quarterback Ronnie Baker threw for 227 yards and 2-TDs and freshman running back Ricky Fulton rushed for 128 yards and 2-TDs and also caught 1-TD pass to help lead the way for the Bulldogs. Thomasville’s defense sacked Rabun’s Gunner Stockton 13 times last week. Baker has now passed for 2,207 yards and 17-TDs while Fulton has now rushed for 883 yards and 10-TDs and Ricardo Johnson has caught 53 passes for 781 yards and 8-TDs. In three playoff games, the Bulldogs are averaging 42.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 21.3 points per game. A win this week would put the Bulldogs into the finals for the first time since 1993.
The Dublin Fighting Irish are in the semifinals for the first time since 2007. The Fighting Irish got a pair of touchdowns from Jacques Evans and Marcus Adams to help propel them to victory over Hapeville Charter. The Fighting Irish held the high-powered Hornets to their lowest point output all season. As they have in years past, Dublin is powered by their ground game. Coming into last weeks game, the Irish had only attempted 33 passes all year and had rushed for over 4,800 yards as a team. Dublin sports three 1,000-yard rushers in Evans, Adams and Zion Kemp. In three playoff games, Dublin is averaging 37.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 15.6 points per game. A win this week would put the Irish in the finals for the first time since 2006. We generally would like Thomasville at home, but it’s hard to think they can bottle up three 1,000-yard running backs. We like Dublin by 4 this week.
The Skinny
The Callaway Cavaliers have advanced to the semifinals for the third time in four years. The Cavaliers have now won twelve games in a row and have not lost to a team in the state of Georgia this season. Running back Tank Bigsby scored four times in the victory last week to help lead the way. Bigsby, Charlie Dixon and quarterback Demetrius Coleman have helped lead the way for Callaway this season. In three playoff games, the Cavs are averaging 48.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 19.6 points per game. A win this week would put Callaway into the finals for the first time in school history.
The Brooks County Trojans have advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three years and Coach Freeman has led the Trojans to the semifinals five times in his current tenure. The Trojans have now won six games in a row and have defeated two No. 1 seeds in their playoff run. Last week, quarterback Ni’tavion Burrus completed 76% of his passes for 114 yards and 2-TDs and also added a rushing TD while Omari Arnold rushed for 161 yards and 1-TD to help lead the Trojans to victory. Burrus has now passed for 1,759 yards and 19-TDs and Arnold has rushed for 1,540 yards and 19-TDs. However, the story the last few weeks has certainly been the Trojans defense. In three playoff games, they are allowing only 7.6 points per game while the offense is averaging 39.3 points per game. A win this week would put the Trojans into the finals for the first time since 1994. The Trojans have been road Warriors these last two weeks, knocking off two No. 1 seeds, but the Cavs have two running backs that will be tough to slow down. We like Callaway by 10 at home this week.