GHSA 4A Semifinal Football Previews

The Oconee County Warriors are in the semifinals for the first time since 1999. Oconee County has now won 11 straight. The Warriors got 206 yards passing and two touchdown passed from Max Johnson to help lead the way to victory while the defense held Marist to their lowest point production all season. Max Johnson has now thrown for 1,891 yards and 26-TDs. The Warriors defense picked off Marist twice last week and has now tallied 17 interceptions on the season. In three playoff games, Oconee County is averaging 32.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 9.3 points per game. A win this week would put the Warriors into the finals for the first time since 1999.

The Sandy Creek Patriots are in the semifinals for the first time since 2012. Quarterback Matthew Williams threw three touchdown passes en route to the big win over Madison County last week. Running back Rashad Amos also found pay dirt in the victory. The Patriots have now won six games in a row heading into this weeks matchup. Sandy Creek’s offense continues to put up points in bunches as they went over the 40 point mark for the 11^th time this season. In three playoff games, Sandy Creek is averaging 46.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 7 points per game. A win this week would put the Patriots into the finals for the first time since 2012. This will certainly be the toughest test for Sandy Creek in the playoffs, and the travel to Watkinsville won’t make things any easier, but we believe they have enough defense and balance on offense to get past the Warriors this week. We like Sandy Creek by 8.

The Woodward Academy War Eagles battled back from deficits all game long and finally scored the go ahead touchdown with just over a minute left to play to defeat Cartersville on the road to advance to the semifinals for the third time in six years. Woodward is also 13-0 for the first time since 2015. Going into Friday’s game, quarterback Mike Wright had passed for 2,166 yards and 33-TDs and rushed for 593 yards and 11-TDs. On Friday, he passed for three touchdowns and ran for another and showed tremendous poise leading the War Eagles to victory. Perhaps, the unsung heroes of the game were the Woodward defense, who stiffened up after halftime. In three playoff games, the offense is averaging 36.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 21 points per game. A win this Friday would put the War Eagles in the finals for the first time since 1980.

The Blessed Trinity Titans got their first shutout of the season as they advanced to the semifinals for the third consecutive year. The Titans got rushing scores from Justice Haynes and Elijah Green to help lead the way on Friday night. Coming into last Friday’s game, Elijah Green had rushed for 1,093 yards and 14-TDs while freshman Justice Haynes had rushed for 1,458 yards. The two have combined for 33-TDs on the season making one of the best running back duos in the state. Prior to Friday’s game, the Titans defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 32 times. In three playoff games, Blessed Trinity is averaging 35.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 5.6 points per game. A win this week would put the Titans in the finals for the third year in a row. Woodward Academy won the first matchup by a field goal. We believe Mike Wright and the War eagles had steadily improved since that victory. However, Blessed Trinity played that game without Elijah Green. We believe he along with Justice Haynes will be the difference this week. We like the Titans by 6 on the road.