We have made it to the quarterfinals of the GHSA Football Playoffs. Our second preview this week features Class 6A and games between Carrollton – Valdosta, Buford – Langston Hughes, River Ridge – Lee County and Westlake – Allatoona.
Last week in our picks, we went 6-2 in Class 6A. Langston Hughes and River Ridge were the winners we did not expect to see in the round of 8. Way to go Panthers and Knights!
Four great matchups this week, but if we could be anywhere this week, it would be Carrollton to watch the Trojans face the Wildcats.
Best of luck to all of the teams competing on Friday night. As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment and share.
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The Skinny
Two of Georgia’s traditional powers will meet for the first time ever as Carrollton hosts Valdosta. The home Trojans advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth straight season. Carrollton is averaging 36.3 points per game on the season and allowing 16. The Trojans are averaging 47 points in their two playoff games while allowing an average of 10.
The Valdosta Wildcats are the winningest program in Georgia Football history and have advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years. The Wildcats are averaging 29.3 points per game while allowing 16.5. However, in their two playoff games, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 96-21. Don’t expect the Wildcats to run roughshod over Carrollton this week, however. An interesting side note, Carrollton Coach Sean Calhoun served as the offensive coordinator for Valdosta Coach Probst when the two were at Colquitt County for two seasons. In any event, this could be a shootout. We’ll take the home Trojans by 4.
The Skinny
You’d have to go all the way back to 1999 if you wanted to know the last time the Buford Wolves failed to reach the quarterfinals. The move up to Class 6-A has not seemed to impact Buford one bit. The Wolves used the ground game to advance past Cambridge last week. Buford is averaging 40.6 points per game while allowing 5.9. Buford has shut out five of their opponents this season and in two playoff games have outscored opponents 90-7.
The Wolves will host the Langston Hughes Panthers who are in the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. The Panthers have won seven consecutive games, and more impressively, have shut out their first two playoff opponents 62-0. And those opponents included traditional contender Northside Warner Robins and Region-2 champion Glynn Academy. Quarterbacks Xavier Smith and Prentiss Noland have combined to throw for 2,331 yards and 27-TDs. Meanwhile, sophomore safety Gannon Weathersby continues to lead the defense with 136 total tackles. The Panthers are averaging 32 points per game while the defense is allowing 11.2. Both teams have been defensive juggernauts, but we are going with the experience of Buford this week. Wolves by two touchdowns.
The Skinny
How about those River Ridge Knights! If we asked most people around the state about River Ridge football before the season started, we imagine we would’ve gotten a lot of blank stares outside of Cherokee County. But the River Ridge Knights put everyone on notice last Friday as they dominated Rome on their way to their first quarterfinals appearance in school history. The Knights continue to answer the bell week in and week out and are led by Class 6A’s leading rusher Amehre Morrison who went over the century mark again last week and is well over 1,800 yards and 26-TDs on the season. But there are several other stars on this team, too many to list here. Jackson Head might be one of the most underrated receivers remaining in the 6A playoffs while defensive end Brian Bradley continues to turn in dominant performances week in and week out. River Ridge is averaging 34 points per game while allowing 17.4 points per game.
The Lee County Trojans will make the trip up to Woodstock on Friday after beating Brunswick handily on Friday. For Coach Fabrizio’s Trojans, it is their fourth consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals. The only blemish on Lee County’s record is a 25-point loss to Lowndes back in September. Since then they’ve reeled of eight straight wins and are only allowing opposing teams a shade over 175 yards of offense per game. The Trojans are averaging 38.1 points per game while allowing 12 points per game. Interestingly enough, this will only be the fourth time Lee County has had to leave the friendly confines of Trojan Field. In their road games this season, Lee County is only averaging 18.6 points per game while allowing 22.6. Could this be a trap game for the Trojans? Perhaps, but, our gut tells us otherwise. We expect both teams to put up plenty of points this week, but like the Trojans by 8.
The Skinny
The Westlake Lions are back in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016. Westlake has won eight consecutive games and in the post season and has outscored their two opponents 97-23. Quarterback R.J. Johnson has now thrown for 2,97 yards and 24-TDs. He’s completing 71.4% of his passes. And we didn’t even mention that he’s just a sophomore. Leo Blackburn (46 receptions, 971 yards, 9-TDs) and Dacari Collins (48 receptions, 842 yards, 8-TDs) lead the team in receiving. On the season, Westlake is averaging 42 points per game while allowing only 15.
The Allatoona Buccaneers advanced to the quarterfinals for the third time in four years. Allatoona used another strong defensive performance as they held Dacula to one touchdown and have outscored their two playoff opponents 55-6. Jayden Ponder is now well over the 1,000-yard mark and has added 8-TDs on the ground to lead the way for the Bucs on offense. The Allatoona secondary intercepted three passes last week and by the looks of things will be busy trying to slow down the Westlake passing attack. Allatoona is averaging 29.5 points per game and only allowing 7. We like Allatoona’s defense, but don’t believe they can contain Westlake for four quarters. We like the Lions by 11.