Today, we preview the Class A-Public GHSA Football semifinals. Three of the top seeded teams still remain and Pelham, the #6 seed, is not what we’d call a Cinderella be any stretch. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, Clinch County vs Irwin County in the playoffs. The last two seasons, these region rivals fought it out for the state title. This year, the rematch game happens in the semis. Irwin County has won each of the last three regular season meetings, but Clinch beat them in the finals. Will this year be any different. In the other semifinal. Pelham travels to face Marion 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 Marion County Eagles have advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive year. The Eagles have now won seven games in a row. Trice McCannon threw two touchdown passes and rushed for 165 yards and 1-TD to help propel Marion County to the quarterfinal victory over Lincoln County. McCannon has now thrown for 1,954 yards and 28-TDs and rushed for 894 yards and 16-TDs. Meanwhile, Brandon Thomas has rushed for 886 yards and 6-TDs and Jamil King leads all Marion County receivers with 39 catches for 586 yards and 8-TDs. In two playoff games, Marion County is averaging 31.5 points per game while the defense is allowing 24 points per game. A win this week would put the Eagles into the finals for the first time since 2013.
The Pelham Hornets have advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive year. The Hornets have won two games in a row and got redemption against county rival Mitchell County last week. (Mitchell County beat Pelham in the last regular season game.) Kendrick Patterson threw for 132 yards and 2-TDs and rushed for 149 yards and 1-TD. The Pelham defense tallied seven sacks and three interceptions in last week’s victory. On the season, Patterson has thrown for 1,814 yards and 24-TDs. He’s also intercepted a team high 5 passes on defense. As a team, the Hornets have intercepted 20 passes this year. Darrell Starling has added 619 yards on the ground and 8-TDs. Starling, Jeremiah Stewart and Doug Curles have led the receiving corps for the Hornets. The trio has combined for 68 receptions for 880 yards and 13-TDs. In two playoff games, the Hornets are averaging 36 points per game while the defense is allowing 28 points per game. A win this week would put the Hornets into the finals for the first time in school history. This has the makings of a high scoring game, with both team’s scoring points in the 30s, but we like Pelham to edge Marion County by 4.
The Skinny
The Irwin County Indians have advanced to the semifinals for the sixth time in seven years. The Indians are also 11-0 for the second consecutive year. Last week, Irwin County raced out to a commanding 41-point halftime lead and cruised to victory. DJ Lundy scored four touchdowns and Garland Benyard scored on a rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown to help propel the Indians to victory. In two playoff games, Irwin County is averaging 50.5 points per game in the playoffs while the defense is allowing 17 points per game. A win this week would put the Indians into the finals for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in six years.
The Clinch County Panthers are in the semifinals for the fifth year in a row. The Panthers have won eight consecutive games coming into this week. The Panthers jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead before closing out Warren County in the second half. Tyler Morehead and Michael Walker lead the scoring with two touchdowns each. In two playoff games, the Panthers are averaging 41 points per game while the defense is allowing 18.5 points per game. A win this week would put the Clinch in the finals for the third year in a row. These two 1-A powers are region rivals and have met for the state title for the last two years. Each time, Irwin County won the regular season matchup, while Clinch went on to win in the state title game. As in the two previous years, Irwin beat Clinch in the regular season matchup, but this year, we believe the worm has turned, and we like Irwin County by 11 over Clinch this week.