Our GHSA 6-A-Semifinal playoff previews are listed below. This preview features matchups between Northside-Dacula and Lanier-Lee County. Some things of note this week…Will it be an all Region-1 final…No one was really talking about region 8 this season, but they have two teams in the semifinals and both semifinals will feature Region-1 vs Region-8…Can Lanier find the formula to knock off Lee County…Will Northside have enough offense on the road against Dacula…Best of luck to these final four teams as they compete on Friday night.
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
For most of the game last week, the Northside Warner Robins Eagles were flying all over the field on route to a 30-6 victory to put them into the semifinals for the 9th time in 14 years. Northside was led by quarterback Jadin Daniels who rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown. Daniels only threw the ball 4 times on Friday, but the weather conditions in Canton last week did not make for a pass friendly environment. Senior running back Daniel Neal added 112 yards and a touchdown as well. The Northside defense stymied Sequoyah for most of the game last week; holding the Chiefs to only one touchdown. Northside sacked Sequoyah’s quarterback seven times last week and defensive lineman LaFrederick Chappell made an athletic play to intercept a screen pass. The Eagles will need to make another staunch effort from the defense this week as they travel to take on the Dacula Falcons. Dacula is in the semifinals for the first time since 2005 and have won 10 games in a row. The Falcons ran for almost 400 yards last week against Valdosta. Kyle Efford led the way with 189 yards on 11 carries. Jarrett Jenkins passed for 161 yards and 2-TDs. The Falcons defense is allowing 13.7 points per game. Dacula may be one of the more underrated teams in the state. Weather should not be a factor on Friday night, so this game could turn into a shoot-out. We like the Falcons in what some might see as an upset, Dacula by a field goal.
The Skinny
The Lee County Trojans continue their march toward a second straight final’s appearance. This week, the Lanier Longhorns will make the trip down to Leesburg to attempt to do something no other team has done in 19 games…and that’s defeat the Trojans. Lee County got three touchdowns from quarterback Kyle Toole as the Trojans downed Creekview down in Leesburg. Lee County did allow more points to the Grizzlies than any other team this season, but the Trojans are still only allowing 5.3 points per game. Lee County has play makers all over the field and maybe as deep as any other team in the state. The Lanier Longhorns scored 27 unanswered points to defeat Coffee last week. They are making their first semifinals appearance in school history. Zach Calzada accounted for two touchdowns to help lead the Longhorns to victory. Before last Friday’s game, Calzada has passed for 1,470 yards through 10 games, with 13-TDs. Taj Barnes has led the way on the ground this season with over 1,100 yards rushing this season. It will take a lot of ball control for Lanier and perhaps some turnovers for them to help them pull the upset. But even then, we think Lee is too tough for them to beat. We like the Trojans this week by 20.