And then there were eight. After a Round 2 that featured plenty of heavyweight matchups, the Class AA field has been whittled down to quarterfinalists.
It was bound to happen, and so my predictions did take a hit with two teams I picked to reach at least the quarters getting eliminated. Most significantly, one of my semifinalists, top-ranked and undefeated Rockmart was blown out by No. 7 Brooks County, but only because the Yellow Jackets played without their best player and the heart and soul of the offense, starting quarterback and Region 7-AA player of the year Javin Whatley. I'm not saying the Trojans wouldn't have won regardless, but the score (41-3) definitely wouldn't have been so lopsided — that's a fact. Also, Jefferson County lost to Douglass.
I’ll have more on the predictions and a big-picture outlook moving forward on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at Friday’s action:
Upper left quadrant
- The Douglass Astros (11-1), the No. 2 seed from Region 6, won 12-8 on the road against the Jefferson County Warriors (9-3), the No. 1 seed from Region 4. Wynston Wilcox has the story for The Augusta Chronicle.
- The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane (8-4), the No. 3 seed from Region 1, lost 50-31 on the road against the No. 3 Callaway Cavaliers (11-1), the No. 1 seed from Region 5. Kevin Eckleberry has the story for The LaGrange Daily News.
Lower left quadrant
- The No. 10 Union County Panthers (10-2), the No. 2 seed from Region 8, lost 14-7 on the road to the No. 9 Metter Tigers (11-1), the No. 1 seed from Region 2. AccessWDUN has details.
- The No. 7 Brooks County Trojans (8-4), the No. 2 seed from Region 1, won 41-3 on the road to the top-ranked Rockmart Yellow Jackets (11-1), the No. 1 seed from Region 7. Kevin Myrick has the story for The Polk County Standard Journal.
Upper right quadrant
- The Toombs County Bulldogs (8-3), the No. 2 seed from Region 2, lost 34-14 on the road to the No. 2 Rabun County Wildcats (12-0), the No. 1 seed from Region 8. Jeff Hart has the story for AccessWDUN.
- The Pepperell Dragons (9-3), the No. 2 seed from Region 7, lost 58-14 on the road to the No. 6 Thomasville Bulldogs (8-4), the No. 1 seed from Region 1. Pat Donahue has the story for the Thomasville Times-Enterprise.
Lower right quadrant
- The Swainsboro Tigers (8-4), the No. 3 seed from Region 2, lost 70-28 on the road to the No. 4 Hapeville Charter Hornets (10-1-1), the No. 1 seed from Region 6.
- The Bremen Blue Devils (8-4), the No. 2 seed from Region 5, lost 45-26 on the road to the No. 5 Dublin Fighting Irish (11-1), the No. 1 seed from Region 3.
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