Four-time defending state champion Eagle’s Landing Christian allowed 57 points and lived to tell Friday night while Colquitt County’s streak of 10 quarterfinal appearances ended in Parkview’s Big Orange Jungle and No. 1-ranked Rockmart was humbled by Brooks County in Class AA.
Madison County, North Murray and Hebron Christian reached the quarterfinals for the first time, and Douglass also scored a historic victory in the second round of the Georgia high school football playoffs.
The wildest game Friday took place in McDonough, where home-standing Eagle’s Landing Christian, a Class A private school seeking a GHSA-record fifth consecutive state championship, defeated No. 6 Prince Avenue Christian 62-57.
ELCA quarterback Gabe Wright scored on an 11-yard run with about a minute left for the final margin. Keaton Mitchell scored six touchdowns for ELCA, and Brock Vandagriff passed for six touchdowns for Prince Avenue. The combined point total ranks tied for third-most for a playoff game in GHSA history.
In Gwinnett County, No. 7 Parkview defeated No. 3 Colquitt 40-21. Colquitt had reached the quarters or better each season since 2009.
Though it was more expected, Calhoun also surrendered a long streak of reaching the quarters when the Yellow Jackets lost to No. 1 Peach County 35-0 in AAA. Calhoun had gone to the quarters 11 straight times.
In a AA shocker, No. 7 Brooks County defeated Rockmart 41-3. Rockmart, the 2018 AA runner-up, entered 11-0 and had won every game this season by 17 points or more, seven against other playoff teams. But Brooks was the first top-10 team that Rockmart had faced.
Madison County and North Murray, which had never won playoff games until this season, won again. Madison County, the AAAA Cinderella with a 6-6 record, beat Mary Persons 35-14 while North Murray of AAA defeated Jackson 24-14.
Douglass beat Jefferson County 12-8 in AA and qualified for the final eight for the first time since 1995, when Jamal Lewis was a star running back at the Atlanta city school. Richmond Hill (last quarterfinal in 1996), Oconee County (2001), Metter (2003) and Warren County (2007) also broke long droughts of winning second-round games.
Hebron Christian reached the quarters for the first time with a 35-6 victory over No. 8 Mount de Sales in a Class A private game.
Hebron was one of six unranked teams to beat top-10 opponents. The others were Starr’s Mill (over No. 6 Kell 45-28 in AAAAA), Hart County (over No. 3 Pierce County 32-29 in AAA), Warren County (over No. 8 Bowdon 34-14 in A public), Mount Paran Christian (over No. 9 Darlington 16-13 in A private) and Savannah Christian (over No. 7 Savannah Country Day 35-14 in A private).
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