Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Here’s a look at the quarterfinals.
PRIVATE
Upper Left Bracket
R5 No. 1 Holy Innocents’ at R2 No. 1 Eagle’s Landing Christian
Both teams won their second-round games in blowout fashion. Holy Innocents’ dusted R3 No. 2 Savannah Country Day 42-7, while ELCA dismantled R8 No. 2 Athens Academy 56-7. For the Bears (11-1), Zach Jackson caught two touchdown passes and also had two interceptions and Jacobi Murray also had two touchdown runs. For ELCA (6-6), Brandon Hood scored all three of his touchdowns in the first quarter as the Chargers led 28-7 after one quarter and 49-7 at halftime. ELCA has won eight of the 10 meetings between the two schools, but they have split the last two games which occurred in 2019. The Bears won the regular season battle, 42-14, but ELCA won the rematch in the state semifinals, 21-7.
Lower Left Bracket
R7 No. 1 Darlington at R4 No. 1 Trinity Christian 24, R1 No. 2 Tattnall Square 14
Last week, Darlington (11-1) rallied from a 7-6 deficit to lead 14-7 at the half and went on a 24-14 win over R1 No. 2 Tattnall Square. Caleb Thompson has a 1-yard touchdown plunge and Patrick Shelley broke loose for an 87-yard touchdown after the Tiger defense staged a goal line stand. No. 1 ranked Trinity Christian (11-0) went into the half with a 48-7 lead. Dominick Cosper rushed for four touchdowns and David Dallas tossed touchdown passes to his twin brother Josh, Javan Harrison and Brock Rainwater. This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Upper Right Bracket
R6 No. 1 Fellowship Christian at R3 No. 1 Calvary Day
Caleb McMickle threw three touchdown passes to lead Fellowship Christian (11-1) to a 30-7 win over St. Anne-Pacelli (8-3) last week, while Jake Merklinger threw two touchdown passes and scored on an 11-yard run in Calvary Day’s (12-0) 35-0 win over Wesleyan. This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Lower Right Bracket
R8 No. 1 Prince Avenue Christian at R1 No. 1 First Presbyterian Day
Both teams won their Round Two games with runaway shutouts. Junior QB Aaron Philo threw five touchdown passes and ran for another while Bailey Stockton scored on a pick-six in Prince Avenue’s (11-1) 52-0 win over Brookstone. First Presbyterian (10-2) advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012 as junior Griffin Green ran for 97 yards and two scores while sophomore quarterback Jakhari Williams completed 10-of-12 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in a 31-0 win over Mount Vernon Presbyterian. The schools have met twice, both times in the first round of the state playoffs, both wins by Prince Avenue – 55-30 in 2014 and 41-7 in 2015.
PUBLIC
Upper Left Bracket
R5 No. 1 Macon County at R2 No. 1 Irwin County
Macon County (11-0) knocked out Emanuel County Institute 42-10 last week as senior QB Landon Austin completed five-of-six passes for 113 yards and a 60-yard touchdown strike to senior Shelquavious Byce, while rushing for 107 yards on just six carries, half of which went for touchdowns, including a 66-yarder. Irwin County (10-2) advanced to the quarterfinals for the ninth-straight season, rushing for 368 yards in a 51-27 win over Lincoln County. Damarkus Lundy led the way with a team-high 104 yards while Shane Marshall ran for 90-yards. Irwin County leads the all-time series 3-2 and won the last meeting 21-15 in the 2015 quarterfinals.
Lower Left Bracket
R5 No. 4 Manchester at R4 No. 1 Wilcox County
Both teams won their games in dramatic fashion in overtime. Manchester (7-4) tied McIntosh County Academy 7-7 early in the fourth quarter on Ty Hamp’s 3-yard run, tied the game again at 13-13 in the second overtime on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Cam Long to Daryus Bryant, and then won the game in the third overtime period on Long’s 1-yard run before holding the Buccaneers out of the end zone on their offensive possession for a 19-13 win. The Blue Devils are the only No. 4 seed still alive in the Class A playoffs. Wilcox County (9-3) tied Trion at 15-15 in the fourth quarter but missed the PAT to take the lead. The Patriots won it in overtime, 23-22, when they chose to go for two instead of tying the game with a PAT. This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Upper Right Bracket
R2 No. 3 Turner County at R3 No. 1 Metter
Turner County (6-6) exacted a bit of revenge for a 31-21 loss to Bowdon in the 1971 Class A title game with a 46-13 blowout of the Red Devils (10-2) to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008. Metter (12-0) remained unbeaten by holding Schley’s (10-2) high-powered offense in check and then blew open a tight ballgame with 20-unanswered points in the fourth quarter to advance to the quarterfinals with a 33-6 win over the Wildcats. Metter defeated Turner County in the only meeting between the two schools, 20-19, in the first round of last season’s state playoffs.
Lower Right Bracket
R2 No. 2 Brooks County at R7 No. 2 Warren County
Brooks County (9-2) returned to the Elite 8 for the third-straight year with a 61-28 win over Washington-Wilkes, while Warren County (9-3) went north of 30 points for the fourth consecutive game and advanced to the state quarterfinals for the second time in the last three seasons with a 32-7 blowout win over Pelham (7-5). This is the first meeting between the two schools.
