Douglas County coach Johnny White was concerned about North Cobb’s powerful running game, particularly quarterback Nick Grimstead, and was hoping to make the Warriors pass the ball more in their second-round playoff game Friday night in Kennesaw.

As it turned out, the Tigers didn’t let the Warriors have much success in either aspect of their offense, holding North Cobb to 154 yards and its lowest point total in two years, in a 31-10 victory.

“Our whole game plan was to make their quarterback throw the football,” White said. “We did not want him running the football. He’s a very elusive and dynamic runner. So that was very important to us. That was key for us.”

Douglas County (10-2), the No. 4-ranked team in Class 6A but the No. 2 seed from Region 2, reached the quarterfinals for the second time since 1988. The Tigers will be at home next week to face Region 6 No. 3 seed West Forsyth, which advanced with a 45-28 victory over Archer. Douglas County’s two losses this season have come against top-ranked Carrollton and No. 2 Buford.

Seventh-ranked North Cobb (11-1) suffered its only loss of the season and was eliminated in one of the first two rounds of the playoffs at home for the fifth consecutive season.

The intensity of a battle of top-10 teams trying to earn a spot in the quarterfinals spilled over into a brief scuffle in the handshake line, but coaches, administrators and police quickly stepped in to separate the teams.

“It’s just emotions,” White said. “I can imagine you just taking your first loss and the season’s over … but it was hot-headed on both sides. I’m not blaming one side or the other. It was just a bad situation. I didn’t like the way that ended.”

Douglas County ran for 212 yards and had five players with at least 29, led by Zamarcus Lindley with 45 yards on 10 carries. D.J. Bordeaux was 13-of-16 passing for 172 yards, 151 of which came in the first half.

North Cobb’s Grimstead, Quavy Echols and Zach Belyeu combined to average 216 yards rushing through the first 11 games but were held to 88 on 31 carries by the Tigers, who were bolstered on the defensive line by the play off Jamari Houston and La’Derion Williams. Grimstead was 8-of-18 passing for 42 yards.

Douglas County set the tone on the game’s opening possession, taking more than half the first quarter to drive 90 yards for a 7-0 lead on a 22-yard pass from Bordeaux to Aaron Gregory. North Cobb used the rest of the quarter and a little more on the following possession, cutting the lead to 7-3 on a 22-yard field goal by Michael Hill on the first play of the second quarter.

Douglas County had eight total possessions in the game and scored on five of them. North Cobb had just seven, not including the final one in the last minute of the game, and scored on two.

“I like to play keep-away,” White said. “We didn’t take as many shots as we usually do, but we were able to run the football, so that’s fine.”

On a team loaded with high-profile recruits, senior wide receiver/defensive back James Johnson stood out on both sides of the ball. He ran for 37 yards and a touchdown on five carries out of the wildcat formation, caught four passes for 28 yards and had an interception.

In fact, Johnson’s touchdown and interception in less than a minute late in the second quarter proved to be one of the most pivotal sequences of the game. With his team leading 7-3 and facing first-and-goal on the North Cobb 18, Johnson had consecutive runs of 8, 9 and 1 yards to give the Tigers a 14-3 lead with 1:44 to play in the half.

North Cobb took over at the Douglas County 35 on the ensuing possession after a long kickoff return and a Douglas County penalty, but Johnson intercepted a pass on the third play to end North Cobb’s scoring chance.

The Tigers got a 16-yard touchdown run from Bordeaux on their first possession of the second half for a 21-3 lead and were never in danger the rest of the way.

Douglas County - 7-7-7-10 - 31

North Cobb - 0-3-0-7 - 10

First quarter

D - Aaron Gregory 22 pass from D.J. Bordeaux (Emmanuel Boras-Perez kick), 5:58

Second quarter

N - Michael Hill 22 field goal, 11:56

D - James Johnson 1 run (Boras-Perez kick), 1:44

Third quarter

D - Bordeaux 16 run (Boras-Perez kick), 5:04

Fourth quarter

N - Nick Grimstead 3 run (Hill kick), 11:31

D - Boras-Perez 34 field goal, 6:38

D - Steven Jones 29 run (Boras-Perez kick), 1:11