North Oconee is no stranger to the state semifinals. The Titans have advanced to the Final Four in three of the last four seasons. But this one just felt a little different.
No. 3-ranked North Oconee (13-0) beat No. 2 Cartersville 28-26 on Friday to reach the semifinal round, one step short of playing for the state championship for the first time since the school began playing football in 2004.
The victory seemed to carry more significance since it came against undefeated Cartersville, one of the most elite programs in the state.
“I told the kids earlier in the week that Cartersville is one of the most consistent teams, year-to-year, and I consider them one of the blue bloods of football in our state,” North Oconee coach Tyler Aurandt said. “We talked to them about having an opportunity to make a name for yourself and keep building on what we’ve built here. It was a good night and I’m really proud of the kids and their resiliency to overcome some things that happened late and to finish on top.”
North Oconee led 21-0 – touchdown runs from Brooks Benton, Dallas Dickerson and Maddox Brice. Cartersville broke through with three touchdown passes from Nate Russell to Brady Marchese, a 43-yarder, a 27-yarder and a 90-yarder to cut the lead to 28-20 after North Oconee’s Caleb Chestnut scored on a 46-yard run.
Cartersville’s Adarrian Taylor-Wilson scored on a 70-yard pass from Russell (19-for-30, 350 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions) with three minutes left. Cartersville had missed an extra point earlier in the game and needed to go for the two-point conversion and try to tie the game. A North Oconee defender was able to break up the pass to secure the win.
“We talk about it all the time: How do you handle adversity? And you handle it with maturity and togetherness,” Aurandt said. “I think one of the hardest things in football is to stop momentum and they were able to make some big plays in the fourth quarter that I felt like our kids could have folded and said, ‘You know what, we’re not good enough to handle this.’ But they didn’t blink an eye and I told them after the game that’s a sign of a good football team that can handle a blow and come back and keep fighting and not let it affect you.”
Blessed Trinity: The No. 4-ranked Titans (11-1) handled Benedictine 24-10 to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2021. Brooks Goodman completed 15 of 18 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns – one to Quinn Davis and another to Charles Ellswood -- and running back Ahmontae Pitts rushed 27 times for 75 yards as the Titans kept the ball away from BC.
The Blessed Trinity defense lived up to its billing. D.J. Jacobs led the Titans with nine tackles, four of them for loss, and one sack. Chase Malloy intercepted a pass.
Marist: The No. 1-ranked War Eagles (13-0) broke open a close game in the second half and rolled to a 40-14 win over Cambridge. It is the second straight year Marist has reached the semifinals after falling in the quarterfinals the two previous seasons.
Marist scored on a 1-yard run by Chris Haerte and a blocked punt and return by Jack Callaghan, then got a 75-yard pass from Jack Euart to Trace Gaynes for a 20-14 halftime lead.
Gaynes scored on a 7-yard run to open the third quarter and Euart scored on a 1-yard run, moments after he had recovered a Cambridge fumble. Marist finished it off after holding Cambridge on downs and having Brayden Lewis score on a 60-yard run.
Creekside: The No. 10 Seminoles moved a step closer to reaching the state championship game for the second straight season by blanking No. 5 Eastside 26-0 in the third-round. Creekside (10-2) has won 10 straight since opening the season with loss to nationally-ranked out-of-state teams. It was the fifth shutout of the season for coach Maurice Dixon’s team.
Creekside quarterback Cayden Benson shined as a thrower (8-for-16 for 149 yards and two TDs) and as a runner (25 carries for 106 yards and one TD). Dylan Vickerson caught three passes, two of them for touchdowns, for 106 yards.
The Creekside defense kept the high-powered Eastside offense in check. Major Levell led the team with 11 tackles, two for loss, and Sean Williams had nine tackles. Cassius Burch had a pair of sacks. Sean Williams had a pair of interceptions.
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