It goes something like this:
It’s ranked vs. ranked and underdogs vs. underdogs in the quarterfinals round of the Class 3A high school football playoffs. There are familiar foes reuniting at the homes of the higher-ranked teams and unheralded, and possibly underappreciated teams, trying to reach the semis.
And there might be a bit of bad blood when Cherokee Bluff travels to Jefferson and Calhoun travels to Peach County.
Cherokee Bluff, ranked No. 5 and 11-1 this season, gets a chance at redemption against third-ranked Jefferson, its Region 8 rival that beat Cherokee in the regular season. Cherokee Bluff began playing football in 2018 and has never advanced past second round in two previous appearances.
Bears’ senior quarterback Brooks Brien entered the second round against Luella with 24 touchdowns passed this season. Senior receiver K.T. Thompson has 11 touchdown receptions.
Jefferson is in familiar territory after its semifinals appearance in the Class 4A playoffs last season and a finals loss four seasons ago. The Dragons have one state championship in Class 2A in 2012. Jefferson defeated Oconee County 42-6 in the second round, a vast improvement over its 32-30 triple-overtime loss to the Warriors on Nov. 1.
Quarterback Gavin Markey is 71-of-123 passing for 1,240 yards and 14 touchdowns. But it’s his running game that makes the opposition pay. He has 158 carries for 1,217 yards and 18 touchdowns, a team-leading stat in each category. Junior Dallas Russell has 137 carries for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns. Rett Hemphill and Mickell Pittman combine for 10 rushing touchdowns.
Then there’s Calhoun and Peach.
When No. 8 Calhoun travels to top-ranked Peach County, it will mark only the fifth meeting between the teams, and there probably aren’t two fan bases who dislike each other more than Peach and Calhoun. That loathing spawned after the controversial ending in the 2017 state championship game, which Calhoun won 10-6. There’s no need to rehash exactly how the game played out — Did Noah Whittingham score or not? — because you can make your own decision by viewing this link that went viral in the hours and days after the play.
Although the play happened seven seasons ago, Peach County’s die-hard supporters have not forgotten. How bad was it? Peach was denied in appeal and gave its players championship rings. The Yellow Jackets will not be welcomed warmly after their 3-hour ride.
The overall series is tied. Peach won the previous two contests, 35-0 in the second round in 2019 and 22-7 in semifinals in 2018. The first meeting was a 20-14 overtime victory for Calhoun in the 2015 second round and the 10-6 championship victory in 2017.
In games between unranked teams, LaGrange (9-3), which faces North Hall, is riding high after defeating No. 2-ranked Sandy Creek 38-22 last week. The Grangers opened the season ranked No. 3 after dropping down from 4A. But after losing to Douglass 18-3 in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic to open the season and to Sandy Creek 27-7 in its third game, LaGrange fell out of the poll. It reentered the rankings and climbed as high as No. 6 before losing to Upson-Lee 18-15 in the final game of the regular season and dropped out again.
North Hall can make the team’s deepest playoff run since 2012, when it appeared in the 3A semifinals under head coach Bob Christmas. The Trojans beat Upson-Lee 27-20 in the second round and are 11-2 this season, Sean Pender’s third at the helm. Pender led the Trojans to a 3-7 finish in his first year, when North Hall was in Class 4A. Last season, the team finished 7-4 with a first-round exit in the 4A playoffs.
Southeast Bulloch (10-2), which faces Stephenson, is coming off a 21-0 victory against Harlem and enjoying the program’s deepest playoff run since it appeared in the quarterfinals in 1974, which followed back-to-back titles in 1972 and 1973. But the team missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. Head coach Jared Zito took over in 2021 and led the Yellow Jackets to the second round and a 10-2 finish that year before a 2-8 finish in 2022 and a 4-6 finish last season.
Stephenson is 9-3 and has not lost in seven games after opening the season 2-3. That includes playoff victories against Whitewater 44-37 and Jenkins 41-7 last week. Head coach Marcus Jelks took over for Stephenson in 2021 and has been rebuilding the program. He missed the playoffs his first season but enjoyed a second round berth in 2022 and a quarterfinals appearance last season, finishing with a 10-3 record.
Class 3A quarterfinals schedule
No. 5 Cherokee Bluff at No. 3 Jefferson
LaGrange at North Hall
No. 8 Calhoun at No. 1 Peach County
Southeast Bulloch at Stephenson
Semifinals prediction
LaGrange vs. Jefferson
Peach County vs. Southeast Bulloch
Championship prediction
Jefferson vs. Peach County
Champion
Peach County
