Three games matching top-10 opponents and three teams’ continued pursuit of consecutive state championships will headline the schedule Friday in the second round of the Class 5A football playoffs.
Nine of the top 10 teams survived the first round. No. 6 Gainesville took an early exit when it lost 38-28 to Sequoyah, which had been projected as a 13-point underdog by the computer Maxwell Ratings.
Six of the remaining nine will face each other this week. Those games are No. 7 Coffee at No. 8 Brunswick, No. 3 Thomas County Central at No. 9 Rome, and No. 5 Roswell at No. 4 Hughes. The Thomas County Central-Rome winner will face the Roswell-Hughes winner in next week’s quarterfinals.
Coffee and Thomas County Central are two of the three teams, along with top-ranked Milton, that won state titles last season but ended up together after the GHSA’s most recent reclassification. Milton won Class 7A last season and dropped down. Thomas County Central won the second-highest classification (then 6A) and stayed put. Coffee won the third-highest class (then 5A) and moved up.
Here’s a closer look at the eight games this week:
*Coffee (9-2) at Brunswick (10-1): Coffee, the Class 5A champion last year, was one of only three Class 5A teams to win on the road last week (the others were Dutchtown and Houston County) when it beat Jackson County 31-7. Coffee led 24-7 at halftime and added the final touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Tyrese Woodgett rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 1,268 yards and 14 touchdowns for the season. The Trojans had 326 rushing yards on 42 carries. Brunswick led Villa Rica 27-0 at halftime last week and went on to win 43-13 for its 10th consecutive victory since starting the season with a 51-41 loss to Class 6A Camden County. William Heck rushed for 142 yards against Villa Rica, giving him 1,411 on the season. Grant Moore passed for 272 yards, giving him 2,191. The Pirates have lost eight straight second-round games.
*Sequoyah (10-1) at Woodward Academy (8-3): This game matches the team that pulled off the biggest upset of the first round, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, against a team that avoided an even bigger one. Sequoyah, a 13-point underdog, took a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter against sixth-ranked Gainesville but needed two touchdowns in the final six minutes to win 38-28. A touchdown run by Will Rajecki, who rushed for 216 yards in the game (1,072 in the regular season), helped put the game away. No. 10 Woodward Academy trailed 32-point underdog Lovejoy 20-7 late in the third quarter but got two touchdown passes from Landon Walker, including the game-winning 4-yarder to Josiah Abdullah with 17 seconds left in the game. Walker passed for 245 yards and three touchdowns and ran for nine yards, accounting for all but six of the War Eagles’ 260 total yards.
*Thomas County Central (10-1) at Rome (8-2): These teams were heavily favored last week and cruised through the first round, and both are trying to reach the quarterfinals for the third straight season. Thomas County Central, the 2023 Class 6A champion, built a 56-0 lead in the first half and cruised to a 70-6 victory over 43-point underdog Winder-Barrow. It was the fifth game of the season scoring 60 or more points for the Yellow Jackets, who are averaging 51.55 per game. Christian “Deuce” Lawrence, who rushed for 1,075 yards in the regular season, scored on runs of 42 and 95 yards. Rome, a 26-point favorite, led 42-3 at halftime in its 49-17 victory over Glynn Academy. Aiden McPherson was 8-of-12 passing for 230 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 59 yards and two TDs. LB/RB Jaedon Harmon, who is committed to Tennessee, scored three touchdowns. The Wolves outgained Glynn Academy 437-135. Rome has won eight straight games since opening the season with losses to top-ranked teams Carrollton and Toombs County.
*Roswell (9-2) at Hughes (10-1): This is one of three Class 5A second-round games between top-10 teams. The others are Coffee-Brunswick and Thomas County Central-Rome. Roswell advanced to the second round for the sixth consecutive season with a 41-31 victory over River Ridge. The Hornets led 41-17 in the fourth quarter before giving up two late touchdowns. Trey Smith passed for 268 yards and four touchdowns, putting him at 2,185 and 21 for the season. He also has run for 820 yards and 17 TDs. Hughes is the second round for the fifth straight year after beating Dunwoody 58-35. It was the second-highest point total of the season for the Panthers, who are averaging 48.82 points per game while allowing just 11.5. Christian Langford, the Region 3 player of the year, was 9-of-12 passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns. He has 2,364 passing yards, 335 rushing yards and 34 combined touchdowns for the season.
*Newnan (9-2) at Sprayberry (10-1): Both teams ended long stretches of playoff frustration with their first-round victories. Newnan beat Tri-Cities 42-0 for its first playoff win since 2015, ending a five-game postseason losing streak. The Cougars scored on their first six possessions of the game, five in the first half. Leading rusher Jaylon Teagle had two short touchdown runs in the first quarter, and Brodie Campbell threw two touchdown passes. Newnan held Tri-Cities to 157 total yards. Sprayberry, which began playing football in 1956, picked up just the second state-playoff victory in its history when it defeated Lanier 27-14 last week. The Yellow Jackets’ previous playoff win came against Creekview in the 2020 first round. Sprayberry led Lanier 24-7 midway through the second quarter and held on. Rayshawn Simpkins rushed for 157 yards on 15 carries and scored on a 32-yard run, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
*East Paulding (10-1) at Lee County (11-0): East Paulding won a playoff game for the first time since 2018 and reached the 10-win mark for the first time since 2012 when it beat Effingham County 51-14 last week. The Raiders led 30-0 at halftime and coasted home. East Paulding is led by running back Javen Park (1,143 rushing yards in the regular season) and Chantz Bouknight (1,073 passing yards). The Raiders’ only loss was against Rome, 27-7 on Sept. 13, in the game that ultimately decided the Region 5 championship. Region 2 champion Lee County reached the second round for the ninth consecutive season with a 47-7 victory over Habersham Central. The Trojans led 40-0 at halftime. Weston Bryan was 11-of-14 passing for 233 yards, ran for 66 yards on three carries and accounted for five touchdowns while playing only the first half. Ousmane Kromah rushed for 65 yards.
*Dutchtown (7-4) at Milton (11-0): Dutchtown recorded the other first-round upset in Class 5A when it defeated 11-point favorite Decatur by a surprisingly lopsided 48-14 score. Michael Johnson passed for 235 yards, ran for 107 yards and accounted for four touchdowns. Shane McKoy ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Dutchtown, which moved up in classification this year, is in the second round for the fifth time in seven seasons. The Bulldogs face a monumental task this week against a Milton team that is ranked in the top four in six national polls. The Eagles, champions in Class 7A last year, extended their winning streak to a school-record 21 games with a 42-7 victory over Woodstock. Luke Nickel (committed to Miami) passed for 151 yards and two touchdowns, and T.J. Lester (Eastern Kentucky) ran for 118 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Milton reached at least the quarterfinals five of the past six seasons.
*Houston County (7-4) at Lakeside, Evans (10-1): Houston County is the only No. 4 seed remaining in Class 5A after beating Clarke Central 69-48 in the highest scoring first-round game in any classification. It was the Bears’ third consecutive first-round road victory, and it contributed to Region 2′s four-game sweep of Clarke Central’s Region 8. Houston County trailed 15-14 at halftime but outscored the Gladiators 55-33 in the second half. Antwann Hill (committed to Memphis) threw his 117th career touchdown pass, breaking the school record held by Jake Fromm. Isaiah Mitchell had 13 receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for two touchdowns and threw a TD pass. Lakeside won a state playoff game for the second time in school history, first since 2009, with a 40-7 victory over New Manchester, outscoring the Jaguars 30-0 in the second half. Brandon Grissom ran for 110 yards and three touchdowns, and Ty Jones rushed for 100 yards and one TD. Both are 1,000-yard rushers for the season, Jones with 1,197 and Grissom with 1,004.
