Tift County Blue Devils (6-4) at North Cobb Warriors (8-2)
Series Record: First Meeting
Winner plays Central Gwinnett-Lambert winner in second round
The Tift County Blue Devils will make the long trip up to Kennesaw to face the North Cobb Warriors in the first round of the state Class AAAAAAA playoffs. North Cobb comes into the playoffs with an 8-2 overall record. The Warriors two losses came against Harrison, 25-13, and to McEachern, 17-10. North Cobb has scored 300 points on the year, and has allowed 167. The team averages 185.3 yards rushing per game, and 178.3 yards passing. Will Lovett is the quarterback, and has completed 121-of-202 passes this season for 1,787 yards and 14 touchdowns. C.J. Cole is the team's leading rusher with 838 yards on 144 carries. Drew Tjechman has caught 16 passes for 430 yards and five scores. He is also a standout defensive back, having intercepted two passes in a game against Kennesaw Mountain earlier this season. Tift County has averaged 256.1 yards through the air in 2016, and 140.6 on the ground. Quarterback Griffin Collier will lead the Devils into the contest. He has passed for an even 2,500 yards this season, completing 161-of-263 passes. He has thrown 21 touchdown passes, and has been picked off five times. Brenton Jones gives Collier a steady threat at running back, having run for 742 yards on 147 carries this season. He has also scored nine touchdowns. Rashod Bateman leads Tift in receiving with 783 yards on 51 catches. Cam Cobb has caught 39 passes for 465 yards; while Fred Lloyd has 30 pass receptions for 527 yards. All three of those receivers each have five touchdown catches on the year, as well. Brant Watson has eight touchdown receptions, having caught 20 passes for 408 yards. Cody Thompson leads the team with 94 total tackles. Elvin Coney has 75 total stops. Other players with 50 or more tackles are Dawon Barnes with 58, and Jakwon Golson with 50.
Dublin Fighting Irish (8-2) at Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes (9-1)
Series Record: Fitzgerald leads 11-9-1
Winner plays Rockmart-Heard County winner in second round
While a lot of teams are meeting for the first time in the state playoffs this weekend, you can't say that about Dublin and Fitzgerald. The teams have played 21 times since 1919, with a mixture of playoff games and regular season games mixed in to the equation. The team's last meeting was in 2013, a 41-21 Fitzgerald win in the first round of the state playoffs. Dublin is coming in as the fourth seed from a very balanced Region 3-AA, as the Fighting Irish were the only team to defeat eventual region champion Washington County, 27-26, last week. The Irish have a balanced attack. Quarterback Rodriquez Martin has thrown for 700 yards this year, and leading rusher Ramon Pittman has run the ball for 956 more yards. That includes a 228-yard performance against Southwest Macon earlier this year. The Irish are 2-2 in their last four games, losses to Dodge County, 28-21, and to Southwest, 48-38; and wins against Northeast Macon, 36-12, and against Washington County. Quarterback James Graham has been a double threat for Fitzgerald this season. The junior has completed 57-of-110 passes for 1,136 yards, with 18 touchdown passes, and only four interceptions. Senior running back J.D. King has rushed for 1,182 yards on 153 carries, and has scored 16 touchdowns. The Oklahoma State commit has also caught 14 passes for 316 yards and six touchdowns. Other threats for Fitzgerald are Damien Devine, 48 rushes for 336 yards and nine touchdowns and 10 catches for 216 yards and four scores; Ethan Gordon, 41 rushes for 353 yards and five touchdowns, and 10 catches for 173 yards and three scores; Lectius Smith and Montrell Harris. Donterrious Milsap and Josh Reliford are the team's leading tacklers, with 78 and 73, respectively.
Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets (5-4) at Worth County Rams (6-4)
Series Record: First meeting
Winner plays Pace Academy-Greater Atlanta Christian winner in second round
Even though the Worth County Rams were defeated for the Region 1-AAA title last week, 28-20, by the Crisp County Cougars, Coach Jason Tone's Worth squad will get to host a state playoff game this week as the second seed from the league. Visiting will be the No. 3 seed from Region 3-AAA, the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets. Southeast Bulloch is a run-first team, averaging 308.1 yards rushing per game, compared to an average of 66.3 yards through the air. Junior Chase Walker leads the Yellow Jacket rushing game with 1,509 yards on 216 carries. Sophomore Jontrell Wells spells Walker, as he has rushed for 338 yards on 53 carries. Quarterback Caleb Carter has completed exactly 50 percent of his passes, 38-for-76. He has thrown for 583 yards on the year. Josh Proctor is the only receiver with double figures in catches with 14 for 221 yards. Worth has also relied heavily on the run, averaging 268.5 yards per game on the ground, compared to an average of 47.8 through the air. Chris McDaniel leads the Rams on the ground with 1,089 yards on 159 carries. He also has scored seven touchdowns on the year. Horace Everson is a good compliment to McDaniel with 867 yards on 134 carries with 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Lance Eldridge has completed 21-of-40 passes on the year for 411 yards. He has five touchdown passes, and only one interception on the year. Dontarius Richardson leads the Rams in tackles with 75 on the year.
Cook High Hornets (5-5) at Savannah High Blue Jackets (8-2)
Series Record: First meeting
Winner plays North Hall-Westminster winner in second round
The Cook High Hornets will be going to beach country for their first round Class AAA matchup against the Savannah Blue Jackets Saturday night. With it being Hornets against Jackets, you could say the team with the biggest can of insect repellant will win. One big insect, Savannah will hope to repel is Cook running back Brandon Doe. The junior was the first back in Georgia to go over 2,000 yards rushing this season with the Hornets' 20-14 win over Monroe last week. On the year, Doe has rushed for 2,040 yards on 250 carries. He also has 16 touchdowns on the ground and one through the air. Cook doesn't throw the ball much, but the two top receivers when they do throw are Jeffrey Perry and Ladarius Durr. Kejon Deberry leads the team on defense with 81 total tackles. While Cook relies heavily on the running of Doe, the Blue Jackets are more balanced on offense, averaging 223.2 yards on the ground, and 155.9 yards through the air. Quarterback Dez'Mond Brinson leads the Savannah attack, having thrown for 1,559 yards this season. He has 14 touchdown passes and nine interceptions on the year. Malik Nesbit has run for 659 yards to lead the Savannah rushing attack. Nesbit also has the lead in receiving with 22 catches for 551 yards.. Rasheen Biggins leads the team with 68 total tackles. Savannah has shut out four opponents this season, and held another to only a field goal. One of the team's two losses was the season opener to Telfair County, 19-15.
Berrien High Rebels (4-5) at Washington County Golden Hawks (7-3)
Series Record: First meeting
Winner plays Chatooga-Lamar County winner in second round
The Berrien High Rebels are the state playoffs for the second time in three years, and a win in the first round would give the Rebels a .500 record on the year. That's the easy part, the hard part is that Berrien must face the Washington County Golden Hawks in the famous House of Pain. Waco has lost an unusual three games at home this season. However, the Golden Hawks did win the Region 3-AA title. Berrien was a win away from finishing third in the 1-AA standings, but Brooks County ended that notion last week with a 41-20 win.
Turner County Rebels (7-3) at Terrell County Greenwave (7-3)
Series Record: Turner leads 25-12
Winner plays at Macon County in second round
The Turner County Rebels will make the short trip over to Dawson to face Terrell County in the first round of the state Class A Public School state playoffs. These two teams are very familiar with each other having played in the regular season as recently as 2014 and 2015. Turner won both of those games, and looks to advance to the second round against top-ranked Macon County. Quarterback Tyler Moore has passed 151 times, completing 86 for 1,638 yards. He has thrown 24 touchdown passes, and has been picked off 10 times. Tamorrion Terry has been his favorite receiver. The major Division I prospect has 34 catches for 946 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year. Jaden Green is the team's leading rusher with 494 yards on 85 carries. Ontario Wilson has also been a big offensive weapon with 25 catches for 584 yards. Leading tacklers on the year have included Tyrese Vail, 70; C.J. Burgess, 60; Malik High, 56; Moore, 56; and Amarvion Dawson, 53. Terrell will come into the game with a five-game winning streak.
Irwin County Indians (6-4) at Dooly County Bobcats (6-4)
Series Record: Irwin leads 4-2
Winner plays at Mount Zion (Carroll) in second round
Irwin County will begin the trek to make it back to the Georgia Dome for the third straight season. The Indians have played for the state Class A Public Schools title the past two seasons, but were defeated each year. The last time these two teams played were in 2014 in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs, with Irwin emerging with a 40-29 victory. The teams split four regular season games between 2006-2009, and Irwin began the series with a 29-6 win in the 1997 second round of the state playoffs. That may be a good omen for the Indians as Irwin played for the state title that season, as well.
Note: All eight schools that are considered to be the Tiftarea made the state playoffs this season. Congratulations to all of those teams.
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