Cartersville and St. Pius X won coin flips and will host Class AAAA semifinal games Friday.
The Purple Hurricanes knocked off Sandy Creek, 35-31, in dramatic fashion to advance to face No. 1 Buford. Cartersville never led until running back Tiamon Pennymon dove into the end zone with 20 seconds to play. Pennymon’s touchdown capped an 80-yard drive and set up a showdown with powerhouse Buford.
The Wolves won their 38th consecutive game and reached the semifinals for the eighth straight season with a commanding 30-6 win over Marist. Buford held Marist's potent ground game to just 81 yards. The War Eagles managed just 93 total yards against a Buford defense that has allowed only 5.5 points per game.
St. Pius X will host Woodward Academy in a rematch of a Week 2 game that the War Eagles won 42-21. Since that loss, St. Pius X has won 11 straight games, including Friday’s 31-13 over upstart West Laurens. The Golden Lions rushed for 211 yards against West Laurens, with Ransom Klinger and Dalton Wilson scoring touchdowns in the last three minutes to secure the win.
Woodward Academy went down to the wire in its quarterfinal win. War Eagles quarterback. Jes Sutherland threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Johnson with 43 seconds to play to cap a wild 35-32 win over North Oconee and lead the War Eagles into the state semifinals for the first time since 1999. After falling behind 12-0, Woodward Academy scored 28 straight points to take a 16-point lead into halftime. North Oconee answered with 20 straight points in the third quarter, before Sutherland rallied the War Eagles in the fourth quarter for the win.
All four Class AAAA semifinalists were reclassified into Class AAA in the offseason.
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