Jenkins will make the trip from Savannah to Cordele on Friday to face Crisp County, and Greater Atlanta Christian will travel to Buck Godfrey Stadium in Decatur to take on Cedar Grove.
Welcome to the semifinals.
Awaiting the victors is a chance next weekend for a state championship when the Class AAA title game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at Georgia State Stadium in Atlanta.
But first, the semis:
-- Greater Atlanta Christian (12-1) at Cedar Grove (11-2): Cedar Grove is the only remaining program to own a state title, beating GAC 30-19 in 2016 and Peach County 14-13 last season. Cedar Grove has been to at least the semifinals each season since 2015, but before 2010's quarterfinal exit, the Saints only had seven playoff appearances since 1972, including a semifinal exit in 1976 and a 28-19 loss to Cartersville in the Class AA title game in 1991. Since entering the playoffs, Cedar Grove has outscored opponents 121-23 after victories against Fannin County (36-7), Benedictine (49-13) and top-ranked Peach County (36-3). Quarterback Austin Smith is 102-of-209 passing for 1,321 yards and 17 touchdowns. Janiran Bonner is the Saints leading receiver with 29 catches for 499 yards and nine of the team's 18 receiving touchdowns. Chavon Wright has 194 carries for 1,616 yards and 19 of the team's 37 rushing touchdowns.
Greater Atlanta Christian has advanced to at least the semifinals six times since 2012, with losses in title games to Benedictine in 2014 (45-21) and Cedar Grove in 2016. Last season, the Spartans were beaten by Westminster (44-34) in the second round. GAC enters the game outscoring playoff opponents 90-30 with victories against Pace Academy (35-14), Cook (38-0) and Hart County (17-16). Quarterback Jackson Hardy leads a Spartans offense that averages 203 passing and 180 rushing yards per game. Hardy is 151-of-241 passing for 2,519 yards and 27 touchdowns. Senior C.T. Thomas leads with 29 catches for 478 yards and nine touchdowns. Tyler Bride and Tre Henry combine for 25 of GAC's 32 rushing touchdowns. Bride has 141 carries for 1,150 yards and 15 touchdowns. Henry has 75 carries for 424 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Maxwell Projections: Cedar Grove wins the title 643,605.69 times and GAC wins the title 75,511.98 times out of 1,000,000 simulations.
My pick: Cedar Grove
-- Jenkins (12-1) at Crisp County (10-3): After losing in the quarterfinals for the past two seasons, Jenkins has a chance for its first berth in a state title game for a school that began playing football in 1957. In 2016, coach Tim Adams led the Warriors to its first region title since 1966, which was Jenkins' last appearance in the semifinals where it lost to Valdosta 16-7 on Nov. 18, 1966. The Warriors enter the game outscoring playoff opponents 124-23 after victories against Adairsville (41-0), Dawson County (42-9) and North Murray (41-14). Jenkins is averaging 216 rushing and 138 passing yards per game and is led by quarterback Patrick Blake, who is 121-of-195 passing for 1,823 yards and 22 touchdowns. Damazzio Harris leads the rushing attack with 173 carries for 1,656 yards and 26 of Jenkins' 41 rushing touchdowns. Kyree McClean has 24 receptions for 413 yards and eight touchdowns to lead the receivers. Ronald Cooper III and Darius Bush each have four touchdown receptions.
Since it began playing football in 1957, Crisp's best postseason showings were semifinal exits in 1981, 1995 and 2016. It lost in the quarterfinals in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1989 and 2001. When Crisp County was last in the semifinals in 2016, it lost to Cedar Grove 55-0. The Cougars are outscoring playoff opponents 109-23 with victories against Southeast Bulloch (46-0), North Hall (41-3) and Jefferson (22-20). Crisp averages 206 rushing and 118 passing yards per game, but it does most of its scoring running the ball (34 rushing to nine receiving touchdowns). Quarterback A.J. Lofton is 57-of-90 passing for 761 yards and six touchdowns, and quarterback Jack Carter is 47-of-89 passing for 675 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Marquise Palmer leads the Cougars rushing attack with 211 carries for 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns. Lofton has 151 carries for 954 yards and 11 touchdowns. Christopher Paul Jr. and Semaj Chatfield each have three rushing touchdowns.
Maxwell Projections: Jenkins wins the title 141,255.19 times, and Crisp County wins the title 139,627.14 times out of 1,000,000 simulations. It's worth noting that of the 32 remaining teams across all classifications, Jenkins and Crisp County are the computer's closest programs, regardless of matchup. They just happen to be facing each other. Only 1,628.05 championship victories separate the programs, so it's clear that even the computer thinks this game is a toss-up.
My pick: Crisp County
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