Creekside 44, New Manchester 27: Host Creekside ran out to a 31-14 lead at the half as it was led by a dominant rushing attack that totaled 400 yards on the ground. Tysean Carter ran for a game-high 242 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. Gino Appleberry chipped in on the production with 65 yards and a rushing score. Quarterback Bryson Terry had an efficient game, completing 5-of-8 passing for 127 yards.
Dalton 23, Salem 6: After a slow first half that saw Dalton outgained 198-109, the Catamounts came alive in the second half to put away Salem. Kelvis Rhodes scored on a four-yard run after a Kiko Rodriguez 22-yard field goal to give Dalton a 10-6 advantage at the half. Rhodes added his second score of the night on a 41-yard run with 5:13 remaining in the fourth to go up 17-6. Jordon McKinney picked off a pass that led to a Peyton Veraldi 25-yard touchdown toss to Zek Cobb to ice the game.
Gainesville 42, Creekview 37: The Red Elephants held on to become the only remaining Region 8 team left in the playoffs. Mikey Gonzalez finished 17-of-25 for 130 yards and three touchdowns. Messiah Dorsey caught nine passes for 97 yards and two scores. Dorsey also threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Lackey. Michael Byrd ran for 217 yards and one score on 26 carries. The Elephants finished with 427 total yards. The Grizzlies were led by BJ Smith who ran for two scores while Kyle Wilkie tossed a touchdown and scored on a three-yard run. Dawson Ewers added a 95-yard kick return in the loss.
Kell 31, Winder-Barrow 7: Ivan Walls scored all three of his rushing touchdowns in the first half for host Kell on runs of 33, 3 and 26 yards to put the Longhorns up 21-0 at halftime. Cameron Rosendahl found Emmanuel Dennis for a touchdown pass, and Julian Chang added a 38-yard field goal for Kell. The Longhorns turned Winder-Barrow over three times with a fumble recovery and two interceptions.
Mays 26, South Paulding 19: Asahnia Aderhold found Tyshawn Brown for a touchdown pass with three minutes to play for the go-ahead score, then hit Carey Wimberly on a two-point conversion. Mays then held host South Paulding on a goal-line stand as Juwan Williamson broke up a pass on fourth down, allowing Mays to run out the clock. Aderhold also had a rushing touchdown, and Shiheem Rutherford returned a fumble for a touchdown for Mays. Charlie Patrick's rushing score cut the South Paulding lead to 19-18.
Sequoyah 24, Lanier 21: Using an Ethan Riggle 25-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining, visiting Sequoyah shocked undefeated Lanier. Sequoyah jumped out to an early 14-0 lead after a 50-yard scoop-and-score from Austin Richardson, but saw the lead disappear heading into the half tied at 14. Lanier went ahead 21-14 after Tahj Tolbert connected on one of his two long touchdown passes to Tim Leazer. Tre Mitchell scored twice on the ground for Sequoyah in the wild win.
Stephenson 41, Alexander 27: Stephenson racked up 515 yards rushing and four scores on the ground to hold off an Alexander comeback. Dewann Ford Jr. went 2-for-4 for 92 yards and two scores connecting on touchdowns of 40 yards and 52 yards for Stephenson. Baylor Whitfield hit on 22 of his 40 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns for Alexander. Mikell Lands-Davis carried 16 times for 100 yards while Isaac Zico recorded seven catches for 111 yards in the loss.
Stockbridge 36, Brunswick 6: An inauspicious start for visiting Brunswick set the tone for Stockbridge. The Tigers blocked a punt in the end zone which was recovered by Brunswick resulting in a safety. Artemus Mitchell began to gash the Brunswick defense in the second quarter and scored on a short run to make it 9-0. Josh Amanfo collected a 71-yard pick six to end the half putting Stockbridge ahead 23-0. Mitchell scored again on a 32-yard run in the third. Brunswick's lone score came on a 65-yard interception return.
Ware County 45, Starr's Mill 10: Ware County scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to dominate Starr's Mill. After Starr's Mill cut the lead to 17-10 in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Rico Frye, Ware got touchdowns from Quayshawn Taylor (3-yard run), Tyler Rawls (8-yard run), Kent Jackson (interception return) and Alyx Sayles (9-yard run) to advance to the second round. Ware took a 3-0 lead early in the game on a 26-yard field goal by Tom Etheridge. Starr's Mill tied the score on a 22-yard field goal by Brandon Oot. Ware took the lead again when Dedrick Mills scored on a 23-yard run, then led 17-3 after Terrence Dukes scored from the one. After Starr's Mill trimmed the lead to seven, Ware took control of the game.
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