Cobb County is assured of bringing home a football championship when the state finals are played at Georgia State Stadium next weekend.
Harrison of Kennesaw and Allatoona of Acworth guaranteed that when they won their Class AAAAAA semifinal games Friday night.
The winner of their matchup at 8 p.m. next Friday will be only the fourth Cobb-based team to win a state championship in football. Allatoona won the most recent one, capturing the Class AAAAA title in 2015. Other champions from Cobb County were Mount Paran Christian in 2014 and Marietta in 1967. Of the three, only Allatoona is part of the Cobb County School District. Mount Paran is a private school, and Marietta High is part of the Marietta City Schools.
Second-ranked Harrison (14-0) rolled into the final with a surprisingly lopsided 38-7 victory over No. 1 Dacula in a battle of the two remaining undefeated teams in the classification. Harrison had a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter after touchdown runs by David Roberts and quarterback Gavin Hill and pulled away with three second-half touchdown runs by Mason Babay. Dacula (13-1), which also lost in the semifinals last year, had outscored its first three playoff opponents 147-59, scoring at least 42 points in all three games.
Allatoona reached the final for the first time since its championship season with a 17-14 victory in overtime at Region 2 champion Richmond Hill. Jude Kelley kicked a 22-yard field goal on the third play of Allatoona’s overtime possession after Richmond Hill missed a field goal on its possession. Allatoona trailed 14-7 with less than three minutes remaining in regulation but got a 35-yard touchdown pass from Dante Marshall to Asante Das with just over a minute left to tie it. Marshall completed a 14-yard pass to Christian Bennett on a fourth-and-10 play to keep the drive alive.
Here are some historical stories that will play out at Georgia State Stadium:
*Harrison and Allatoona aren’t just Cobb County rivals, they are also fellow members of Region 6. The state final will be a rematch of their Oct. 11 game, a 21-17 Harrison victory that ultimately decided the region title. Marcus Bleazard scored the winning points on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter. That’s the only game Harrison has played that was decided by fewer than 18 points.
*Harrison would be the first Cobb-based team to win the championship with a 15-0 record if it beats the Buccaneers in the rematch. Mount Paran was undefeated when it won its 2014 title but had just four playoff games and finished 14-0. Allatoona was 14-1 in 2015, and Marietta was 11-2 in 1967. Allatoona, on the other hand, would be the first two-time champion from Cobb with another victory.
*Harrison and Allatoona won’t be the only Cobb teams seeking a title next weekend. Marietta advanced to the Class AAAAAAA championship game with a 42-31 victory over Parkview in the semifinals. Marietta lost to Grayson and McEachern during the regular season and will bring a 12-2 record into its matchup with top-ranked Lowndes (14-0), which defeated North Gwinnett 49-28 Friday.
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