If there is one thing to say about Round 2 of the Class AAA football playoff competition, it was exciting, yet predictable, and the top seven teams in the rankings lived to play another day.
The biggest question of Round 2 was the strength of Crisp County's schedule: Could the Cougars hold up to one of Region 5's better teams, No. 8 Lovett? Crisp County answered that question by scoring in the final seconds to upset the Lions and move to 12-0 for the first time in school history.
With 37 seconds left in the game and trailing 29-23, Crisp County quarterback Patrick Felton connected with Quay Walker on a 25-yard touchdown pass to take the lead and put away the game. A last-second Hail Mary pass by Lovett fell incomplete.
The Cougars will host Pierce County in the Elite Eight, after Pierce defeated Bremen 49-27.
The rest of the bracket went pretty much according to plan:
-- No. 2 Peach County (11-1) cruised past North Murray 49-7 to set up a quarterfinal game against No. 3 Westminster. The Trojans outclassed North Murray on both sides of the ball to advance to the quarters for the first time since 2012, when they lost to North Hall, 52-12.
Peach was led by Kearis Jackson, with a 60-yard punt return and two touchdown catches of 45 and 12 yards. Chris Gibson rushed for three touchdowns of 12, 6 and 3 yards. James Jackson had a 7-yard touchdown run.
Defending AAA champion Westminster (10-2) took care of Savannah (9-3), 45-21, and will play Peach at home, virtue of a coin toss. Running back Zay Malcome rushed for two touchdowns and set the school rushing record during the victory. Ian Ude added touchdowns on 10- and 1-yard runs.
-- No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian (11-1) took care of Worth County (7-5) 34-21 to advance to the quarters for the third consecutive season, the first since moving to Class AAA. GAC will travel to play No. 7 Liberty County, virtue of a coin toss.
Davis Mills completed 24 of 27 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed in for a score. Mills connected with Trent Fowler on a 27-yard touchdown pass and Jeffery Blake for a 12-yard TD. Kicker Brooks Buce kicked field goals of 52 and 47 yards.
No. 7 Liberty County (11-1) moved past Sonoraville 28-14 in a game led by quarterback Jaalon Frazier, who completed 13 of 21 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Frazier also ran for 120 yards on 12 carries and scored one touchdown. Dylan Stewart gained 77 yards on three receptions with two touchdowns. Kris Coleman caught six passes for 76 yards and one touchdown.
-- No. 4 Calhoun (10-2) moved past No. 10 Jackson, 41-20, to move to the quarters for the eighth consecutive season. Calhoun will play host to Cedar Grove in the quaters.
Calhoun quarterback Baylon Spector had a hand in four touchdowns. Ryan Randall anchored the Calhoun defense with two crucial interceptions, one in the final quarter. Davis Allen sealed the victory with a 27-yard interception return in the final minutes.
Spector passed for 137 yards and ran for 100. He completed two touchdown passes to Luke Jones (63 yards) and Malik Lawrence (12 yards). Randall also scored on a 5-yard run.
No. 6 Cedar Grove (10-2) ended Jenkins most successful run in school history with a 28-3 victory against the Warriors.
Jenkins led 3-0 at the half, but Cedar Grove took control in the second half with 267 of its 354 rushing yards. Grant Walker led the way with 205 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns. Oklahoma State commitment Jelani Woods also added a rushing touchdown. Demetrius Tharpe added the final touchdown on a 16-yard run.
