First Round recap

Class AAAA

Troup 42, Oconee County 28

Troup got the playoffs started early with a Thursday night victory over the visiting Warriors—giving the program its first 10-win season since 2003. Running back Tyree Carlisle rushed for a 4-yard touchdown, Kobe Hudson threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Joko Willis and a King Mwikuta forced fumble was recovered by teammate Andy Boykin for a touchdown to give Troup a 21-14 halftime lead. Carlisle added a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Hudson connected with Trey Williams and found Willis for a 56-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 42-21 early in the final frame.

Cartersville 34, Stephens County 17

Visiting Stephens County broke a scoreless game with 9:17 left in the second quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Colwell to Kamon Taylor. Dadrian Dennis capped off a 14-play Cartersville drive with a touchdown to tie it 7-7 with 6:24 left in the half. Cartersville quarterback Tee Webb put the Canes out in front with a touchdown pass to Marquail Coaxum with 19 seconds left before the half, and a failed PAT kept the lead at 13-7. Marcus Gary rushed for two touchdowns in the third quarter to increase the lead to 27-7 entering the final quarter, and Webb made it 34-7 with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Devonte Ross.

North Oconee 27, Sandy Creek 8

North Oconee’s Ryan Coates scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that held for a 7-0 halftime lead. Kaleb Sherrer threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Paxton with 9:20 left in the third, and an interception by Rashad Finch set up Coates for a 6-yard touchdown run to put North Oconee up 20-0. Mason Vanderford intercepted Sandy Creek on its next possession and Adam Weynand ran it in from 5 yards out to increase the lead to 27-0. Dealo Parson gave Sandy Creek its only points with a 4-yard touchdown on the first snap of the final quarter and the Patriots converted the 2-point try.

Pickens 42, White County 0

Undefeated Pickens dominated visiting White County and celebrated the first playoff win in program history. CJ Streicher rushed for a 9-yard touchdown and connected with Zach Goss for an 83-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Michael Burrell got on the board with an 8-yard touchdown run early in the second, and Brady Moore (29 yards) and Trevon Hawkins (1 yard) piled on touchdown runs to extend the halftime lead to 35-0. Jarod Whitmore provided the final touchdown on a 10-yard carry with 3:12 left in the third frame.

Marist 61, Heritage-Catoosa 20

Connor Cigelske accounted for Marist's first five touchdowns as the home team cruised to a victory over Heritage-Catoosa. Cigelske had touchdown runs of 42, eight, and 67 yards while also throwing a pair of scoring strikes from 27 and 37 yards away to Kyle Hamilton. That paced the War Eagles to leads of 10-0 after one quarter and 34-0 at halftime. They led 41-0 before the Generals finally got on the scoreboard with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Letzgus to Clint Petteys. Letzgus also had an interception on defense. Matthew Dunmon added two touchdown runs for the War Eagles, whose defensive effort was headlined by interceptions courtesy of Tyler Hare, John Flor, and Joshua Moore.

Woodward Academy 55, Carver-Columbus 40

Woodward’s Mike Wright scored on a 70-yard rush on the first play from scrimmage to set the tone, but Carver answered just a minute later to tie the game. With five minutes left in the first quarter, Wright connected with Tahj Gary on a 50-yard pass to push the lead to 14-7. Woodward’s 21-point cushion (35-14) at the half was set up by Wright touchdown passes to Cross Patton (23 yards), Ambe Caldwell (41 yards) and Gary (9 yards) in the second quarter. Carver outscored Woodward in the third quarter 12-7 to make it a 42-26 game, but Woodward tacked on two touchdowns—rushes by Gary of 58 and 64 yards—in the final quarter to put the game away. Woodward Academy will face Mary Persons in the second round.

St. Pius X 38, Cedartown 6

Senior Jason Jones rushed 1 yard into the end zone to put the Golden Lions on board 7-0 with 6:51 left in the second. Cedartown was quick to respond with an 8-yard run by Senior Tony Mathis for the score, but the Bulldogs failed to put points on the board again. Senior quarterback Connor Egan connected with Junior Jacob Pajer on a 28-yard touchdown with a minute left in the half, and Nolan Aldrch knocked in a 37-yard field goal to take 17-6 before the quarter ended. In the third, St. Pius picked up right where they left off with a 5-yard touchdown run by Pajer for his second score of the night. Two more rushing scores from St. Pius safely put the game away, pushing the Golden Lions through to the second round where they’ll take on Marist.

Ridgeland 34, Flowery Branch 14

The Ridgeland Panthers blew open a 10-7 lead with a 24-point fourth quarter to defeat the visiting Flowery Branch Falcons and advance to the second round of the playoffs. After a rocky start—quarterback Tanner Hill was intercepted on the Panthers’ opening drive—Connor Middleton’s 45-yard field goal and the first of Jordan Blackwell’s three touchdowns (17 yards) gave Ridgeland a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Flowery Branch defensive lineman Cody Inman’s 3-yard run in the third made it a three-point game, but Blackwell capitalized on an interception with a 35-yard score to open the final frame. Terrance Roberts added a rushing score, and Blackwell further padded the lead with an interception return for a touchdown. The Falcons scored once more to cut Ridgeland’s lead to 31-14 before Middleton completed a 37-yard field goal for the final tally.

More Class AAAA Action:

• Mary Persons jumped to a 52-0 halftime lead and cruised past visiting Richmond Academy 59-0. The Bulldogs outgained Richmond Academy 466-to-24 in first half yardage and quarterback J.T. Hartage completed 9-of-11 pass attempts for 225 yards and four touchdowns.

• Columbus led Salem 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-6 earlier in the third before closing out a narrow 35-32 road victory. After cutting it to 21-12, Salem quarterback Donald Wilson found Markari Pruitt for a touchdown and the Seminoles converted the 2-point try to make it a 21-20 game entering the fourth quarter. Columbus grew the lead to 28-20 and Wilson answered with another touchdown pass to Pruitt, but a failed 2-point attempt left the Seminoles down 28-20 and another return to the end zone for both squads kept the Blue Devils in front.

• Top-seeded Baldwin jumped out to a 21-10 lead early in the third and cruised past Perry 39-22. Baldwin three-star safety Donte Justice iced the game with 3:09 left as he secured the 10th interception of his senior season.

• Burke County outscored Howard 21-0 in the second quarter of its 28-22 victory. The Bears' lead stood at 28-8 at the half and 28-15 at the end of the third quarter—proving to be just enough to keep the Huskies from completing their valiant rally in the second half.