A look at the Class AAAA playoffs

There are still two slots left to be determined, due to Westover’s and Hardaway’s Saturday matchup, but the rest of the Class AAAA playoffs have been set. Among the notable results last night were Cartersville’s 43-10 win over Troup for the Region 5 title. Also, Region 3 champion Baldwin has now won five straight games after starting its season 1-4.

Also, St. Pius cruised to a 56-11 win over Stephens County. Mason Benefield and Samuel Schwaner both rushed for two touchdowns as St. Pius X took care of visiting Stephens County. The Golden Lions scored 42 unanswered points to begin the contest—21 in each of the first two quarters—and led 42-3 at halftime. Stephens County got a 10-yard touchdown run and ensuing two-point conversion from Trey Pittman before St. Pius X tacked on fourth-quarter insurance scores by Schwaner and Connor Egan, who accounted for three touchdowns in total. The senior quarterback tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Miller in the first quarter and later found Gavin McElroy in the endzone from 13 yards away to make it 42-0. D.J. Mitchell added another score on the ground for St. Pius X.

Flowery Branch prevented Denmark from reaching the playoffs with a 28-19 win. Denmark was first on the board when Junior quarterback Ben Whitlock connected with Sophomore receiver Teddy Davenport for a 15-yard score. The Falcons responded with a blocked punt that Aidan Lorenz scooped up and returned 10 yards into the endzone to tie the game. In the second, Flowery Branch blocked another punt that lead to a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Sophomore Jerzee Allentini. The Falcons kept the points coming later in the quarter when Elijah Gainey connected with Connor Larson for a 7-yard score. Flowery Branch opened up the second half with a strong drive fueled by Chase Dial-Watson, who carried the ball 3 times for 65 yards and a score. The Danes managed to reach the end zone twice more, but failed to create enough scoring opportunities to pull ahead.