Playoff preview: Class AAAA quarterfinals

Last meeting: Cartersville won 17-16 in 2007.

Three things to know: 1. Sandy Creek and Cartersville were in the same region (6-AAA) in 2006 and 2007, and Cartersville beat Sandy Creek both years. Those are the only two times they have met. Sandy Creek has won at least 11 games and made the quarterfinals every season since then. Cartersville has won at least 11 games each of the past three seasons. 2. Sandy Creek RB Eric Swinney (committed to Ole Miss) has rushed for more than 1,700 yards, or about half of Sandy Creek's total offense. Defensive ends Trent Sellers (Georgia Tech) and Javonte Lain (Old Dominion) are Division I recruits. LB Elijah Gilmore is by far the leading tackler. Sandy Creek has won 72 consecutive games when holding opponents to 21 points or less. 3. Cartersville freshman QB Trevor Lawrence has thrown for 2,603 yards and 25 touchdowns, four of them in a 41-10 victory over Baldwin last week. Two of the TD passes went to Terrius Callahan on screen passes. RB Tiamon Pennymon, who had missed two games with an ankle injury, rushed for 88 yards on 11 carries. Another Cartersville weapon is RB/WR Kalin Heath, who is committed to Kansas State.

Maxwell Ratings' projection: Cartersville by 2

Winner plays: Marist/Buford winner

Marist at Buford

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Tom Riden Stadium, Buford

Records, rankings: Marist is 11-1, the No. 2 seed from Region 6-AAAA and No. 4; Buford is 12-0, the No. 1 seed from 8-AAAA and No. 1.

Last meeting: This is the teams' first meeting.

Three things to know: 1. Buford (87) and Marist (84) have won more playoff games than any other teams remaining in the state playoffs. They trail only Valdosta and Lincoln County all-time. Both have made the semifinals 18 times, so this game would break the tie. Buford has won 37 consecutive games, tied for the sixth-longest streak in GHSA history. 2. Marist took a 24-0 halftime against 2013 state champion Griffin last week and held on for a 31-21 victory. Marist rushed for 268 yards but was 1-for-7 passing. Griffin was 26-for-53 passing for 338 yards but was intercepted twice. Marist runs an option offense and averages 283.9 yards rushing per game, most of it from Ian Gipson (931 yards), QB Sam Phelts (703) and Griffin King (515). Marist has two all-state caliber linemen, DE Kenneth Brinson (offer from Georgia Tech) and OT Sage Harden (committed to Georgia). 3. Buford's Evyn Cooper, playing for starter Xavier Gantt (hamstring injury), rushed for 141 yards in a 35-14 victory over Mary Persons in the second round. Cooper has more than a dozen Division I offers, including one from Georgia Tech, yet he's merely Buford's third-leading rusher, a testament to Buford's rich roster. Mary Persons also played without its leading rusher, Dee High, and was held to 66 yards rushing. Buford has a number of major Division I recruits. They include DB David Curry (Virginia), DT Quay Picou (Tennessee) and LB Austin Smith (Tennessee).

Maxwell Ratings' projection: Buford by 19

Winner plays: Sandy Creek/Cartersville winner

West Laurens at St. Pius

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, George B. Maloof Stadium, Atlanta

Records, rankings: West Laurens is 9-3, the No. 1 seed from Region 2-AAAA and unranked; St. Pius is 10-2, the No. 1 seed from 6-AAAA and No. 7.

Last meeting: This is the teams' first meeting.

Three things to know: 1. This is West Laurens' first trip to the quarterfinals in 20 years. The program hadn't had a winning season since 2005. St. Pius, a state runner-up to Buford in 2012, has been in the quarterfinals seven times since Paul Standard became head coach in 2001. 2. St. Pius had 423 yards rushing in a 52-20 victory over Eastside last week. The Golden Lions average 323.1 yards rushing and 64.4 passing. Five St. Pius backs - Dalton Wilson, Joey Connors, Ransom Klinger, Grant Holloman and QB Reed Egan - have at least one game of 125 yards or more rushing. 3. West Laurens QB Garrel Quainton was 21-of-28 passing for 253 yards and four touchdowns - three to 6-foot-8 Justin Smith - in a 30-14 second-round victory over Stephens County. Smith had 12 catches for 160 yards and has 1,015 yards receiving on the season. Quainton has thrown for 1,755 yards. West Laurens also has a 1,000-yard rusher, sophomore Darius Bradford.

Maxwell Ratings' projection: St. Pius by 10

Winner plays: North Oconee/Woodward Academy winner

North Oconee at Woodward Academy

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Colquitt Stadium, College Park

Records, rankings: North Oconee is 9-3, the No. 2 seed from Region 8-AAAA and unranked; Woodward Academy is 10-2, the No. 1 seed from 5-AAAA and No. 6.

Last meeting: Woodward Academy won 53-21 in the first round of the 2013 Class AAA playoffs.

Three things to know: 1. Woodward Academy can reach the semifinals for the first time since its 1980 state-championship season. North Oconee, opened in 2004, is in the quarterfinals for the first time. It comes in a season in which both schools moved up in classification from AAA. 2. Woodward RB Elijah Holyfield rushed for 124 yards on 24 carries (all but one by Woodward's running backs) in a 28-6 victory over Burke County last week. That gives him 1,453 yards rushing on the season. FS Arrington Farrar, LB Max Richardson and freshman LB K.J. Phillips each were in on more than 10 tackles, and SS Darien Wiggins intercepted a pass and returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown. Jes Sutherland is 113-for-182 passing for 1,720 yards. 3. North Oconee RB Kawon Bryant rushed for 171 yards on 31 carries in a 14-7 victory over Cairo last week. He has 2,006 yards rushing unofficially on the season and 99 career touchdowns. QB Tate Adcockis is 102-of-193 passing for 1,336 yards. DB Zantravious Shields, an outstanding running back last season at Prince Avenue Christian before transferring back to North Oconee, is the leading tackler.

Maxwell Ratings' projection: Woodward Academy by 7

Winner plays: West Laurens/St. Pius winner

Coming Wednesday: AA and A

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