We’re down to the public and private final four. Here’s how the quarterfinals went down:
Private
Upper Left Brackett
No. 1 Eagle's Landing Christian Academy 35, No. 8 Wesleyan 13: ELCA rushed for 342 yards on 49 carries and scored five touchdowns on the ground to eliminate Wesleyan. The Wolves' defense gave up five touchdowns in a span of six possessions dating from the first quarter into the midway point of the third quarter and forced negative yardage on just two plays. For ELCA, the two-headed monster of running backs Trevor Gear (163 yards rushing) and Josh Mays (115 yards rushing) combined for more than half of the Chargers' yards and set the tone from the beginning of the game. ELCA compiled 192 yards on the ground in the first half.
Lower Left Brackett
No. 5 Tattnall Square Academy 28, No. 4 Calvary Day 14: With the game tied 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter, Tattnall Square scored twice inside of six minutes to play to seal the road win. Ahmad Barron scored two of the Trojans' four touchdowns. He had a 25-yard rushing score on the first possession of the second half, capping a drive that also featured a his 35-yard run. Barron iced the victory with an 81-yard TD run with 2:07 left to play. The Trojans' Vasco Sanders blocked a Calvary Day field-goal attempt with the game scoreless in the first quarter, then Tattnall Square got a 56-yard touchdown pass from Miles Morris to Antoine Davis to get on the board. Destin Mack scored the 17-yard go-ahead touchdown with 5:43 left to play.
Left Brackett Semifinal: No. 5 Tattnall Square at No. 1 ELCA
Upper Right Brackett
No. 2 Prince Avenue Christian 27, No. 7 Landmark Christian School 10: Prince Avenue Christian dominated the second half to the tune of a 20-0 margin to overcome visiting War Eagles. Noah Campbell scored both of his rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to help the Wolverines take control. Thomas Huff’s five-yard scoring run with 8:59 remaining in the contest gave PAC a 17-point cushion. Sam Wessinger set up Huff’s touchdown with a 54-yard run and his 15-yard scamper help put the War Eagles in position for Campbell’s first of two touchdowns. Lofton Tidwell had a two-yard scoring plunge for Landmark Christian, which also got a 38-yard field goal off the foot of Tom Austin.
Lower Right Brackett
No. 3 Fellowship Christian 45, No. 6 Mt. Paran Christian 13: Fellowship beat Mt. Paran for the second time this season, getting five touchdown passes and a defensive score and expanding on just a 17-7 halftime lead with three scores in the fourth. Paladins’ quarterback Jack Hardin was a very efficient 8-of-12 passing for 217 yards, with three touchdown passes to Ryan Reid (25, 14, 16) and two to Merrick Haigler (28, 52), his only catches. Hardin also finished with 17 rushes for 126 yards to lead the Paladins. Reid finished with six receptions for 135 yards, and Andrew Minkert had 12 carries for 85 yards. Garret Depew hit a 33-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Fellowship’s defensive TD came on a 45-yard interception return from Cameron Gill for the last Paladins score.
Right Bracket Semifinal: No. 3 Fellowship Christian at No. 2 Prince Avenue Christian
Quarterfinal Matchups – Public
Upper Left Brackett
No. 1 Macon County 28, No. 8 Manchester 14: Macon County scored a 55-13 win over Manchester in its season finale three weeks ago, and once again dominated in the quarterfinals, taking a 28-7 lead into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs opened the game with a five-play, 71-yard drive and got on the board with just 90 seconds into the contest. Quarterback K'hari Lane eluded the Manchester pass rush and connected with Trey Brown for a 59-yard touchdown minutes later to grow the lead to 14-0. Manchester got on the board with 3:16 left in the first quarter on a 15-yard touchdown run by Deenizeo Gamble. Lane and Brown connected again for a 6-yard touchdown to give Macon County a 21-7 lead at the half and Aukeeveous McLendon made it a 28-7 advantage with a 22-yard touchdown run in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
Lower Left Brackett
No. 4 Emanuel County Institute 44, No. 21 Irwin County 25: ECI took an early 14-0 lead and never looked back using a balanced offensive attack. ECI racked up 426 yards of total offense and rode the arm of Rhett Gay, who threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns on 12-of-17 passing. On the ground the Bulldogs chewed up 229 yards on 36 rushes. Jamoni Kelly led the rushing attack with 161 yards on 19 carries. The Bulldogs avenged last year's semifinal loss, 19-15, to Irwin.
Left Brackett Semifinal: No. 4 ECI at No. 1 Macon County
Upper Right Brackett
No. 2 Clinch County 44, No. 7 Commerce 0: Defending Class A-Public state champion Clinch County controlled the game from opening kickoff. A 23-yard fumble return touchdown and scores from 15 and 72 yards out produced a comfortable 22-0 early lead for the Panthers. Clinch County would score three more touchdowns before the end of this quarterfinal match up to hand the Tigers’ their largest margin of defeat since a 54-0 loss to Lincoln County in 1987. Colten Manac and Octavius Morris returned fumbles for touchdowns. Trezman Marshall and Dexter Mcneil both scored on 15 yard runs, while Charles McClelland had a 72-yard touchdown run.
Lower Right Brackett
No. 6 McIntosh County Academy 39, No. 14 Greene County 22: JP Palmer rushed 14 times for 232 yards and four touchdowns for the Buccaneers, who advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2000. Ahmaud Jackson and Jonathan Jason scored touchdowns also in the win. Meanwhile, MCA held Greene County star running back Devin Wynn to just 99 yards, while rushing for 390 yards in the win.
Right Brackett Semifinal: No. 6 MCA at No. 2 Clinch County
