South Georgia and Gwinnett County went head-to-head in six state quarterfinal playoff football games on Friday night.
Call it draw, but don’t call it boring.
Bainbridge, a mere 5-5 team from the regular season, came to Buford and won 23-20 in Class AAAAA, ending two state-record streaks. Buford had reached 11 straight state semifinals and had won 35 straight home playoff games, both dating to 2006.
But in AAAAA, Gwinnett teams spoiled Region 1’s bid to put all four of its teams in the semifinals. Dacula beat third-ranked Valdosta 56-21 while Lanier defeated 2017 state runner-up Coffee 27-7. Lanier, which opened in 2010, is in the semifinals for the first time.
Lee County and Northside-Warner Robins beat Cherokee County teams Creekview and Sequoyah, respectively, to advance to the semifinals, which will have Lanier at Lee County and Northside at Dacula.
And in the highest class, Colquitt County routed North Gwinnett 45-0 in a rematch of the 2017 state-title game won by North Gwinnett 19-17. And Region 1 runner-up Lowndes defeated Grayson, the preseason No. 1 team, 20-15.
Archer beat Region 1’s other surviving representative, Tift County, 16-10 in overtime.
The AAAAAAA semifinals will be Lowndes at Milton and Archer at Colquitt County. Milton, which beat Hillgrove 20-19, will be making its first semifinal appearance since 1952.
There were no other major surprises among the 32 quarterfinal games, but other schools joined Milton and Lanier in making history for themselves.
Pierce County, which moved to 13-0 with a 24-7 victory over Monroe Area, is in the semis for the first time. The AAA school opened in 1981.
Pelham of Class A is in the semifinals for the first time since 1965. The Hornets beat Greene County 49-20. Rockmart in AAA is in the semis for the first time since 1988; Troup of AAAA is in the semis for the first time since 2001.
The semifinals will feature two state-finals rematches.
Rome and Warner Robins advanced in AAAAA. They’ll play at Warner Robins next week. Rome beat Warner Robins 38-0 in the 2017 final.
In AAA, Peach County will travel to Calhoun in a rematch of the final won by Calhoun 10-6.
The state finals are scheduled for Dec. 7-8 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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