Friday marks the quarterfinal round and for the eight Class AA teams that have made it this far - congratulations. Also, hope you didn't have any travel plans for Thanksgiving.
Thursday is a day designated for eating lots of food, gathering with family and, in a lot of households - especially of this readership - watching NFL football.
However, those who are a part of the eight remaining teams can't indulge too much, because the very next day is their biggest game of the season.
Here is a look at the four matchups that will take place on Friday:
Fitzgerald (11-1) at Benedictine (12-0): The defending state champion Benedictine Cadets – a No. 1 seed from Region 2 - are officially on notice. They squeaked out a 41-40 home win against the Lovett Lions of Region 6 in a game they spent a lot of time trailing. Is this the close call the Cadets needed to regroup and close out as repeat champs? They're on a 20-game win streak. On the other hand, the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes – a No. 2 seed from Region 1 – coasted to a 24-7 win over Heard County. The Cadets and Purple Hurricanes have only played once before, and that was in the second round of the 2013 state playoffs. Benedictine won that contest 51-7.
Brooks County (10-2) at GAC (11-1): Both the Trojans and Spartans are No. 1 seeds, which meant a coin flip to determine home field advantage. The Spartans of Region 6 won the toss, which means the Trojans of Region 1 must make the three-hour, 30-minute commute from Quitman to Norcross. They've outscored their Northeast Macon and Manchester a combined 89-26 to reach the quarterfinals. The Trojans have reached the semifinals in each of the last two seasons and have reached this point for the third season in a row. The Spartans are looking for a second straight trip to the semifinals - they reached the championship game last season. Brooks County and GAC have never played each other on the football field.
Rabun County (11-1) at Jefferson County (10-2): Rabun County – of Region 8 - lost the coin flip and will travel to play the Warriors. This will mark the first matchup between the two programs. Both the Wildcats and Warriors were eliminated in the second round last year. Should Rabun County win, it will be the deepest playoff run for the Wildcats since 1951, when they reached the state final. The Warriors have never been past the quarterfinals. This will be the first meeting between the Warriors and Wildcats.
Pace Academy (10-2) at Macon County (10-2): The Knights of Region 6 are the lone No. 4 seed remaining in AA. They're trying to win to set up an all-Region 6 semifinal with GAC, should the Spartans defeat Brooks County. The Knights are in the quartefinals for the second year in a row but have never been any further. They've already set a record for most wins in program history - their inaugural season was 2008. The Bulldogs are in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2005, and are looking for their best finish since 1996, when they went 15-0 to claim the Class A title.
For complete playoff results, see the Class AA bracket.
You'll notice a big discrepancy in the above bracket and my predictions from before the playoffs began.
I missed badly on the Knights, basing a first-round exit off of what I deemed was poor play against their Region 6 foes. They lost back-to-back games to Wesleyan and GAC and struggled to beat Hapeville Charter. However, Region 6 is the strongest, deepest region in AA, so I clearly underestimated the Knights' abilities.
On the flip side of Pace's first round matchup was Darlington, a team I had riding into the quarterfinals.
I was also wrong in my assessment that Heard County would make it over the hump and topple its nemesis, Fitzgerald, even though the Purple Hurricanes won the previous two regular season meetings. Even home field advantage couldn't help the Braves this time around.
So though I missed on more than a few programs, my semifinals matchups remain in tact, as I have Benedictine vs. Rabun County and GAC vs. Macon County.
I have GAC beating Benedictine in the final, and after the Cadets nearly lost to Spartans region foe Lovett last week, that doesn't seem like such a stretch - despite the Cadets beating GAC in last year's final and this year's season opener.
Credit: Adam Krohn
Credit: Adam Krohn
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