The final four teams in Class 6A will be cut down to two Friday night when Woodward Academy (11-2) faces Douglas County (13-0) and Marist (12-1) takes on Thomas County Central (13-0) in the semifinals.
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the semifinals:
*5 – Touchdowns scored by Douglas County’s James Johnson in the Tigers’ 59-45 victory over Lee County last week. Johnson had three touchdowns and 100 yards rushing on five carries, had a touchdown and 55 yards receiving on three catches, and returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown. He also had 13 tackles and returned a kickoff 40 yards. He has scored 27 touchdowns this season.
*7 – Woodward Academy players listed by the 247Sports Composite rankings among the top 125 in Georgia in their classes. The seniors are LB Andrew Hines (No. 66), DB C.J. Heard (No. 92), WR Ben Grice (No. 99) and OL Bradley Smith (No. 124). The junior class is led by DE London Merritt (No. 20), followed by classmates Jerome Bettis Jr. (DE, No. 47) and Josiah Abdullah (WR, No. 49).
*7 p.m. – Kickoff time for the Class 6A final on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That will be one of 11 championship games played that week. The action begins on Dec. 11 with a flag football final, followed by the Class A football finals at 5 and 8. A flag football final will also kick off the next two days, followed by 2A, 4A and 6A on Dec. 12, and 3A, 5A and 7A on Dec. 13.
*11: – Combined state championships won by the four semifinalists. Thomas County Central has the most with five, all won between 1992 and 1997 in Class 3A. Marist has won three, most recently in 2020 in Class 4A. The War Eagles also won 4A in 2003 and 3A in 1989. Woodward Academy won Class 3A in 1980 and the 2A title in 1970. Douglas County’s only title came in 1964 in Class 2A.
*17 – Players with at least one carry in Marist’s run-based offense this season. That includes four players with at least 60 carries – quarterback Jack Euart (153 carries, 808 yards, 10 touchdowns, Jackson Hughes (135-668-12), Joseph Pizzo (68-518-8) and Brayden Lewis (60-397-1). The War Eagles have rushed for 3,307 yards (254.4) while completing 57 of 97 passes for 795 yards and 12 TDs.
*25-1 – Thomas County Central’s record since the start of the 2022 season, which coincided with the Yellow Jackets’ hiring of Justin Rogers as head coach and their move up two classes from 4A. The 25 victories are the second-most by any team in 6A during that stretch, surpassed only by Gainesville’s 26. Thomas County Central had not had a winning season since 2016 before its current run.
*35 – Years since Douglas County played in a state semifinal. The Tigers, under then-coach Jimmy Johnson, finished 8-2 in the 1988 regular season, beat Villa Rica and Alexander in the region playoffs, then beat Southwest DeKalb before losing to Brookwood in the semifinals. Marist most recently reached the semifinals in 2020, Woodward Academy in 2019 and Thomas County Central in 2007.
*49-3 – Combined record of the four semifinalists. That total includes a victory by Marist against Woodward Academy, 17-10 on Sept. 8. Woodward Academy’s other loss came Aug. 25 against McCallie, an 11-1 team playing for a Tennessee state championship this week. Marist’s one loss came in the season-opener against Gainesville, which was eliminated by Woodward Academy last week.
*431 – Career victories by Alan Chadwick in 39 seasons at Marist. That’s second-most in state history behind former Lincoln County coach Larry Campbell. Chadwick has won three state championships (1989, 2003 and 2020) and 22 region titles. Woodward’s John Hunt has 130 career wins in 13 seasons, Thomas County Central’s Justin Rogers has 96 and Douglas County’s Johnny White has 79.
*1,080 – Approximate miles Thomas County Central will have traveled for its quarterfinal and semifinal games. The Yellow Jackets will go about 240 miles each way for this week’s visit to Marist in DeKalb County. That’s a shorter trip than they had last week to Rome, about 300 miles away. This week’s other semifinal will have Woodward Academy riding about 27 miles to Douglas County.
Quarterfinals
Douglas County 59, Lee County 45
Woodward Academy 20, Gainesville 17
Marist 48, Roswell 21
Thomas County Central 19, Rome 16
Semifinals
(R3 #1) Woodward Academy at (R5 #1) Douglas County
(R1 #1) Thomas County Central at (R4 #1) Marist
Championship
7 p.m., Dec. 12
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
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