The final four is all No. 1 seeds, down to Fellowship Christian, Fitzgerald, Appling County and Thomson. Of those teams, only the defending champions, Fitzgerald, was in 2A last year. Appling County and Thomson come from 3A, and last year they reached the semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively. Fellowship Christian reached the 1A Private semifinals last season.
Here’s a look at the bracket after Friday’s quarterfinals round.
Credit: Courtesy of GHSA
Credit: Courtesy of GHSA
There was a lot of excitement across the four quarterfinals games Friday, but none matched what happened at Lakewood Stadium between Thomson and South Atlanta, where the No. 4 Bulldogs emerged from the lower-right quadrant as a 56-38 winner over the previously-undefeated and No. 2 Hornets.
The game featured one of the wildest fourth quarters in GHSA playoff history, with 60 points scored and two 90-plus-yard kickoff touchdown returns by Thompson’s Jontavis Curry.
The Bulldogs led 22-12 after three quarters, and went up 28-12 on Jontavis Curry’s third rushing touchdown to start the fourth quarter. South Atlanta responded its next possession with Taye Seymore’s 35-yard rushing touchdown, to cut Thompson’s lead to 28-18. Curry took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a score, putting the Bulldogs up 35-18. The Hornets scored their next possession on Jontez Adams 1-yard run, making it 35-26 after Seymore’s run on the 2-point conversion.
Then, the game got interesting on the Bulldogs’ next possession, when Joevonte Stuckey hauled in an interception and returned it 32 yards for a pick-6, cutting Thompson’s lead to 35-32 with seven minutes left.
Once more, Curry took the ensuing kickoff to the house, this time for 90 yards, and that pushed the Bulldogs lead back to double digits at 42-32 with seven minutes left.
The Hornets responded with a rushing touchdown and 2-point conversion to make it 42-38 with six minutes left. Then, with Thomson facing third down, the Hornets were looking for a stop to take possession and, potentially the lead. The Hornets may not have been expecting the Bulldogs to throw after the pick-6, because the receiver was wide open for a touchdown on a go route, all but putting the game out of reach at 49-38 with four minutes to go.
The Bulldogs would pad their lead on Tre Tre Jeffrey’s 43-yard touchdown with three minutes left, bringing the score to its final margin.
For the Hornets, it’s the second year in a row they’ve reached the quarterfinals after having never been there since the program’s 1994 founding. It’s also the second year they’ve won a program-record 11 games. The Hornets (11-1) likely would have won a record 12 games had they played a 10-game regular season.
The Hornets also won Region 6 for the third year in a row.
It’s also the end of Keyjaun Brown’s storied career as Atlanta Public School’s most prolific rusher. He surpassed Jamal Lewis’ APS career rushing record of 4,879 the first game of the season. After leading the state in rushing last year with 2,757 yards on 251 carries, he entered the playoffs with a chance to repeat that distinction despite the Hornets playing a nine-game regular season.
Hornets coach Michael Woolridge said Brown suffered an injury in the first quarter against the Bulldogs, and didn’t return for precautionary reasons. He logged 25 yards on nine carries, and five receptions for 73 yards in his final prep game. He was held out of the end zone.
Brown finished his 12-game senior season nearly matching the output of his 13-game junior campaign with 2,706 yards and 31 touchdowns on 264 carries, adding 334 yards and three touchdowns on 24 receptions. Johnson County’s Germivy Tucker has 2,698 yards, and his team, 13-0, advanced to the 1A Division I semifinals, so he’ll be the state’s leading rusher this year as long as he suits up this week.
Unofficially, when adding Brown’s rushing yards this season to his total of 4,770 heading into the year, he finishes his career with with 7,476 rushing yards. According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, that would place him at No. 6 all-time, behind Nick Chubb’s 7,601 yards, and ahead of Eddie Dixon’s 7,322.
Chubb played for Cedartown from 2010-13 and is currently one of the NFL’s premier running backs for the Cleveland Browns. Dixon played for Emanuel County Institute from 1980-83.
Brown, an AJC Super 11 and preseason all-state selection, is listed as a hard commit to Purdue on 247Sports.
For the Bulldogs (12-1), it was a huge road win in which they refused to relinquish the lead despite a hard-charging Hornets team that had caused their previous 11 opponents to fold. Curry, with his five touchdowns, easily put up one of the state’s best for the quarterfinals, and he’s a big reason the Bulldogs were able to extend their win streak to 12 after losing their season opener by a field goal.
In addition to his two kickoff return touchdowns totaling 185 yards, Curry finished with 100 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and 67 yards on five catches. He also scored a pair of 2-point conversions. As a result, he was named GHSF Daily’s player of the week.
This is the second year in a row Bulldogs coach Michael Youngblood has advanced his the team further than the year before. The Bulldogs reached the 3A quarterfinals last year after reaching the second round the previous three seasons. It’s Youngblood’s first trip to the semifinals since arriving at Thomson in 2018.
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Rockmart, which played in 3A last year, came close to making the Final 4 all newcomers, but the defending-champion Cane rallied to win 21-14 in overtime tying the game and taking the lead on a pair of Sylon Davis touchdown runs. Davis tied the game at 14 with three minutes left on a 3-yard rushing touchdown, then gave the Cane the its only lead with on a 1-yard run in the game’s first overtime’s possession.
On Rockmart’s overtime possession, the Cane defense stopped the Jackets on fourth-and-4 from the 9.
The No. 7 Jackets finish 10-3 and champions of Region 7 in their return to 2A.
Top-ranked Fitzgerald (13-0) is a win a way from its third consecutive title game appearance. The Cane can become 2A’s first repeat champion since Buford (2007-10).
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Fellowship Christian blew right past former 3A power and 8-point favorite Pierce County, 40-22. The Bears came in ranked No. 6. The Paladins jumped to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, and the margin swelled to as much as 40-14 with five minutes left.
Paladins were led by senior quarterback and Houston commit Caleb McMickle, who was 11-of-19 passing for 300 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score, according to the school’s website.
The Paladins (10-3) are the lone remaining unranked team in the tournament, though the MaxPreps computer rankings currently have them at No. 6, behind No. 5 Pierce County.
The Bears, a No. 2 seed from Region 3, finish 11-2 after reaching the 3A semis last year and winning 3A in 2020.
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Appling County ran to a 44-21 win over Callaway on the road, and the Pirates have won all of their playoff games by at least three touchdowns. They beat Washington County 65-14 in Round 1 and Northeast 35-13 the next round.
The Pirates (11-1), ranked No. 3, are back in the semis after reaching them last year in 3A.
For the No. 5 Cavaliers (9-4), it was yet another deep playoff run. It was the seventh year in a row they reached at least the quarterfinals. They also won their third Region 5 title in four seasons.
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