Home teams were 14-2 in the first round of the state playoffs with No. 3 seed Troup (14-10 win over Cairo) and No. 3 seed Lovett (31-24 win over Madison County) being the only road teams to advance. In the case of Troup, two first-half touchdowns proved enough for the Tigers to upend Region 1 No. 2 Cairo and advance to the second round. Noah Dixon scored on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter to put Troup up 7-0. The Tigers extended the lead on a 54-yard touchdown pass with two minutes before halftime. Cairo scored on a 38-yard pass from Juderek Gee-Simmons to KJ Spence with eight minutes left in the third quarter and a 32-yard field goal from Andrid Rojas with four minutes left in the third quarter capped scoring. Lovett got a first-round road win over Region 8 two-seed Madison County to move on to the second round for the 17th time in 19 seasons under head coach Mike Muschamp. Lovett held a 24-17 advantage at the break after two rushing scores by Kalil Townes, another from Preston Lusink, and a forced fumble and onside kick recovery by Ford Diffley and Colin Carroll, respectively. The Red Raiders knotted the game in the third quarter, but the Lions recovered a Madison County fumble midway through the fourth before adding the game-winning rushing touchdown to secure the win.
No. 1 ranked Benedictine notched its second-straight shutout in a 41-0 win over Baldwin and No. 2 ranked North Oconee improved to 11-0 with a 52-13 win over Pace Academy. Quarterback Max Wilson threw touchdown passes to Damoni Taylor and Luke Waterworth and added a rushing score as well. Additionally, Justin Curtis found the end zone twice, and Landon Roldan and Tate Titshaw contributed one touchdown run apiece. Titshaw also came up with a fumble recovery near the goal line in the third quarter, and JJ Poole’s field goal provided the remainder of the Titans’ points.
Spalding was tied at 12-12 heading into the fourth quarter and trailed 21-14 before clinching its 34-21 win over Wayne County. Cur’Tavian Clark passed to Cedric Evans on a 35-yard touchdown to tie the game. With 6:24, Spalding added another score to take a 28-21 lead and with 3:44 left, Clark found Evans again on a 20-yard touchdown to extend the lead. Dwight Terrell scored on a 45-yard run to open scoring. Spalding took a 14-7 lead after a blocked kick by Ronald Moore was returned 65-yards for a touchdown by Dylon Henderson.
No. 10-ranked LaGrange will make its third second-round appearance in four seasons under head coach Matt Napier after defeating Region 1 three-seed Westover. The 45-6 victory was the seventh in a row for the Grangers, who have outscored their opponents 292-46 during that span and will travel to top-ranked Benedictine next week. … The Region 3 Champion Cadets handed Region 2 four-seed Baldwin a 41-0 loss in the opening round — their second-straight shutout. … No. 8-ranked Starr’s Mill will host Region 3 two-seed New Hampstead next week after a 48-0 shutout of visiting Shaw. The Panthers have won eight of their last nine and will look to advance past the second round for the first time since 2019. … No. 9-ranked Stephenson put up a season-high 62 points (62-15) against visiting four-seed Northwest Whitfield to secure back-to-back second-round appearances for the first time since 2014. … Third-ranked Bainbridge took a quick 14-0 lead with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, both of which came off interceptions, en route to a 49-14 win over visiting Trinity Christian. The Bearcats will host No. 7-ranked Perry in the second round. … No. 5-ranked Central-Carroll remains undefeated after a 41-33 narrow first-round win over Region 6 four-seed Hapeville Charter. First-year head coach Umbrah Brown’s Lions will host Region 5 three-seed Lovett next week.
FIRST ROUND RESULTS
R4#3 Troup 14, R1#2 Cairo 10
R2#1 Spalding 34, R3#4 Wayne County 21
R6#2 Westminster 27, R7#3 Heritage-Catoosa 17
R5#1 Stockbridge 48, R8#4 North Hall 0
R4#2 LaGrange 45, R1#3 Westover 6
R3#1 Benedictine 41, R2#4 Baldwin 0
R7#2 Cedartown 21, R6#3 Holy Innocents’ 7
R8#1 North Oconee 52, R5#4 Pace Academy 13
R5#3 Lovett 31, R8#2 Madison County 24
R7#1 Central-Carroll 41, R6#4 Hapeville Charter 33
R3#2 New Hampstead 40, R2# Westside-Macon 12
R4#1 Starr’s Mill 48, R1#4 Shaw 0
R5#2 Luella 26, R8#3 East Forsyth 21
R6#1 Stephenson 62, R7#4 Northwest Whitfield 15
R2#2 Perry 35, R3#3 Burke County 14
R1#1 Bainbridge 48, Trinity Christian 14
