Class 4A has two historic semifinal clashes set for Friday night. Both matchups will be first-ever meetings between teams—a theme that has persisted throughout this postseason inside Class 4A. In fact, 23 of the 30 playoff games this year inside the classification have been first-ever matchups. The other overarching theme is that none of the semifinalists has dropped a game within the classification this season. Additionally, the two road teams this week will be making their longest road trips of the year; Marist has a 255-mile trip to Bainbridge and Jefferson has a 243-mile trip to Benedictine. Here’s a closer look at each of the matchups:
No. 1 Marist at No. 6 Bainbridge
Marist (11-0) makes its 23rd all-time semifinal appearance at Bainbridge (10-3) this Friday night. The host Bearcats have won nine-straight games and are coming off a massive 21-10 win over No. 7 ranked Cedartown that saw them rally back from a 10-7 halftime deficit. Bainbridge is 2-5 all-time in its semifinal appearances and 2-2 in its championship appearances (1982, 2018). Marist holds an 11-11 all-time record in its semifinal appearances and has dominated the competition all year long. In the playoffs. Marist has outscored its opponents Central-Carroll (49-0), Flowery Branch (24-0) and Perry (36-7) by a combined 109-7. Only two of 11 opponents have scored touchdowns against Marist this season and the War Eagles defense is allowing just 3.09 ppg this season, while the offense is posting 37 ppg.
No. 2 Jefferson at No. 4 Benedictine
Jefferson (11-0) took out No. 3 ranked Carver-Columbus 28-22 in last week’s quarterfinals after opening up the postseason with a 65-0 win over Mt. Zion and a 35-0 victory over Hapeville Charter. The Dragons are 3-2 all-time in the semifinals and boast a rushing attack that has accounted for 271.4 yards per game and a whopping 47 touchdowns. Additionally, Jefferson’s offense averages 44.2 ppg and its defense is allowing just 8.27 ppg. Benedictine (9-2) is 2-4 all-time in its semifinal appearances and has battled through three challenging arounds of opponents this postseason. The Cadets took out Troup 42-35 in the first round and then topped Cairo (45-23) and Riverdale (48-13) this past week. Benedictine quarterback Holden Geriner has accounted for 23 passing touchdowns with just one interception this season and has also rushed for six scores. As a team, Benedictine has averaged 241.4 passing yards per game this season. Wide receiver and three-sport star Trent Broadnax has tallied over 1,000 yards receiving this season and notched his 14th touchdown reception in last week’s win over Riverdale. Broadnax also returned a punt for a touchdown against the Raiders—marking his second punt return touchdown of the year.
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