Sprayberry, Cambridge and River Ridge collected the first state-playoff victories in their schools’ histories Friday in the Class 6A first round, which was relatively free of upsets and drama.
Sprayberry, the No. 3 seed from Region 6, had waited the longest for its first win in the state playoffs, ending a 65-year drought with a 34-14 victory on the road against Creekview. The Yellow Jackets previously had won region playoff games and reached the quarterfinals in 1978 and 1982, when the state playoffs consisted of only the eight region champions. They lost those two quarterfinal games and had been 0-6 in the postseason since the state expanded the playoffs to 32 teams in 1996.
Cambridge, making its second playoff appearance since opening in 2012, got its first postseason victory when it beat Kell 36-14. The Bears, seeded third from Region 7, got 176 yards rushing and three touchdowns from Phillip Michael Collins. Cambridge led 20-0 in the third quarter and held on. Kell had been 9-1 in first-round games over the past 10 seasons.
Sprayberry and Cambridge were the only first-round winners that had been pegged as underdogs by the computer Maxwell Ratings. Sprayberry was a five-point underdog against Creekview, and Cambridge was a nine-point underdog against Kell.
The Yellow Jackets and Bears also were two of only three teams that won on the road in the first round, as higher-seeded teams went 13-3. The other was Brunswick, which beat Alcovy 41-6. Brunswick finished in a three-way tie with Glynn Academy and Richmond Hill for first place in Region 2 but ended up as the No. 3 seed because of the region’s tiebreakers.
River Ridge won its first state-playoff game when it beat Kennesaw Mountain 35-34 in overtime in the only close game of the first round. River Ridge opened in 2009 and had made one previous trip to the playoffs, in 2012, when it lost to Grady 27-17 in a Class 4A game. The Knights won their first region championship this season. Kennesaw Mountain, also was seeking its first playoff win, opened in 2000 and was making its first postseason appearance.
River Ridge took a 35-28 lead Friday night on Amehre Morrison’s 15-yard touchdown run on the first play of the overtime period. Three plays later, Kennesaw Mountain pulled within 35-34 on a 13-yard reception by Jaylen Hill. The Mustangs went for the two-point conversion, but the Knights stopped it to preserve the win.
“I’ve got no regrets about anything that was called, anything that happened,” Kennesaw Mountain coach Caleb Carmean told Patrick J. O’Shea of the Marietta Daily Journal. “I’ve told our kids all year, when in doubt, I’m always going to bet on us. I’m always going to bet on Kennesaw Mountain football players.”
River Ridge’s victory was the only first-round game decided by fewer than 20 points.
-Here are the first-round scores and the matchups for Round 2:
First round
Valdosta 52, Lovejoy 14
Evans 42, Statesboro 21
Sprayberry 34, Creekview 14
Carrollton 55, Winder-Barrow 7
Cambridge 36, Kell 14
Buford 48, Douglas County 0
Hughes 27, Northside-Warner Robins 0
Glynn Academy 42, Grovetown 3
Rome 35, Habersham Central 14
River Ridge 35, Kennesaw Mountain 34
Brunswick 41, Alcovy 6
Lee County 49, Tucker 17
Richmond Hill 56, Lakeside-Evans 0
Westlake 42, Houston County 10
Dacula 49, Alexander 24
Allatoona 24, Johns Creek 0
Second round
(R1 #2) Valdosta at (R3 #1) Evans
(R6 #3) Sprayberry at (R5 #1) Carrollton
(R7 #3) Cambridge at (R8 #1) Buford
(R4 #2) Hughes at (R2 #1) Glynn Academy
(R5 #2) Rome at (R7 #1) River Ridge
(R2 #3) Brunswick at (R1 #1) Lee County
(R2 #2) Richmond Hill at (R4 #1) Westlake
(R8 #2) Dacula at (R6 #1) Allatoona
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