It was a round of few surprised in Class 7A on Friday night. Here are some observations.
*Only one road team won, and only one top-10 team lost. Those came together in Harrison’s 26-24 victory over Newnan. Harrison, the Class 6A champion in 2019, started the season 0-4 and stood 3-5 entering the playoffs. Newnan was 9-1 and ranked No. 9. More amazing was the final minute of the game. Newnan led 24-20 with 49 seconds left and began taking a knee but on third down fumbled at its 3-yard line. Harrison recovered and scored two plays later.
*Colquitt County covered the ’'spread’' in its 49-3 victory over Brookwood, and that wasn’t easy. The computer Maxwell Ratings had Colquitt as a 31-point favorite. Surely, that wouldn’t hold up. And it was thought that Brookwood star QB Dylan Lonergan might not play after being injured in the final game of the regular season. Turns out that Lonergan did play, but Colquitt County’s starting quarterback, Xavier Williams, did not. Williams also was hurt in the final game of the regular season. In his place came Zane Touchton, who was 15-of-17 passing for 287 yards and four touchdowns.
*Two games were televised, and let’s just say GPB and Peachtree TV did a good job picking them. GPB covered the Parkview-Camden County game, which Parkview won 24-17 in overtime. Peachtree TV went with Mill Creek-Roswell, which Roswell won 28-27 after trailing 27-7.
*Denmark won its first playoff game in history, a 63-0 win over Discovery. Not surprising the Danes won, but the Forsyth County program has done well for itself in just its third season. Next week’s game with Collins Hill will feature two of the state’s best quarterbacks – Denmark’s Aaron McLaughlin and Collins Hill’s Sam Horn. They might be the leading contenders for all-state at the position.
*The best second-round game is probably No. 4 Lowndes at No. 8 North Cobb. Both won handily in the first round. Both teams have excellent dual-threat quarterbacks – North Cobb’s Malachi Singleton and Lowndes’ Jacurri Brown.
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