And then there were eight in the Class 7A football playoffs. Here’s a quick impression of each following Friday night’s second round.
*Lowndes beat North Cobb 21-13. That’s a good road win against a top-10 team. But has Lowndes been quite the same since the two-week October quarantine? Before, the Vikings routed Class 6A No. 1 Lee County and controlled games against quality opponents Archer and Valdosta. In the second half, they they’ve been pushed hard by Tift County, Camden County and North Cobb and got blown out by Colquitt County. They’ll have to win on the road again next week to advance.
*Milton beat Archer 17-9 Milton is 11-0, with its opening loss to Cedar Grove overturned by forfeit. Milton is one of several Fulton County teams that are doing great despite launching their season two weeks later than most. (Westside and Langston Hughes are others.) The Lowndes-Milton game will be at Milton.
*Parkview beat fifth-ranked East Coweta 41-14. If this had happened in September, it wouldn’t be surprising. Parkview opened No. 3 in the rankings but underachieved until now. Parkview might have a final-four team after all. The Coweta County teams (East Coweta, Newnan) didn’t have the playoff experience they wanted, but still a breakout season for them.
*Collins Hill beat Denmark 17-6. Collins Hill lost in overtime to East Coweta several weeks ago. That bodes well for Parkview, perhaps. For all the talk of Collins Hill’s offensive weapons (ie, Sam Horn and Travis Hunter), notice the Eagles haven’t given up as many as 28 points only one, and that was to Grayson. They’ve allowed 13 points total in the playoffs.
*Norcross beat Roswell 40-20. Norcross is 12-0 and won a coin toss this week to be home against Colquitt County in the quarterfinals. This is Norcross’ best shot at a special season since the 2013 state championship.
*Colquitt County beat Walton 35-12. If you just looked at the scores and history, you’d think Colquitt was the team to beat. The Valdosta game (24-10) was close for a while, but the rest have been convincing. Well, actually Colquitt led Walton only 7-6 in the third, but took control from there. Without Rush Propst, the Packers might actually be underestimated. Starting quarterback Xavier Williams is still out, though.
*Grayson beat Harrison 30-6. Good news is that Jake Garcia gives the Rams a new dimension as a passer. The bad news is that star running back Phil Mafah remains on the shelf with an ankle injury. The Rams are still the team to beat.
*West Forsyth beat North Gwinnett 17-16. West Forsyth is the first Forsyth County team to make the quarterfinals since South Forsyth in 2015. Nice win vs. North. West lost to North 41-7 in this round two years ago. And good job by Dave Svehla in his first season with the Wolverines.
