The football playoffs are down to the quarterfinals. Here are previews of the four Class 7A games Friday night.
*Walton (12-0) at Carrollton (11-1): This is a rematch of the 2022 quarterfinal that Carrollton won 52-27. Ju Ju Lewis passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns in that game. Caleb Odom had 120 yards receiving. Both are back. Lewis was 14-of-25 passing for 209 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-28 victory over Valdosta in the second round. Carrollton, ranked No. 5, led 10-7 at halftime, then scored four touchdowns in the first eight minutes of the second half. Kimauri Farmer rushed for 160 yards. He’s run for 1,260 on the season. Carrollton has won 11 straight games since an opening loss to Hughes to reach the quarterfinals for the eighth straight season, the first six in lower classifications. Walton, ranked No. 2, is 12-0 for the second time in history and first since the 2011 team reached the state final. Walton beat North Gwinnett 48-19 in the second round and has scored at least five touchdowns in every game. Walton typically is more of a passing team, as Wake Forest-committed QB Jeremy Hecklinski has thrown for a Class 7A-best 3,029 yards, but the Raiders produced two 100-yard rushers – Makari Bodiford (105) and Austin Williams (131) – last week. North Gwinnett’s Ryan Hall passed for 332 yards in defeat.
*Camden County (9-3) at Mill Creek (12-0): Mill Creek, the defending Class 7A champion, beat Peachtree Ridge 59-20 in the second round. The Hawks led 35-0 at halftime after Trey Walker recovered a blocked punt in the end zone and Luke Metz returned an interception for a touchdown. Cam Robinson rushed for 161 yards and became Mill Creek’s all-time leading rusher with 3,534 yards. This is Mill Creek’s sixth quarterfinal in nine seasons. This is Camden County’s first since 2012, which was coach Jeff Herron’s last season with Wildcats before returning in 2021. Camden beat McEachern 26-0 in the second round. Ja’Marley Riddle rushed for 118 yards and intercepted two passes. Jaden Dailey rushed for 113. Camden, a Wing-T team, has completed one pass in two playoffs games. Camden upset No. 7 Newton 29-15 in the first round and is the only Class 7A quarterfinalist with two playoff victories on the road.
*Buford (11-1) at Grayson (10-2): As measured by wins, region championships and state titles, these are the two most successful programs in Gwinnett County since Grayson came into existence in 2000. This will be their first meeting, largely because they haven’t been in the same classification until Buford joined Class 7A in 2022. Buford is ranked No. 4, with its only loss against No. 1 Mill Creek. The Wolves defeated Norcross 28-25 in the second round after leading 28-10 entering the fourth quarter. Norcross got back in the game with an interception return for a touchdown. Buford ran out the final 3:38. Dylan Raiola, who is committed to Georgia, was 9-of-17 passing for 174 yards and four touchdowns. Grayson, ranked No. 6, beat North Paulding 42-18 last week. Jeff Davis was 17-of-20 passing for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Davis and Raiola have similar season passing statistics. Davis has thrown for 2,606 yards and 32 touchdowns. Raiola has thrown for 2,684 yards and 34 touchdowns. Each has one interception.
*Colquitt County (12-0) at Milton (10-2): This is the first meeting between the two since the 2018 Class 7A game that Milton won 14-13 in one of the bigger upsets in state finals history. Colquitt County, ranked No. 3, beat Westlake 38-19 in the second round. Colquitt has scored at least 35 points in each game. Neko Fann, injured in the first round and questionable for the second, was 10-of-22 passing for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Ramsey Dennis rushed for 105 yards. Colquitt’s marquee player is WR Ny Carr, a Miami commit with 1,168 yards receiving and 20 TD receptions. Milton beat Collins Hill 42-21 in the second round. Luke Nickel, who is committed to Miami, was 20-of-27 passing for 298 yards and four touchdowns, four to C.J. Wiley, who had seven receptions for 174 yards. Nickel’s 2,986 passing yards rank second in Class 7A. Wiley’s 1,246 receiving yards rank first.
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