It’s too early to anticipate at this point, but the likelihood of a rematch between the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane and Cook Hornets in the 2A state championship, to be settled at The Benz, is there. And what an intriguing matchup that would be.
It wouldn’t just be Region 1 rivals going at it on the biggest stage. The bad blood would run deeper because of what happened earlier this season. In October, the GHSA opened an investigation on a Cook player it had already deemed eligible to play after transferring from Lowndes, based on new information provided on the player by Fitzgerald. The Cane alerted the GHSA to the relationship between the player and an assistant who joined Cook’s staff after coaching at Lowndes the prior year.
GHSA bylaw 1.72 requires a player that transfers schools to follow a coach sit out a year, and the organization originally chose to apply that rule to the player, announcing the Hornets had to forfeit five games, a move that all but eliminated them from the playoffs, which they’d qualified for every season since 2000.
However, a Georgia superior court judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the GHSA from implementing its five-game ban on Cook. In the meantime, on the field, Cook hosted beat Fitzgerald 14-7 on the same day of the court ruling. Given the court’s involvement, the case was revisited by the GHSA board of trustees after an appeal from Cook, and the player’s eligibility was restored, along with the five victories.
Neither Cook or Fitzgerald have lost since, and if they win on Friday, it would represent and epic rematch.
However, the Pierce County Bears and Rockmart Yellow Jackets will have a lot to say about that and if both teams get their way, they’ll be the ones playing each other in the championship, which is set for 1p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12.
(For the most updated Class 2A bracket, go here.)
The No. 3 Bears (10-3) host the No. 10 Cane (10-3), and the No. 6 Jackets (11-2) host the No. 9 Hornets (11-2) on Friday. Here’s a look at how each semifinalist advanced past the quarterfinals.
Upper-left
The Cane won their rematch of the 2020 championship, beating No. 5 Callaway 17-14 on the road. They were down 14-10 after halftime, but scored the game’s final points late in the third quarter on a Bill Boone 3-yard run. The score was set up by a 52-yard pass from Wilson Davis to Quincy Deberry. The Cane tried to add to the lead with a touchdown, opting to go for it on fourth down over a field goal, but the Cavs stuffed them on the run.
“I didn’t feel like being up six was better than three,” Cane coach Tucker Pruitt said.
Pruitt said the Cane made an in-game adjustment to account for Callaway’s passing game. The Cane shut the Cavs out in the second half.
“Going in, the plan was to keep them in front of us,” Pruitt said. “We were worried about the run game, their quarterback in the run game, and their receivers running past us and taking shots (in the passing game). The first half, Callaway’s offense was moving well, but they fumbled their first pssession on the 1-yard line and we went up 7-0.
“We decided in the second half, we were going to dare them to run it. We prioritized playing their passing game, and that’s what we did. We had a guy on the perimeter for screens, so he box was one person lighter, but we stopped them with that and kept pressure on the quarterback. I think we forced three three-and-outs.”
Though the Cane forced three turnovers, they gave away two on consecutive plays, which gave Callaway the lead.
“Equally, on our side, we never got going on offense because their defense was outstanding,” Pruitt said. “It was a physical game on the line of scrimmage, like an old-school game from the 1960s.”
Diondre Paschal led the Cane with 65 yards on 10 carries. The Cane out rushed Callaway 188-54 and Callaway out threw the Cane 185-111.
Lower-left
The Bears won a rematch from last year’s quarterfinals, beating the No. 8 Paladins 49-17 at home.
“It was a big game for us,” Bears coach Ryan Herring said. “They beat us in the quarterfinals last year, so our kids were looking forward to it. (Fellowship) has 3-4 D-I players, their tackle, their quarterback and a couple of receivers, and they had some good skill players. For our kids, it was a tough week of preparation. There was a mental strain during the week because we had to do somethings we don’t always do to stop their run and pass games.
“The kids did a great job executing on both sides. (The staff) didn’t waive a magic wand, they went out and played hard and executed.”
Bears quarterback Caden McGatha rushed for 280 yards and five touchdowns on 36 carries, throwing for another touchdown and 73 yards on 3-for-6 passing.
The Bears defense held the Paladins to their lowest point total of the season. Their previous low was 28 to Rabun County on Sept. 29.
“Our defense is not that big at all,” Herring said. “Our biggest guy is probably 220 pounds, and that’s our outside linebacker. Their certainly not the heaviest kids. But they’re playing hard and they’re real coachable. They like playing for each other and there’s a real love there. Our bond is our strength.”
Upper-right
In another lopsided contest, the Jackets beat the No. 4 Toombs County Bulldogs 45-21. They’ve now outscored playoff opponents 129-35.
“Credit to our guys and how they prepared this past week,” Jackets coach Biff Parson said. “We accepted a tough challenge against a tough, very scary Toombs County team that was playing flawless football. We had the mindset this was going to be a four-quarter fight and we prepared that way. The small things matter in these-type games and our staff did a good job of game planning, and the kids did a great job of executiting.”
Parson credits the defense for forcing Toombs County to punt on the game-opening drive, which they followed with an 11-play drive and a field goal. The Bulldogs’ next possession was a 70-yard pick-six from junior cornerback Tristan Anderson to make it 10-0. They forced another punt, stalled on the ensuing drive but a Toombs County penalty extended it and the Jackets scored another touchdown to go up 17-0.
The Jackets led 24-7 at halftime after stopping Toombs County inside its 1 on two plays as the second quarter ended.
“That was a really big moment because they drove the field in two minutes,” Parson said. “If they’d made it a 10-point game going into the locker room, that would have been a much closer game than anyone wanted.”
The Jackets scored the first points of the second half to go up 31-7 and never looked back. Calliyon Thompson was 11 of 15 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns, adding two more touchdowns and 55 yards on 11 carries. Brent Washington had 101 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, and Nahzir Turner had 106 yards and a touchdown on five catches. All are seniors.
Lower-right
The Hornets escaped with a 23-20 win over Columbia, the last remaining team that entered the tournament unranked.
“I give all the credit to the assistants and the kids,” Hornets coach Byron Slack said. “When we started out, I don’t know if we surprised some people, or what, but we get everyone’s best effort and that’s what you want. That’s a testament to Columbia. I’ve coached a number of years, and their tailback (4-star Arkansas commit Jaden Baugh) is as good as I’ve seen. I’ll rank him up there. Six-two, 220, catches the ball like a reciever, blocks like a fullback, moves like a tailback. He’s a great player, but our kids stayed the course and stuck to our plan. When a kid like (Baugh) starts making plays like an SEC running back, we didn’t get rattled. We were able to stare him in the face and finish the drill.”
The Hornets took a 13-0 lead when Rashad Pippins charged through to the backfield and cut off an option pitch, intercepting it and returning 35 yards for the touchdown. At the end of the second quarter, they lost a fumbled snap and Columbia recovered it on the Hornets 2. However the defense forced a Columbia fumble that went through the end zone and back to Cook for a touchback.
“That was a huge turnover as they were going into the end zone,” Slack said.
Columbia had a chance to take the lead with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter when Pippins pulled down his second interception, this one at the 2-yard line, with 49 seconds left, clinching the win.
Keshun McKever had 145 yards on 27 carries. Ny’Shaun Wallace had 41 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. Tereon Jones had 33 yards and a touchdown on five carries, and six tackles and a sack on defense.
About the Author
