Chattahoochee-Starr's Mill scouting report

Chattahoochee (14-0)

The skinny

Pope coach Matt Kemper, whose team lost to Chattahoochee 42-14 in the first round, breaks down the Cougars’ offense and defense:

• Offense: They do a lot of things well. They're a pretty complete football team and don't have a lot of weaknesses. They're big up front, but at the same time they're pretty darn athletic. The quarterback does a great job of managing the game and spreading the ball around to the guys that they've got. [WR Kane] Whitehurst can score from anywhere. He's a very, very talented athlete. They use a couple of running backs that can hurt you.

• Defense: I think those guys are kind of overshadowed by that offense that puts up 40 points a game, but they're solid. They run around and are very athletic, especially at linebacker. You've got to try to find that weak link in the secondary, maybe, if there is one, and try to get your best guy matched up against that. They've got good speed at linebacker and on the line, so it's hard to run the ball against them. It looks like there's a hole opening up, but it doesn't stay open very long.

AJC rating: 39

• Run [8]: (200 yards per game) The Cougars have a balanced offense, and it all starts with quarterback Timmy Byerly. He is the team's leading rusher with 1,396 yards. Freshman Chase Nelson has averaged 10.7 yards on 51 carries.

• Pass [8]: (182 yards per game) Byerly has completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,553 yards, with 30 touchdowns and two interceptions. About half of his passes go to Whitehurst, who has 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and 17 TDs.

• Vs. run [5]: (185 yards per game) The Cougars have been vulnerable against the run, allowing more than 200 yards in a game six times this season and more than 300 three times. Linebacker Josh Gregory is the team's leading tackler.

• Vs. pass [9]: (77 yards per game) Only four teams passed for more than 100 yards against Chattahoochee this season. Hunter Thomas is the team leader with a school-record five interceptions.

• Special teams [9]: Senior Ammon Lakip won two playoff games with last-minute field goals. Whitehurst has averaged 51.1 yards on 15 kickoff returns and scored four touchdowns.

Need-to-know basis

• The history: Chattahoochee High, which opened in 1991, is located in north Fulton County's Johns Creek, which became a city Dec. 1, 2006. The school's athletic teams played in the highest classification for the first 19 years before dropping to Class AAAA this year. The Cougars are playing in the state championship for the first time; their previous best finish was a semifinal appearance in 1999, when the team went 10-4 under former coach Bill Waters.

• Last year: Did not make the playoffs in Class AAAAA.

Starting lineups

Offense

QB -- 6 Timmy Byerly, 6-0, 210, Sr.*

TB -- 34 Aaron Guerrant, 5-10, 165, So.

HB -- 8 Stephen Frankiewicz, 6-1, 215, Sr.

SB - 5 Kane Whitehurst, 5-11, 172, Sr.*

SB -- 22 Josh Gregory, 5-11, 187, Sr.*

SE -- 10 Hunter Thomas, 5-10, 175, Sr.

T -- 58 Matt Kiefer, 6-5, 270, Sr.*

G -- 72 Kirk Dumont, 5-11, 260, Sr.

C -- 59 Callan Gillison, 6-0, 265, Jr.

G -- 68 Matt Mills, 6-2, 307, Sr.*

T -- 67 Travis Skillingstad, 6-3, 270, Sr.*

PK -- 1 Ammon Lakip, 5-10, 170, Sr.*

Defense

DE -- 8 Stephen Frankiewicz, 6-1, 215, Sr.

NG -- 39 Logan Musser, 6-2, 235, Jr.

DE -- 43 Juan Gomez, 5-11, 207, Sr.

LB -- 21 Christian Sutherland, 6-0, 188, Sr.

LB -- 9 Cooper Campbell, 6-2, 185, Sr.*

LB -- 22 Josh Gregory, 5-11, 187, Sr.*

DB -- 20 Ben Blanks, 5-11, 170, Sr.

DB -- 4 Chris Johnson, 5-10, 168, Sr.*

CB -- 18 Will Johnson, 5-11, 170, Jr.

CB -- 23 Trey Hart, 5-11, 177, Jr.

FS -- 10 Hunter Thomas, 5-10, 175, Sr.

P -- 1 *Ammon Lakip, 5-10, 170, Sr.

* FBS (formerly Division I-A) recruits

Results

9/3 Lambert W 31-7

9/10 Forsyth Central W 35-14

9/17 Creekview W 42-7

9/24 Northwest Whitfield W 45-15

10/1 Johns Creek W 48-14

10/8 Woodland-Cartersville W 52-14

10/15 Sequoyah W 45-7

10/22 Cass W 49-14

10/29 South Forsyth W 52-14

11/5 Rome W 44-7

11/12 Pope W 42-14

11/19 Marist W 31-28

11/26 Dutchtown W 37-14

12/3 Statesboro W 22-21

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Starr's Mill (14-0)

The skinny

Griffin coach Steve DeVoursney, whose team lost to Starr’s Mill 24-7 on Nov. 5, breaks down the Panthers’ offense and defense.

• Offense: They've got a real good quarterback who's a coach's son that's not going to make many mistakes. They've got a running back who's real talented and runs hard. You've got to always know where those two are. Up front, they've got big offensive linemen, so they're solid. They've got good receivers, especially [Jeff Greene]. They throw the ball well, they run the option well, and they're big enough up front to pound it. They're just real well-rounded.