Buford and Carrollton were among the big winners this past weekend in Georgia high school football’s state semifinals and are among the handful of teams headed to the GHSA state finals in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium Dec. 15-17.
Eleven of the 16 semifinal contests were blowouts, with the margin of victory in those games averaging over 26 points. The Class 5A playoffs this past weekend included just two teams from the quarterfinals: Gainesville and Hughes.
Class 6A
One of those games that was surprisingly not close turned out to be Valdosta versus Buford. This was one of the most anticipated matchups of the semifinals with two of the most storied programs in the state of Georgia in a rare contest between the two programs, yet it turned out to be another blowout on a night that had many games decided by the end of the third quarter.
Buford never trailed in the game, which was played under the threat of rainy conditions throughout the night in Valdosta, Georgia. Buford took the first lead of the night with a 37-yard field goal from Andrew Ivanciuc. The Wolves took an 11-0 lead after running back Jameer Cantrell broke off an 89-yard sprint to the end zone, racing past Valdosta defensive backs on the way to paydirt and a 10-0 lead. Ivanciuc’s extra point made the score 11-0 heading into the locker room at the half.
A lone Valdosta touchdown early in the third quarter cut the lead to 11-7, but that was as close as the Wildcats got. The Wolves reeled off four additional touchdowns in the second half on their way to a 39-7 rout of the hometown Cats in one of the Class 6A Georgia high school football semifinals.
Buford head football coach Bryant Appling was happy with the win, but thought his team actually could have taken advantage of some other opportunities.
“We played well, but we left some opportunities out there in all three phases,” Appling said. “But that is what complimentary football is all about. We must have each other’s backs at all times to ensure that you have an opportunity to win a game like this.”
The game against Valdosta was similar to Buford’s quarterfinal game a week earlier when they led Douglas County 9-0 at the half. Like Douglas County in that game, Valdosta came out with an early touchdown in the third quarter to make it a one-score game, with Buford immediately answering with a touchdown of its own for a two-possession lead. Buford’s defense took over in both games, allowing the Wolves’ offense to extend the lead to a point of no return for Valdosta.
I asked Appling about how big of a difference his defensive effort made in the win over the Wildcats, just as it did against Douglas County.
“It was huge,” Appling said. “It takes a total team effort, though. We made explosive plays in all three phases that don’t show up on the stat sheet as difference makers, but I was proud of the team as a whole the way they played together and gutted out the win.”
Buford and Carrollton are now set to face each other in the GHSA Class 6A state championship game in Atlanta following Carrollton’s dominant 48-21 defeat of North Gwinnett in their semifinal matchup.
Class 5A: Hughes-Gainesville Quarterfinal Recap
The Class 5A semifinals will take place on Dec. 11 with Thomas County Central hosting Roswell and Gainesville hosting Rome.
The Gainesville Red Elephants were able to put aside a two-week period of off-the-field distractions to notch a stunning defeat of the favored Hughes Panthers 40-32 on the road in Fairburn, Georgia.
The Red Elephants and Panthers were tied in the first half until Gainesville scored two second-quarter touchdowns to lead 27-13 heading into the locker room at intermission.
Gainesville extended the lead to 34-13 with a third-quarter score and held on to win 40-32 despite a late surge from head coach Andrico Hines’ Hughes squad.
Gainesville head football coach Josh Niblett talked about the challenges of keeping his team focused on the task at hand while staying in the fight to keep the more than three dozen suspended players active for the all-important quarterfinal contest.
“It has certainly been challenging, probably more the first week than this past week, but this is a special group with a lot of faith,” Niblett said of his team. “It is all about consistency and competition of each day within the week to keep what we do normal. This group loves football, but they love each other more. Our M.O. in the playoffs has been #LOCKINLOCKOUT, (meaning) stay locked in on what matters and lock out the things that don’t matter. Our program has done that throughout this whole ordeal.
“God is good. He who started a good thing in you, will finish a good thing in you.”
Class 4A
In the Class 4A semifinals, the Creekside Seminoles looked as they have all season long: unstoppable. They had no problem with the Kell Longhorns in their semifinal matchup, winning 35-6.
Creekside is winning football games with an offense that seems to be able to score at will. The Seminoles also have a defense that has allowed only 20 points in their four playoff contests.
The next team up that will try to stop the locomotive of Creekside will be the Benedictine Cadets of head coach Danny Britt.
Benedictine is no stranger to playing in big games and against great teams. The Cadets played a good Marist team in their semifinal matchup last week and won 28-20 to advance to yet another state championship game under Britt, who has won four state titles so far in 15 years at the Cadets’ helm.
Their quest to win number five may just be their toughest challenge yet.
Class 3A
The Jefferson Dragons defeated underdog challenger West Laurens 17-13 in one of the few close semifinal matchups to advance to its second straight Class 3A state championship game and sixth overall state title game appearance.
The Dragons will take on the Sandy Creek Patriots after Sandy Creek knocked off LaGrange 42-24 in their semifinal matchup, led by running back Amari Latimer.
It was Sandy Creek’s second win over the Grangers this season after the two region foes met earlier this year in the regular season. It was LaGrange’s second straight loss in the state semifinals.
Class 2A
In Class 2A, Sumter County and head coach Will Rogers were hoping for another shot at Carver-Columbus, but they weren’t able to escape the clutches of Hapeville, falling by a touchdown 24-18 in overtime. Sumter County had played Carver-Columbus earlier this season, falling by a point in what was the closest contest by a Carver-Columbus opponent.
Hapeville earned the right to face the powerful Carver-Columbus Tigers in the state championship game. Hapeville enters the contest looking for its second ever state championship, while Carver-Columbus is seeking its second consecutive state title.
Carver-Columbus met Burke County in its semifinals game in a rematch of last season’s Class 2A state final. Like last year, Carver-Columbus proved to be too tough for Burke County, winning by 19 points in a 33-14 rout.
Class 1A-Division I
In the Class 1A-Division I semifinals, the Worth County Rams and Toombs County Bulldogs won their respective games with relative ease.
The Rams took an early lead and never looked back, winning 33-12 over the upstart Pepperell Dragons in Sylvester, Georgia.
Worth County will now play defending state champion Toombs County, who defeated a good Heard County squad 40-14 in its semifinal match.
Toombs County’s only loss this season was against Class 5A powerhouse Rome earlier this year. Worth County is undefeated, making this matchup a must-see toss-up in the Class 1A-Division I state championship.
Class 1A-Division II
In the Class 1A-Division II semifinals, Clinch County and head coach Jim Dickerson’s hopes of returning to the state finals ended with a loss to the same Bowdon team that beat them in last year’s quarterfinals.
Bowdon jumped out to an early commanding lead that they never relinquished, winning 45-6.
The Red Devils, led by Bowdon head football coach Rich Findley, will now try for their fourth consecutive state title as they face Lincoln County in a battle of the Red Devils.
The Red Devils from Lincolnton left no doubt that they are back with their 34-0 shutout victory over the Early County Bobcats in the semifinals.
Lincoln County, long considered one of the true blue blood programs in the state’s rich history of high school football, has nonetheless been absent from the big stage of a state final since 2006. That was the last time they played for a state championship. Now, they’ll try to win the program’s second overall state title.
Private (Class 1A-3A)
Another team looking to repeat as state champion is Hebron Christian, led by head football coach Kenny Dallas.
Hebron Christian stopped Greater Atlanta Christian’s bid to also return to prominence among small school powers in the Peach State, defeating the Spartans 50-24 in the semifinals. In the process, Hebron Christian matched or eclipsed the 50-point mark for the third straight time in the playoffs. Prior wins include a 53-20 victory over Trinity Christian and last week’s 63-20 victory over Prince Avenue Christian.
Hebron Christian will take on Calvary Day, who is making its first trip to the state finals in 12 years after knocking off Fellowship Christian 24-7 in the semifinals. It will be the second overall trip to the state finals for Calvary Day.
Schedule for GHSA football state championships
Monday, Dec. 15:
- 3:30 p.m. – Class 1A-Division II: Lincoln County vs. Bowdon
- 7 p.m. – Class 4A: Benedictine vs. Creekside
Tuesday, Dec. 16:
- 2 p.m. – 1A-Division I: Worth County vs. Toombs County
- 5 p.m. – Class 2A: Carver-Columbus vs. Hapeville Charter
- 8 p.m. – Class 6A: Buford vs. Carrollton
Wednesday, Dec. 17:
- 1 p.m. – Private (Class 1A-3A): Hebron Christian vs. Calvary Day
- 4:15 p.m. – Class 3A: Sandy Creek vs. Jefferson
- 7:30 p.m. – Class 5A: Thomas County Central/Roswell vs. Gainesville/Rome (teams will be decided after 5A semifinals are played on Dec. 11)
