PLAYOFFS: Buford, Commerce advance to semifinals; GHS, Jefferson fall

Some streaks continued while others came to a crashing halt Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the state football playoffs.<br /> <br /> Buford ran its streak of consecutive trips to the semifinals to eight with an impressive 30-6 win over Marist in Class AAAA in a battle of perennial state powers.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, Gainesville's run of semifinal berths was stopped at three after a gut-wrenching 24-17 loss to Allatoona in Class AAAAA. The Red Elephants let a 17-7 first quarter lead slip away with a late turnover that led to the game-winning score.<br /> <br /> Also, Region 8-AAA champ Jefferson saw its season come to an end in a 28-21 loss to Blessed Trinity in overtime. The Dragons trailed early, rallied in the second half, but could not muster the magic in overtime for a second trip in three years to the semifinals.<br /> <br /> It turned out to be a rough night all around for Region 8-AAA, which had three teams still alive. Hart County fell 14-0 to Westminster and Elbert County lost to Calhoun 19-17 as all three got knocked out.<br /> <br /> Commerce, however, advanced to the semifinals in Class A Public for the first time since winning the Class A state title in 2000. The Tigers held off Calhoun County 10-0 at home.<br /> <br /> Check our <b><a href="http://www.accessnorthga.com/fridaygamenight">Friday Game Night page</a></b> for in-depth game stories, video highlights and state scores from this week's contests.<br /> <br /> <b>FRIDAY'S STATE PLAYOFF FINALS:</b><br /> <b>CLASS AAAAA</b><br /> Allatoona 24, Gainesville 17<br /> <br /> <b>CLASS AAAA</b><br /> Buford 30, Marist 6<br /> <br /> <b>CLASS AAA</b><br /> Blessed Trinity 28, Jefferson 21 OT<br /> <br /> <b>CLASS A</b><br /> Commerce 10, Calhoun County 0