It was a rough week for most of our area teams in the first round of the GHSA football playoffs, but we still have playoff football in Northeast Georgia this Friday!
Here are five things we learned from the first week of the high school playoffs:
1. REGION 8-3A "TOURNAMENT" IS STILL GOING
Cherokee Bluff beat Monroe Area for the second time this season, and this time it was more decisive. Yes, the Bears won big the first time around, but the score didn't reflect how close the game actually was. Friday night, the Bears left no doubt in a 28-7 win over the 'Canes. Jefferson blew past Monroe, while Oconee County shut the door on Westside, Augusta, setting up a "region tournament semfinal" this week for the chance to get to a potential matchup with the Bluff in the state quarterfinals.
2. BUFORD SHOWS DOMINANCE
It might have been a slow start for the Wolves, but once they got going, boy were they impressive. The Wolves pounded out 253 rushing yards and had seven rushers with at least 10 yards and none over 100. Not to mention Dayton Raiola had just 14 passing attempts and still threw for 227 yards. The potential matchups for Buford are mouth watering for football fanatics, including this week's showdown at Tom Riden against Lowndes. We will see if anyone can stop what Buford is doing right now.
3. NORTH HALL WINS THRILLER
We knew Gilmer's offense was going to cause some fits for North Hall, but what we didn't expect was a low scoring affair that went to overtime. But what we saw Friday night at The Brickyard is something that might have surprised a lot of people after the early season games for North Hall...the defense carried the Trojans. The offense was slow out of the gates and couldn't find a lot of footing, but the defense and special teams kept the Trojans in the game and had the highlight of the night with the fourth down stop in overtime to win the game. We expect the Trojan offense to come back to life this week, but if the defense keeps playing like this, we could have a lot more football in The Brickyard to wrap up November.
4. CHESTATEE SHOWS OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
Yes, the War Eagles lost their opening round game to third-seeded Peach County Friday night, but the War Eagles put a scare into the Trojans in the second half. Peach County jumped out to a huge lead before Chestatee started racking up points left and right, putting up 33 on one of the favorites to win the classification. What Stuart Cunningham and the War Eagles have done in the second half of the year is impressive, and they will be a force to be reckoned with next year in 6-3A. Watch out for what may be the sleeper pick to win the region next year.
5. COMMERCE WINS, FACES TOUGH TEST THIS WEEK
The Tigers had to hold on after a fumble late gave Bremen life in the opening round of the Class A Division I playoffs, but they did what they needed to do, getting a fourth down stop in the redzone to earn the win. The triple-headed monster of Jaiden Daniels, Tysean Wiggins and Jacari Huff all found the endzone at various points. They are going to need to do it again Friday night as they make the long road trip to Toombs County, a team they have never played, in a top-10 showdown in the second round of the playoffs. Can Commerce win? Sure they can, but they will need to protect the ball and grind out drives to have a shot.
