Chattahoochee Cougars Return To State Playoffs

By Mike Blum

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- The Chattahoochee High School Cougars return to the state playoffs for the first time since 2012, playing at Winder-Barrow in a AAAAAA first round game Friday, Nov. 10.

Also qualifying for the state playoffs is Mt. Pisgah, which has a first round bye Friday in the Class A private school division.

Chattahoochee at Winder-Barrow

The Cougars went 7-3 this season, placing third in Region 7-AAAAAA after losing 41-14 last week to Alpharetta with a share of the region title on the line, dropping the team’s region record to 6-2. Chattahoochee will be looking to win a shootout in a game between two teams that have struggled defensively against the better offensive teams on their schedules. The Cougars allowed 140 points in their three losses, and gave up 31, 41 and 28 points in their most recent wins. The Cougars made up for their defensive shortcomings by scoring 300 points on the season, but had problems moving the ball against the region champion Raiders last week, their second full game without starting quarterback Jack Corrigan.

A broken leg suffered just before halftime of a 46-41 win over Pope ended Corrigan’s season, with the Cougars almost letting a 39-13 halftime lead slip away. Chattahoochee won 50-28 the next week against Northview behind former JV quarterback Damon Stewart, but the Cougars were throttled last week by the region’s best defensive team.

Chattahoochee is unlikely to face a comparable defense this week, with the Bulldogs allowing 113 points
the past three weeks, losing two of the three to finish 8-2 after a 7-0 start. The Winder-Barrow quarterback averages almost 200 yards passing per game, with 17 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He also rushed for eight touchdowns, with the team averaging 165 yards per game on the ground.

The Bulldogs suffered their first loss 38-15 in their eighth game against 4-6 Gainesville, and after a 24-21 victory over Lanier, were routed 47-14 by region champion Dacula in their season finale with a chance to
get the region’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Winder-Barrow, Lanier and Gainesville tied for second in the region, and it took a while to determine the seeding for the three teams, with the Bulldogs awarded the
second seed and a first round home game. Winder-Barrow has lost in the first round each of the last three years, with the team’s last playoff appearance before that coming in 2003. The last time the Bulldogs won a playoff game was 1993.

The Cougars won a state championship in 2010, but after winning seasons and playoff appearances the next two years, did not have another winning record until this year. Corrigan, the latest in a long line of quality dual-threat Chattahoochee quarterbacks, was a big part of the team’s success, amassing more than 1,800 yards of offense with 16 touchdowns rushing and passing through 7-and-a-half games. He had four 100-yard rushing games, and gained 117 yards in the first half against Pope, adding 126 passing.

Stewart accounted for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns against Northview, but had problems
with a talented Alpharetta secondary, passing for just 47 yards on nine completions. The Cougars will need a big game from running back Max Webb, the area’s leading rusher with 1260 yards and 12 touchdowns on 198 carries. Webb has gained at least 80 yards in every Chattahoochee game this season, with six straight games over 100 yards before falling just shy of 100 against the Raiders last week.

The winner of Friday’s game advances to the second round against either Alexander or Harrison, which was among the favorites to contend for a state title before star quarterback Justin Fields was injured late in the season. If Alexander scores an upset win, the winner of Chattahoochee’s game will be the home team in the second round.

Patriots off the this week

Mt. Pisgah Christian School earned a first round bye thanks to a wild 49-42 victory last week over Trion in a Region 6-A crossover game. Both teams were state-ranked coming into the game and needed wins to earn a first round bye. The game was tied five times – at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 42, and Trion had a chance to pull out a win in the final minute before fumbling the football to the Patriots inside the Mt. Pisgah 20 with under 30 seconds to play.

Instead of running out the clock, Mt. Pisgah went for the win, with speedy receiver Kal Williams getting
behind the Trion defense to catch a game-winning, 83-yard touchdown pass from standout senior
quarterback Jacob Cendoya. The stunning play wrapped up another huge offensive night for Cendoya, who was 18-of- 24 passing for 429 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. On the season, Cendoya has passed for more than 2650 yards and 33 touchdowns and rushed for 1115 yards and 16 scores, giving him a combined 3775 yards and 49 touchdowns.

Williams, who caught seven passes for 200 yards and three scores in the win, has 52 receptions for 1119
yards and 13 TDs with David Woodward contributing around 850 yards and eight touchdowns receiving.
Trey Murphy caught six passes for 135 yards and two scores against Trion for a Mt. Pisgah offense that is
averaging 41 points a game.

Mt. Pisgah (8-2) is the seventh seed in the Class A private school playoffs, and will host the winner of the
Friday’s Brookstone-Savannah Country Day game next week.

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