Roswell Teams Hit The Road For Second Round Of Playoffs

By Mike Blum

Centennial and Blessed Trinity scored easy victories on their home fields last week in the first round of
the state high school football playoffs, but face second round games Friday with two of the top teams in
their classifications. Fellowship Christian pulled out an overtime victory on the road to advance to the second round, and will again take on their opponent away this week.

Centennial at Mays

The Knights led 41-7 at the half against Lanier and went on to a 48-14 victory, the first playoff win for Centennial since 2002. The Knights (8-3) will play at Mays (10-1), the second-ranked team in AAAAAA,
Friday night. Mays had some problems against Sequoyah (6-5) in its first round game, with the Raiders outscoring Sequoyah 20-0 in the fourth quarter to win 48-28. The Chiefs gave Mays some problems with its wing-T offense, but the Raiders are more accustomed to defending against the spread offense that Centennial
employs.

The Raiders went 8-0 against a tough region, losing only their season opener 9-0 to unbeaten Stockbridge, the No. 3 team in AAAAA. Utilizing a pair of quarterbacks, the Raiders have averaged more than 200 passing yards a game, and have scored 423 points since being shut out in their opener, while allowing fewer than 10 points per game.

Mays has been a consistent playoff qualifier, with the Raiders’ last losing season in 2002, the year Centennial went 11-0 before losing in the second round of the playoffs. The Raiders reached the state finals in 2014 and the quarterfinals last year. Centennial has made consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since the early 2000's, and has won its last eight games after losing its first three.

The Knights had no problems last week with Lanier (6-5), taking advantage of three turnovers in the first half after Lanier took an early 7-0 lead. One of the turnovers was a 26-yard interception return by Blaine Mason to give the Knights a 21-7 lead in the opening period. Mason also caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Max Brosmer and had seven receptions for 110 yards, raising his season totals to 60 catches for 1214 yards and 12 TDs. Brosmer was 18 of 26 for 309 yards and two scores, and has 3159 yards on the season and 24 touchdown passes with just one interception in Centennial’s last seven games.

Freshman Julian Nixon caught five passes for 105 yards and rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown, and Cal Dickie contributed 105 yards on eight carries/receptions, scoring the Knights’ first two touchdowns on short runs. Jacob Albright scored the other Centennial touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Brosmer and Nicky Solomon kicked field goals of 47 and 22 yards, giving him 10 field goals on the season. The Knights amassed 440 yards of offense despite an off night for 1000-yard running back Emeka Nwanze, who managed just 15 yards on 12 carries. Friday’s winner will likely play No.1 Lee County in the quarterfinals.

Blessed Trinity at Cartersville

The two teams meet in a rematch of a 2012 second round playoff game, which Cartersville won 24-23 on its home field. Trailing 24-21 on the Cartersville 11 with nine seconds left in the game, Blessed Trinity coach Tim McFarlin went for the win with a fake field goal attempt, but the Purple Hurricanes intercepted a pass near the goal line and took a safety on the last play of the game.

The Titans amassed almost 500 yards in the game, but suffered six turnovers. BT led 21-17 midway through the fourth quarter before Cartersville drove for what proved to the winning score. The Titans responded with a drive of their own before the unsuccessful fake field goal attempt. Friday night, Blessed Trinity will be playing a Cartersville team that won state championships in 2015 and 2016 and is working on a 41-game winning streak. The Purple Hurricanes, ranked No. 1 in AAAA, are 53-2 the last four seasons, 11-0 this year, all played with Trevor Lawrence at quarterback.

Lawrence is considered to be the state’s top quarterback and one of the best in the country. He has passed for 3150 yards and 40 touchdowns this season with only one interception, and holds a number of career passing records in Georgia high school football history. The Purple Hurricanes also have a quality running back with 27 combined touchdowns rushing and receiving, and the Cartersville defense has allowed just 72 points in 10 wins against Georgia opponents.

Along with rolling through a region with some quality teams, the Purple Hurricanes own wins over Allatoona, Calhoun and Westlake. They won 49-21 last week over Pickens, leading 42-0 at halftime. The fifth-ranked Titans are 9-2 with losses to AAAAAAA opponent Marietta and Region 7-AAAA champion Marist, which edged BT 25-24 in a late-season game.

Blessed Trinity won its seventh straight first round game last week, defeating Oconee County 35-0. The Titans led 14-0 barely two minutes into the game and 28-0 at the half, scoring their final touchdown early in the third quarter. Steele Chambers, who gained 73 yards on only six carries, scored on a 15-yard run to open the BT scoring, and Ryan Davis caught a 24-yard TD pass from Jake Smith after the Titans recovered a fumble
on Oconee’s first offensive play. Smith scored on the first play of the second quarter and passed to James Bryant for 20 yards and a TD to make it 28-0 at the half.

Davis, who also had an interception on defense, scored the game’s final touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Smith, who was 9 of 13 for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Davis caught seven passes for 140 yards and two scores. The Titans recovered three Oconee fumbles to help preserve their shutout. The Titans sport a balanced attack, with Smith passing for 1740 yards and 13 touchdowns and Davis catching 53 passes for 1050 yards and 10 TDs. BT averages just over 200 yards a game on the ground led by Chambers (140-975-16) and Elijah Green (134-816-7).

Chambers and Davis are also among the Titans’ defensive leaders along with lineman J.R. Bivens, linebackers Jake Rudolph and J.D. Bertrand, and Alex Massey in the secondary. All but Rudolph are juniors, with BT expected to field a state title contender next season. Friday’s winner will play either Thomson or Americus-Sumter.

Fellowship Christian at Stratford Academy

The Paladins will travel to Macon to face Stratford (9-1), the No. 6 seed in the Class A private school playoffs. The Eagles had a bye last week while Fellowship outscored George Walton Academy 41-35 in overtime in Monroe.

Fellowship (7-4) defeated George Walton last season en route to the state finals, where the Paladins lost in overtime. The Paladins narrowly made the playoffs this season as the No. 22 seed in a 24-team field. The Paladins trailed 11 th seed George Walton 35-27 before scoring with about 3 ½ minutes to play on a 13-yard run by quarterback Brooks Bryant, who tied the game with a 2-point conversion run. The Paladins drove 65 yards for the game-tying score.

Fellowship scored first in overtime on a 3-yard run by Merrick Haigler, but failed on another 2-point attempt. George Walton could have won the game with a touchdown and an extra point, but the Paladins held on fourth-and-2 from the seven. Bryant accounted for all five FCS touchdowns in regulation, completing 11 of 17 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 57 yards and the game-tying TD and 2-pointer. Casey Barham caught six passes for 210 yards and touchdowns covering 67, 34 and 38 yards to give the Paladins a 21-7 lead.

After George Walton tied the game, Haigler scored on a 35-yard pass from Bryant midway through the third quarter, but FCS failed on a 2-point try. The Bulldogs took a 28-27 lead early in the fourth quarter and added to their lead after intercepting a Fellowship pass. The Paladins rolled up 475 yards total offense, 325 passing and 150 rushing. Haigler carried 21 times for 79 yards and Bryant added 57 yards on seven attempts. Cameron Gill led the defensive effort with seven tackles and 11 assists.

Stratford was 9-0 and won its sub-region before losing to Aquinas 30-27 in the Region 7-A championship
game. The Eagles have made the playoffs each of the last four years since joining the GHSA, reaching the
semifinals in 2015. Friday’s winner will likely play at No. 3 Mt. Paran in the quarterfinals.

In Friday’s other Class A private school playoff game involving a North Fulton team, Mt. Pisgah (8-2) will
host Savannah Country Day (9-2). Mt. Pisgah is seeded seventh and had a first round bye last week. Savannah Country Day is seeded 10 th and defeated Brookstone of Columbus 33-7 in the first round. The winner advances to the quarterfinals, likely at No. 2 Athens Academy.

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