Defending champions Grayson, North Oconee knocked out in quarterfinals

Carrollton and Marist defeated defending champions Grayson and North Oconee, ending the state’s two longest winning streaks, while Sumter County and West Laurens advanced to their first semifinals in history with playoff victories last week.

Worth County and Pepperell reached semifinals for the first time since the 1990s.

There were big comebacks as Jefferson beat Cairo 47-28 after trailing 21-0, and Burke County beat Rockmart 41-40 after trailing 27-7. Burke County scored the winning touchdown on a 31-yard pass with 11 seconds left.

There were walk-off field goals as Marist's Tyler Baradel made a 34-yarder to beat North Oconee 23-20, and Heard County’s Mac Googe made a 22-yarder to beat Fitzgerald 39-38.

There were epic player performances, as Hebron Christian's Devon Caldwell rushed for 351 yards and six touchdowns in a 63-20 victory over Prince Avenue Christian; Moonie Gipson had 273 yards from scrimmage (158 rushing, 115 receiving) in a 48-21 victory over second-ranked Cartersville; and Roswell's Wills Campbell had five receptions for 230 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-35 victory over Sequoyah.

There was one state record set and nearly another.

Bowdon’s Kaiden Prothro set the standard for career receiving touchdowns, as he added four to his total, now at 63, in a 49-22 victory over Jenkins County. Rabun County's Jaden Gibson (2019-22) held the previous mark of 59.

Benedictine scored the second-most points ever in a playoff game in an 80-32 victory over Central of Carrollton. The record belongs to Lowndes, which beat Hillgrove 92-61 in a 2017 first-round game.

Yet the top story, locally if not nationally, was Carrollton's 34-14 victory over Grayson, a team that entered with three No. 1 national rankings.

Grayson had won 26 consecutive games, including a 38-24 victory over Carrollton in the 2024 Class 6A final last December, and led this one 14-0 before Carrollton's avalanche.

That 2024 championship game represents Carrollton’s only loss over the past 26 games, and the Trojans entered with five top-12 national rankings of their own.

Carrollton, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, are back at home this week against eighth-ranked North Gwinnett, a 25-15 winner over West Forsyth. No. 2 Buford will play at No. 5 Valdosta in the other semifinal.

The Class 5A quarterfinals were relatively uneventful, as No. 2 Thomas County Central, No. 3 Roswell and No. 8 Rome won as favored teams. The bigger news came Wednesday, when the GHSA postponed the fourth quarterfinal – No. 4 Gainesville at No. 1 Hughes — and plans to wait as courts sort out the status of Gainesville’s more than 30 suspended players from the Nov. 21 victory over Brunswick in the second round.

In Class 4A, Marist ended reigning champ North Oconee’s 27-game winning streak, longest of the decade. North Oconee beat Marist 14-7 in last year’s state finals. Marist, ranked No. 6, will play No. 4 Benedictine this week while No. 1 Creekside plays No. 5 Kell in the other semifinal.

In Class 3A, No. 7 West Laurens beat No. 6 Jenkins 21-16. West Laurens, in its 54th season of football, had been 0-5 in quarterfinals. West Laurens will play at No. 3 Jefferson. No. 1 Sandy Creek and No. 8 LaGrange are in the other semifinal.

Sumter County made its history in Class 2A with a 39-20 victory over No. 2 Carver of Atlanta. Sumter County will be at home against No. 7 Hapeville Charter. No. 1 Carver of Columbus and No. 9 Burke County are in the other semifinal in a rematch of the 2024 final.

In Class A Division I, No. 1 Worth County beat Gordon Lee 17-7 while Pepperell beat unranked Rabun County 34-0.

Worth’s most recent semifinal appearance was in 1991. Pepperell’s was in 1998. Pepperell is the only unranked semifinal team in any class that. The two will play each other while No. 2 Toombs County and No. 3 Heard County meet in the other semifinal.

No. 1 Lincoln County, No. 2 Clinch County, No. 3 Bowdon and No. 8 Early County are the semifinals teams in Class A Division II. Bowdon is a three-time defending champion.

In the Class 3A-A Private division, No. 1 Hebron Christian, No. 2 Fellowship Christian, No. 3 Calvary Day and No. 8 Greater Atlanta Christian got through.