One round of the playoffs is in the books, and half of our area teams ended up keeping their seasons alive.
Here are five things we learned in the first round of the GHSA high school football playoffs.
1. Jackson County looks like a legit contender.
The Panthers had never won a playoff game in program history. Friday they wasted little time showing that they have the pieces to win it all. The way Jackson County can score in any phase of the game is going to be crucial, especially given they have defending state champion Milton coming in on Friday night. If they can win the turnover battle and steal a possession or two, we might be saying Jackson County is a semifinalist at least.
2. Welcome back Rabun County.
Since the shocking loss at Oglethorpe County, we haven’t really seen a complete game by the Wildcats, leaving us wondering what would happen in the playoffs. Well, Rabun just beat Dodge County like a drum, despite being projected as just two-point favorites. And now, Berrien pulled off a massive upset over Lamar County, giving Rabun another home game in Tiger. You can’t look past any opponent, but the path is looking pretty nice for the Rabun faithful.
3. North Hall…wow.
62 points in a playoff game? Granted, it was the 2/31 matchup in the Class 3A bracket, but North Hall is very banged up right now. Well, we now really know how much depth the Trojans have across the board. Schlieman keeps balling at quarterback, and it really doesn’t matter who is out wide. Oh, and the Trojans are getting healthier the deeper the run goes. Not often you get to say that. LaGrange at The Brickyard Friday night in a rematch from last year’s quarterfinals. Should be a good one.
4. Buford’s defense is nasty.
Coach Appling said on the Hardy Chevrolet Scoreboard Show Friday night that his defense had a sluggish start against Richmond Hill. We don’t think anyone would want to see a Buford defense that starts fast then after the Wolves shut out the visitors in the opening round of the Class 6A playoffs. The matchups only get tougher in the second hardest state playoff bracket in the country, but if this Wolves defense can start fast and the offense keeps clicking, boy will this be a tough team to out.
5. Gainesville back in the second round.
After last year’s shocking early exit, Big Red is back in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs after absolutely annihilating Dunwoody. It wasn’t without a sluggish start, which was to be expected given the Red Elephants hadn’t been under the lights in 21 days, but Gainesville scored 48 straight points, including 27 in the second quarter. A long road trip awaits to go play a Brunswick team that just put 70 on the board, but Big Red is used to road trips. They took eight last year. We imagine they will be ready to go Friday night.
The post 5 Things: What we learned from the 1st round of high school football playoffs appeared first on AccessWdun.
