VALDOSTA — The Cook Hornets and the Clinch County Panthers both have their work cut out for them as they travel up to the Atlanta area for tough quarterfinals matchups.
Each team has beaten good teams to get to this point, but they may be up against their toughest playoff challenge yet.
In the AA matchup, the Hornets (9-3, 5-3) will travel up to Norcross to face off with the Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans (9-3, 5-3).
For the third week in a row, the fourth-seeded Hornets go into the game as the underdogs, as they face the No. 3 team out of Region 6-AA. The Spartans, who are coached by Jimmy Chupp, defeated the No. 3 team in the state, Calhoun, last week.
In the 26-7 victory, GAC showed that they are a force to be reckoned with on offense.
At quarterback is junior Colton Chapple, who went 16-for-24 with 330 yards and one touchdown last week. His main targets through the air are Julian Horton and Christian Robinson. Last week Horton pulled in nine catches for 222 yards, while Robinson had six catches for 107 yards.
Another weapon on the offense is junior running back Bobby Petrino Jr., son of the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach. Last week, Petrino rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Petrino also starts at safety and is joined in the backfield by another high schooler with NFL ties. Stephen Atwater is the son of the former Pro Bowl safety Steve Atwater.
On offense, the Spartans have averaged 23 points per game and scored a season-high 45 against Walker. In their three-game losing streak, the Spartans didn't manage over 20 points, though.
Their defense isn't bad either, allowing only 11 points per game and holding teams to one touchdown or less in nine games this season.
The Spartans are accustomed to winning, having made the postseason for 13 straight years, despite having fewer than 700 students enrolled there.
The Clinch Panthers (10-2, 8-0) will also face a tough squad, but one not so accustomed to winning. The Fellowship Christian School Paladins (11-1, 4-1) are coming off their second playoff win ever in their second year in the GHSA.
The Paladins are the Region 5-A champs, and won a coin toss to attain home field advantage this week.
Fellowship Christian also showed last week that they are a force on both sides of the ball, defeating Gordon Lee, 49-21.
Running back Evan Rolader had two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter last week, three total in the game. Quarterback Jimmy Stainbeck had two rushing touchdowns, one coming right before the half to tie the game at 21-21.
In the fourth quarter, the Paladins exploded with four touchdowns, three in under five minutes. The defense chipped in with one of those scores, an interception return by defensive back Joe Brink.
Fellowship Christian averages close to 30 points per game (29.7), and has scored over 30 points seven times this season. On defense, they have allowed an average of just 12 points per game, including three shutouts.
With just three area teams remaining, the Atlanta area will be the place to be this week, and hopefully next week. The winners will advance to the Georgia Dome.
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