First look at Friday's Central Georgia GHSA and GISA games
Come back to The Sports Report later Friday for separate stories on Northside, Warner Robins, and Peach County, and more on the GISA finals at Mercer.
GHSA
Semifinals
Class 6A
No. 7 Northside (R1, 3, 8-5) at No. 9/8 Dacula (R8, 1, 11-2)
Northside’s road
Beat Tucker 43-21, Bradwell Institute 35-0, Sequoyah 30-6
Dacula’s road
Beat Northgate 28-0, Allatoona 28-21, Valdosta 56-21
Series meetings
12-7-2001 Northside 21, Dacula 3, 5A quarterfinal
FYIs
* Dacula didn’t play a ranked opponent until the second round, Allatoona. Northside is 3-5 against ranked teams.
* Northside now has won at least eight games every season since 1996, when the Eagles went 6-5.
* The Falcons are in their first semifinal since 2005 when they lost 23-14 to Brookwood in the Georgia Dome.
* First-year head coach Clint Jenkins is Dacula’s third coach since 2011, when Kevin Maloof gave way after 20 seasons and a 151-77 record.
* Northside is fourth in 6A with 439 points, 16 more than Dacula. The Falcons are seventh with 184 points allowed, the Eagles 24th with 241.
Maxwell Ratings prediction
Dacula by 1
Class 5A
No. 1 Rome (R7, 1, 13-0) at No. 3/3 Warner Robins (R1, 1, 10-2)
Rome’s road
Beat Jackson-Atlanta 62-14, Cedar Shoals 35-3, Dutchtown 28-14
Warner Robins’ road
Beat Locust Grove 27-7, Ware County 35-0, Clarke Central 21-14
Series meetings
11-19-04 Warner Robins 35, Rome 32, 4A quarterfinal
12-15-17 Rome 38, Warner Robins 0, 5A state championship
FYIs
* Rome’s last loss? Back on Sept. 9, 2016, 33-30 to Kell. Since then, only six wins have been by 14 points or less. Warner Robins is 38-7 in that span.
* Warner Robins has improved on points allowed by six per game, and is scoring two more points a game than in 2017. Rome is scoring the same 50 points (50.46 this year, 50.53 last year) and giving up four more points a game.
* The Wolves have scored 114 more points than anybody else in 5A. Buford, eliminated last week by Bainbridge, is second with 542 and Warner Robins third with 473. Buford is sixth with 172 points allowed, Warner Robins 13th with 210.
* According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, Warner Robins is 518-228-11 all time (69.15 percent) and Rome is 220-94-1 (70 percent). Rome’s first season was in 1992, when Warner Robins went 12-1 and lost 22-21 in overtime to Clarke Central.
Maxwell Ratings prediction
Rome by 4
Class 3A
No. 4/4 Peach County (R4, 1, 11-2) at Calhoun (R6, 1, 13-0)
Peach County’s road
Beat Ringgold 48-7, Liberty County 47-8, Westminster 21-3,
Calhoun’s road
Beat Fannin County 55-17, Lovett 21-6, Jenkins 24-12
Series meetings
11-20-15 Calhoun 20, Peach County 14, second round, AAA playoffs
12-8-17 Calhoun 10, Peach County 0, AAA state championship
FYIs
* Peach County has averaged at least 35 points a game in four of Chad Campbell’s 13 seasons, and this year’s 38.2 points is fourth.
* Calhoun’s first season, according to the GHSFHA, was 1925, 45 years before Peach County.
* Calhoun’s 598 points are the eighth-most in program history, and the 98 points allowed is 15th best, dating back to the 1920s. It’s the lowest total since the Yellow Jackets allowed 82 in 10 games in 1970, and the average allowed of 7.5 is eighth-best all time, and first since 1970.
* This rematch features two of the state’s best coaches – and staffs – regardless of classification. Hal Lamb is 238-51 (82.35 percent) in 23 seasons, including a 5-15 start to his head coaching career at Upson-Lee in 1997-98. Chad Campbell is 131-25 (83.97 percent) in 13 seasons, all at Peach County. Lamb’s only three losing seasons were his first three, including 2-8 in his 1999 debut at Calhoun. An 8-4 2013 is Campbell’s worst year.
* The lone ranked team Calhoun has played is Ridgeland, No. 10/4A by the GSWA and a 45-21 season-opening victim. Peach County is 2-2 against ranked teams, including a 27-24 season-opening win over 6A semifinalist Northside.
Maxwell Ratings prediction
Peach County by 1
GISA FINALS
Friday, at Mercer
Class AA
5 p.m.
Terrell (R3, 1, 8-4) vs. Gatewood (R1, 1, 9-2)
Terrell’s road
Beat St. Andrews 21-17, Edmund Burke 17-14
Gatewood’s road
Beat Southwest Georgia 27-6, Memorial Day 42-12
Series meetings
11-13-87 Terrell 34, Gatewood 12, quarterfinal
11-25-88 Gatewood 21, Terrell 13, semfinal
11-17-95 Terrell 36, Gatewood 0, quarterfinal
11-29-96 Terrell 44, Gatewood 12, semifinal
11-28-97 Terrell 50, Gatewood 8, semfinal
9-28-18 Gatewood 37, Terrell 21
FYIs
* Jeff Ratliff is third on the wins list at Gatewood with 50, two behind Melvin Charles, and second in winning percentage at 67.6, behind the 80.3 percent of Fred Yancey, who coached in only 33 games compred to 74 (50-24) for Ratliff.
* Gatewood has split with one team, losing 35-26 to Memorial Day and avenging it with a 42-12 playoff win. A game with first-round victim Southwest Georgia was cancelled because of weather.
* The Eagles opened the season 0-3, being outscored 133-28.
Class AAA
8 p.m.
Frederica (R2, 1, 9-3) vs. John Milledge (R4, 1, 12-0)
Frederica’s road
Beat Valwood 60-27, Heritage 53-7
John Milledge’s road
Beat Bulloch 45-14, Tiftarea 24-17
Series meetings
10-26-18 John Milledge 14, Frederica 13
FYIs
* John Milledge grad and head coach J.T. Wall is 88-13 in nine seasons with the Trojans, with four region titles and a state trophy.
* The Trojans won the regular-season meeting 14-13 in overtime on Oct. 26 at Frederica, breaking the Knights’ six-game winning streak.
* Frederica is in the second final in the eight-year history of the program. The Knights, under eventual Tattnall head coach Clint Morgan, beat Robert Toombs 34-30 in the 2012 Class A title game in year 2.