Semifinal roundups

Class AAAAAA top-ranked Colquitt County outscored McEachern 41-3 in the second half and advanced to the state championship for the second time in three years with a 57-20 win. Colquitt County will face Archer in the classification final next Saturday night at the Georgia Dome. McEachern opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Bailey Hockman to Tyler Smith, but Colquitt answered with a 95-yard return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff by Grump Jones to tie it 7. Hockman tossed a his second touchdown pass before teammate Cesar Dominguez added a 32-yard field goal to extend McEachern’s lead to 17-7 but the Packers offense would dominate the remainder of the game. Colquitt County would find the endzone for the first time on Sihiem King’s first of four touchdown runs and an errant McEachern snap turned into a Packers safety before the half that cut the deficit to 17-16. Colquitt County received the kickoff in the second half and King found the endzone on its first possession to make it 22-17. McEachern cut it to 22-20 with Dominguez’s second field goal but the Packers would continue their second half explosion, outscoring McEachern 27-3 in the third quarter. Chase Parrish connected with Ty Lee for a 65-yard Packers touchdown and a successful two-point conversion pushed the lead to 36-20. In the final four minutes of the third quarter, King ran in his third touchdown and Jones took a handoff right before the end of the quarter for his second touchdown of the night to make it 43-20. King iced the game with his fourth touchdown with 9:50 left and the Packers defense intercepted Hockman for a fourth time and returned it for a touchdown to give host Colquitt County its 37-point lead.

Class AAAAA

Benedictine 49, Brooks County 7: Benedictine led just 14-7 at halftime but routed Brooks County in the second half to advance to its first state championship game. Chance Jackson rushed for touchdowns of 32, five and 23 yards for the host Cadets and John Kennedy rushed for a 19-yard and a 25-yard score. Benedictine quarterback Stevie Powers opened the scoring in the second half with a three-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Holguin, and Jacob Collins capped Benedictine’s scoring with a 12-yard run. Benedictine’s defense forced four turnovers on three interceptions and a fumble.

Greater Atlanta Christian 44, Fitzgerald 41: Visiting Greater Atlanta Christian led 41-27 with less than four minutes to play, but needed a 21-yard game-winning field goal from Will Kenworthy after Fitzgerald stormed back to tie it at 41. Greater Atlanta Christian failed to convert a fourth-and-one with 1:54 left and on the next series and then Fitzgerald quarterback Gerald Morgan hit Trey Graham down the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown to tie it. Greater Atlanta Christian received the kickoff with 1:41 on the clock and marched down the field to set up the Kenworthy field goal. GAC took an early 7-0 lead with a 67-yard Davis Mills touchdown pass to Paul Carothers but Fitzgerald countered and claimed a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Darius Slayton ran in a GAC touchdown before the half to cut it to 21-14 and teammate Micah Abernathy opened the third quarter with a 75-yard touchdown run to cut it to 21-20. GAC’s missed PAT after the Abernathy touchdown allowed Fitzgerald to cling to its one-point lead, but the Hurricanes fumbled on the next possession and Carothers returned it 80 yards for a GAC touchdown to make it 26-20. The Spartans took their 41-27 lead after Abernathy and Mills touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.

Class A-Private

Eagle’s Landing Christian 14, Calvary Day 7: Eagle’s Landing Christian won its seventh consecutive game after losing its first six games to start the season. Eagle’s Landing Christian’s D.J. Hammond scored on an eight-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. The Chargers added to the margin when Hammond threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Evan Lewis to go up 14-0 with 7:16 left in the first half. Calvary Day cut the lead to seven on the ensuing drive when Jeremiah Mercer scored a 14-yard run.

Mount Paran 35, Aquinas 14: Dorian Walker led visiting Mount Paran to its first ever state finals appearance with four touchdown runs and the Eagles improved to 13-0 overall while ending Aquinas’ 26-game win streak. Both teams missed first quarter field goals but Walker would find the endzone in the second quarter on a seven-yard run to give Mount Paran a 7-0 halftime lead. Aquinas opened the third quarter with an 83-yard touchdown pass from Liam Welch to Ruben Garnett to tie it at 7 but Mount Paran answered with four straight touchdown runs to gain a comfortable 35-7 lead. Walker took scored from 21 yards, two yards and 86 yards out before Emoni Williams’ 45-yard touchdown run gave the Eagles the 35-7 edge. Welch tossed his second touchdown to Justin Gibbs with 4:06 to go to shrink the deficit to 35-14. Mount Paran rushed for 414 yards on 54 carries and outgained Aquinas 524-to-260 in total yards. The Eagles are one win away from becoming the first Cobb County school to win a state title since 1967.

Class A-Public

Hawkinsville 15, Marion County 13: Tyler Brown hit a 26-yard field goal with 13 seconds left to give Hawkinsville the road win. Marion County took a 13-12 lead on a six-yard Lorenzo Smothers touchdown run with 3:39 left in the third quarter. Hawkinsville got two touchdowns from Warren Singletary, a two-yard run in the first quarter and a four-yard run with 9:22 to go in the third. Reginald McDonald led Hawkinsville with 106 yards rushing and Dustin Eckert was 12-of-15 passing for Marion County for 130 yards and a 22-yard touchdown to Marquis Thomas.

Irwin County 28, Commerce 7: Down 7-0 at the half, Irwin County turned to senior Jakyron Young to beat Commerce. Young broke off a 70-yard touchdown run on the second play of the third quarter. Three Irwin offensive plays later, Young then scored again from 70 yards out. Commerce never recovered and the Indians advanced to the state finals for the first time since 1997. Young finished with 191 yards on seven carries in the half and four scores. He would also add scores on runs of 29 and four yards. For the game Young had 10 carries for 199 yards. DJ Pollard added 91 yards on 13 carries for the Indians. Commerce’s Caleb Brooks scored the Tigers’ touchdown on an 18-yard run in the first quarter.