Gainesville vs. Tucker
This matchup features the past two Class AAAAA state champions. Tucker topped Lovejoy 22-7 for the 2011 state title and Gainesville rolled over Ware County 49-13 last year. Gainesville quarterback Deshaun Watson holds the state passing records for career yardage and touchdowns and is having another historic season. Watson passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for two scores in the Red Elephants’ 42-28 quarterfinals win over Mundy’s Mill. Gainesville has scored 28 or more points in 10 consecutive playoff games dating to 2011 and is averaging 49.2 points per game this year. Watson and backup Mikey Gonzalez have combined for 56 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions. Rodney Lackey, Jay Gaudlock, Chastin Newman and Orrin Ragland are Watson’s favorite targets and Michael Byrd averages more than seven yards per carry out of the backfield.
Tucker averages 45 points per game offensively, but it is the defensive side of the football that has made the Tigers a state championship favorite this year. Tucker recorded a 29-0 shutout in the quarterfinals, holding Ware County to just three first downs. Cornerback Duke Shelley returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown and the pass rushed forced an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety.
Tucker’s speed and physicality starts with linebacker and Georgia-commit Detric Dukes. Defensive linemen Elisha Shaw and Jonathan Ledbetter dominate the line of scrimmage. Stanford-commit Kirk Tucker makes plays at outside linebacker and safety Dominick Sanders is one of the top playmakers in the state. Offensively, Tucker quarterback Joe Farrar ran in a pair of touchdowns in the quarterfinals and has plenty of explosive playmakers around him. This will be the first time these established programs will meet on the gridiron.
Creekside vs. Kell
In this battle of unbeatens, Kell and Creekside each come off its most impressive win of the season. The Longhorns scored a 52-28 victory over Warner Robins in the quarterfinals that marked Kell’s highest point total in playoff history. Jay Moxey erupted for three rushing touchdowns and Julian Burris rushed for a six-yard touchdown and returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score that extended the Longhorns’ advantage to 31-0.
Moxey, Burris and Taylor Henkle are a few of the playmakers that will start both ways for Kell and they make up the Longhorns’ star-studded secondary. Seniors Austin Meaut and Ethan Elliott make up one of Georgia’s most productive pass-rushing duos. Behind a huge game from Elliott, Kell sacked Mays five times and forced a safety in its 26-15 second-round win.
Offensively, quarterback Cameron Rosendahl found Henkle for an 80-yard touchdown pass in the quarterfinals. Rosendahl is having a productive season under center since taking over for injured senior Matthew McGuigan five games ago.
Creekside’s defense turned in another dominant performance with a 41-14 win over North Paulding and the Seminoles have won 11 of 13 games by double-digits this year. The 14 points marked the first time an opponent held the Wolfpack under 27 points this season.
Offensively, Creekside averages 40.5 points per game and is one of the highest-scoring units in the state. Senior Dexter Knox is a two-way starter at linebacker and running back who bulldozed his way to four rushing touchdowns in the quarterfinals. Dejuan Duncan scored on a touchdown pass from Felix Harper last round and twins Evan and Elliott Berry (both are committed to Tennessee) can produce plays from both sides of the football. Creekside and Kell are both searching for their first state titles.
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