When the Georgia High School Association football playoffs start on Friday, four East Cobb teams will be participating.
(You can view the playoff brackets here.)
Three of them have been familiar faces in the post-season in recent years, while the other will be returning to the playoffs for the first time in a long while.
Sprayberry pounded River Ridge 40-7 Friday to close out the regular season at 6-4, and earn the No. 3 seed in Region 6 of Class 6A.
It’s the first playoff bid since 2011 for the Yellow Jackets, whose third-year head coach, Brett Vavra, is a former Sprayberry player and graduate.
Sprayberry must travel in the playoffs, visiting Lanier of Gwinnett County. The Bulldogs are 9-1 on the season and are ranked 8th in Class 6A. The Yellow Jackets’ star player, running back Damarion Owens, ran for more than 300 yards Friday, and is the leading rusher in Cobb County with more than 1,500 yards.
Comeback for the Wildcats
Wheeler’s last season in Class 7A will come with a playoff appearance. The Wildcats came from behind late on Friday to defeat Pebblebrook 21-14, getting the winning touchdown with one second remaining on the game clock.
Wheeler (5-5) earned the fourth and final playoff spot from Region 2 of Class 7A, its first post-season berth in four years. On Friday, Wheeler, under first-year coach Bryan Love, will play at Roswell.
Earlier this week the GHSA announced that Wheeler and Lassiter would be dropping to Class 6A next season, based on enrollment projections.
A Longhorn stampede
Kell had already nailed down the No. 3 seed from Region 7 of Class 5A before Friday’s regular season finale at winless Woodland, but didn’t let up in a 51-7 win to improve to 8-2.
The Longhorns’ high-powered offense led by quarterback Corbin LaFrance was clicking from the outset. Two early-season losses to Rome and Carrollton, however, have prevented them from starting their playoff run at home.
Kell, ranked No. 11 in Class 5A, travels to DeKalb County on Friday to play Columbia, which is 5-5.
A familiar foe for the Raiders
Walton was hoping to close out the regular season as champion of Region 4 of Class 7A. For most of Friday’s game at Raider Valley against Woodstock, the game was close.
But the teams were tied at 22-22, forcing overtime. Walton scored first to lead 29-22, then Woodstock tied the game with a touchdown. Then the Wolverines, who had only two wins on the seasons, went for a two-point conversion and got it to win 30-29.
It was the third heartbreaking loss of the season for the Raiders, who are 5-5 but get to play at home in the playoffs. They will be playing host on Friday to Newnan, 6-4, which defeated Walton earlier in the season in one of those close games, by a 10-7 score.
The loss also prevented an all-East Cobb contest in the playoffs, since Walton, and not Roswell, would be facing Wheeler.
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