Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the second round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs, which will be played Friday and cut the field to the final eight teams.
*52 – Rushing attempts by Allatoona in its 27-7 victory against Hughes last week. The Buccaneers’ previous high in rushes this season was 49 in a loss to Harrison on Sept. 22. Allatoona rushed for 214 yards last week, its fourth-best total of the season. Allatoona’s defense made a lot of it possible, holding Hughes to minus-3 yards of total offense over the final three quarters.
*10 – Consecutive games won by Alpharetta, tied with second-ranked Mays for the longest active winning streaks in the classification. Alpharetta lost its season-opening game to Class AAAAAAA playoff team Milton but has not lost since. Alpharetta’s 10-game winning streak equals the school record set in 2014. That streak ended with a 44-14 loss to McEachern in the second round.
*3,300 – Passing yards this season by Centennial quarterback Max Brosmer, who is the second-leading passer in Class AAAAAA. Brosmer was 18-of-26 for 309 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-14 victory over Lanier last week. He has completed 195 of 269 attempts this season and thrown 24 touchdown passes. His No. 1 target is Blane Mason, who has 1,265 yards on 61 receptions.
*4 – Seed held by Coffee last season when it won its first two playoff games on the road to reach the state quarterfinals. The Trojans beat Heritage-Conyers and Alexander in the first two rounds before losing to Dalton in the quarters. Coffee was the only No. 4 seed in any classification to win two playoff games last year. Coffee is the No. 2 seed from Region 1 this year and plays at Evans this week.
*6 – Consecutive games won by Dacula after starting the season 1-4. It’s the second consecutive year that the Falcons lost four of their five non-region games, then won five straight region games and their first-round playoff game. Dacula’s winning streak last season ended when it lost to Stephenson 20-6 in Round 2. This year, it’ll try to extend the streak to seven when it hosts Allatoona.
*29 – Years since Douglas County has reached the state quarterfinals, a streak that will end if the Tigers beat Alpharetta this week. The 1988 team beat Villa Rica and Alexander in region playoff games before beating Southwest DeKalb 10-0 in the quarterfinals. The Tigers then lost to Brookwood 14-0 in the semifinals. Douglas County beat Dalton 13-6 last week for its first playoff win since 2005.
*45.6 – Points per game scored this season by Evans, the highest scoring average in Class AAAAAA. The Knights scored 433 points during the regular season and then turned it up a notch in the playoffs with a 69-32 victory over Drew last week. The 69 points were the most scored by any team in any classification in the first round. Evans’ previous high for points in a season was 340 in 1987.
*1 – Teams remaining in the playoffs from Region 2. Glynn Academy was the only survivor when the region faced Region 1 in the first round, beating defending state champion Valdosta 27-3. Brunswick, Effingham County and Richmond Hill all came up short. The only other region with just one team remaining in 4-AAAAAA, which had Tucker survive but lost Stephenson, Lovejoy and Drew.
*0 – Total playoff victories in school history for Grovetown before its 35-27 win over Lovejoy at home last week. The Augusta-area school opened in 2009 and had never played in a playoff game until last season, when it lost at Northside-Warner Robins 52-0 in the first round. The Warriors improved to 7-4 with the win over Lovejoy, breaking the school record for victories in a season.
*215 – Passing yards by Harrison quarterback Gavin Hall in the Hoyas’ 33-28 first-round victory over Alexander. It was his best yardage total in three games since taking over for Justin Fields, the five-star recruit who suffered a season-ending finger injury on Oct. 19. Hall (39-of-65 for 566 yards this season) threw the game-winning 44-yard TD pass to Micah Davis with 44 seconds left last week.
*3,496 – Passing yards this season for Heritage-Conyers quarterback Caleb Pruitt, who is the leader in AAAAAA. Pruitt was 25-of-41 for 252 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-7 win over Stephenson last week, and he is 205-of-372 with 32 touchdowns this season. Pruitt’s top two receivers – Jordan “Mega” Young (1,423 yards, 16 TDs) and Devron Harper (1,007-5) – are having monster seasons.
*0-5 – Lee County’s all-time record in second-round playoff games. The Trojans advanced past the first round in 1999, 2005, 2013, 2014 and 2016, only to have the season end there. They reached the playoffs five other times and lost in the first round. The computer Maxwell Ratings project that the second-round woes will end this week, pegging the Trojans as 27-point favorites against Grovetown.
*9.5 – Points per game allowed this season by Mays, the best of any Class AAAAAA team. The Raiders gave up just 77 points during a 9-1 regular season, holding eight of 10 opponents to nine points or less and recording three shutouts. Mays gave up a season-high 28 points during its 48-28 victory over Sequoyah last week, scoring the game’s final 27 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter.
*20.7 – Points per game scored by Northside-Warner Robins this season, which ranks 33rd in AAAAAA and is the lowest of the remaining 16 teams. The Eagles’ 228 total points are the fewest they’ve scored in a season since the 1996 team scored 198 (18.0 ppg) in a 6-5 season. But Northside has been tough on defense, as usual, giving up just 11.8 points per game, fourth-best in AAAAAA.
*11 – Consecutive seasons in which Tucker has won its first-round playoff game, a streak that was extended last week with a 55-7 victory over Lakeside-Evans. The Tigers have made the playoffs every year since 2007. They are 8-2 in second-round games in that stretch, with two state championships, two other trips to the finals (including last season) and two other appearances in the semifinals.
*24 – Years since Winder-Barrow’s last playoff victory before beating Chattahoochee 36-7 last week. The 1993 team won a region playoff game and beat Woodward Academy and Clarkston in the AAA playoffs before losing to Thomasville 21-0 in the semifinals. That team finished 11-3, a school record for wins. A victory this week would give the Bulldoggs’ their third 10-win season in history.
Schedule
Here are the second-round matchups. All games are Friday:
Douglas County at Alpharetta
Coffee at Evans
Allatoona at Dacula
Northside-Warner Robins at Tucker (Adams Stadium)
Centennial at Mays (Lakewood Stadium)
Grovetown at Lee County
Winder-Barrow at Harrison
Heritage-Conyers at Glynn Academy
