Three of the area's four football teams competing in the second round of the GHSA playoffs Friday night didn't have to look far - in the figurative sense - to get scouting reports on their opponents from the other side of the Peach State.
Calhoun, Christian Heritage and Gordon Lee are playing teams from northeast Georgia that resemble themselves, giving each local head coach a chance to float an age-old gridiron cliché when asked what it will take to reach the state quarterfinals.
"The team that makes the least mistakes will win," said Gordon Lee coach Josh Groce, whose Trojans will travel from Chickamauga to perennial power Commerce in a Class A public game that features two 10-1 teams with offenses that are heavily weighted toward a run-first approach.
"We are very similar, so we know what to expect," Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said about the Class AAAAA game for his Yellow Jackets (8-3) at Clarke Central (8-2) in Athens. The Gladiators, like Calhoun, boast a balanced offense and an aggressive defense.
"They remind me a lot of us," Christian Heritage coach Jay Poag said of the Class A private school opponent for his Lions (10-1), Monroe's George Walton Academy (9-2). "They have multiple playmakers who can score on any play, just like we do."
The Gordon Lee and Commerce similarities are striking. The Trojans average 355 rushing yards per game and the Tigers 319, and each has a bevy of backs capable of putting up big numbers on any given night. Neither team throws the ball much, but when they do it usually goes for big yardage.
The ground game for Gordon Lee, which last week won its first home playoff game in 13 years by routing Georgia Military College Prep, is paced by senior Cade Peterson. He leads Class A this season with 1,711 yards and 26 touchdowns, and he has been over 200 yards four times, including games of 279 and 262. Bo Rhudy has 913 yards and 11 scores, with Brody Cobb (468) and Nate Dunfee (311) also in the mix, while Jacob Neal has made the most of his 17 catches with 485 yards (28.5 per catch) and four touchdowns.
Commerce counters with 6-foot-2, 200-pound freshman Sammy Brown (1,043 yards), who is joined by Dreylan Martin (740 yards), quarterback Trey Huff (571) and Tyelon Brock (414) in the Tigers' dangerous backfield.
"It will be a tough task," Groce said. "They are very good up front, come off very low and execute the triple option very well. Defensively, up front we have to play low or we will be driven off the ball. Size-wise and speed-wise, it will be a good matchup."
Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / Christian Heritage all-around star Evan Lester leads the Lions into the second round of the GHSA Class A private playoffs and a home game against George Walton Academy.The similarities in the George Walton-Christian Heritage game start at quarterback, where the Dalton program is led by Christian Thomas, a strong athlete who has passed for 1,651 yards and rushed for 367. George Walton quarterback Gavin Hall, a freshman, has 929 yards passing and 560 rushing.
"They are a lot alike," Poag said of Hall and Thomas. "Both are hard to get a handle on and can be very dangerous."
Each offense also has three big-play athletes who can turn small plays into big gains.
Jack Ellerbee (789 yards, nine touchdowns), Jake Whitten (464 yards rushing, 300 receiving) and Laythan Folgman (463 rushing) join Hall with more than 400 yards of offense for the Bulldogs, whose losses were to top-five-ranked Prince Avenue Christian and Athens Academy.
The Lions, who defeated King's Ridge Christian 38-0 last week, counter with backs Gage Leonard and Solomon Locke, who have combined for 2,200 total yards and 26 touchdowns in just eight games, and 6-2 senior Evan Lester, a two-way star who has 848 yards receiving and 204 rushing.
"While we are similar, they don't have an Evan Lester, so I keep hoping he's the tipping point," Poag said. "Either way, we will have to score a lot of points. I'm just glad we are at home."
Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / Calhoun football coach Clay Stephenson and the Yellow Jackets are on the road for the second straight week in the GHSA Class AAAAA playoffs.Calhoun, which moved up two levels in the most recent round of GHSA reclassification, is on the road for the second straight week, having won its playoff opener 46-21 against Lithia Springs. Balanced offenses will be on display in Athens.
Yellow Jackets quarterback Christian Lewis has 2,008 yards and 22 touchdowns passing, Jerrian Hames has 1,437 and 17 touchdowns rushing and Cole Speer 1,007 yards and nine scores receiving. The Gladiators feature quarterback William Robinson, who has 1,711 yards passing, backs Felix Braddy Jr. and Will Richardson, who have combined for 1,240 yards and 20 touchdowns, and receivers Justin Hodges, Antonio Jewell and Jarius Mack, who have a combined 1,500 yards.
"I feel good with our 11 we will roll out there, but they have more depth and they can break the first play or last play," Calhoun's Stephenson said. "We play a lot of guys both ways and they don't, which worries me. Defensively, we need to eliminate big plays and force them to drive the ball, but I guess they are saying the same thing about us."
In Class AAAA, Northwest Whitfield (8-2) heads south of Atlanta to face an interesting contrast at Riverdale (7-2), a defensively dominant team that has allowed 68 points this season and shut out five opponents. Bruins coach Josh Robinson said the Raiders dare teams to throw the ball, though few have succeeded.
"They are very talented," Robinson said. "They run a 3-5 defense, and they do a lot of things well. It gives them a lot of flexibility if they can survive the pass, which they have all year long."
Northwest matches up well in that area thanks to sophomore quarterback Owen Brooker, who has thrown for 2,276 yards and 19 touchdowns, including the winner with 10 seconds to play in last week's home win over Stephenson. Bruins receivers Ray Morrison and Matt Redmond have combined for nearly 1,700 yards.
Riverdale's biggest threats are receiver Derwin Burgess II, who is committed to South Carolina, quarterback Avaun Rucker, who passed for two scores and ran for two others in a first-round playoff win over Cedar Shoals, and running back Malik Harris.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.
Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Northwest Whitfield wide receiver Matt Redmond (5) makes a Stephenson defender miss during a GHSA Class AAAA playoff game last Saturday in Tunnel Hill, Ga.