GHSA Playoff Previews: Round 1

Three teams from Cherokee County advanced to the state playoffs this fall and all three have more than a fighting chance to advance to the second weekend. River Ridge (9-0, 6-0) won its first-ever region championship and along with Creekview (7-2, 5-1) will represent Cherokee County in Class AAAAAA. Cherokee will represent the county in Class AAAAAA. The matchups are set and it’s now a single-elimination bracket for a run at a possible state title. <strong>Game:</strong> Kennesaw Mountain (4-5, 4-3) at River Ridge (9-0, 6-0) <strong>Series:</strong> First-ever meeting <strong>Prediction:</strong> River Ridge 35, Kennesaw Mountain 17 <strong>Preview:</strong> Two programs in the midst of their best-ever seasons will square off this weekend when Kennesaw Mountain (4-5, 4-3) travels to River Ridge (9-0, 6-0) for the first round of the AAAAAA playoffs. River Ridge will be hosting its second-ever home playoff game after clinching its first-ever region championship on Saturday with a 29-21 win over Cambridge. The undefeated Knights continue to accomplish program firsts which this season has included wins over multiple in-county opponents along with the best regular season in program history. After beginning the season 0-4, Kennesaw Mountain has rallied to make its first-ever state playoff appearance. The Mustangs have won four of their last five games and outscored their opponents 208-77 during that stretch. The playoff run comes one year after finishing 0-10 and back-to-back winless seasons within the region. River Ridge possessed the most potent offense in Region 7, averaging 33 points per game. The Knights’ junior running back Amehre Morrison should be in the conversation for All-State honors with his AAAAAA-leading 1,549 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns. The explosive running game has been supplemented by an efficient passing attack led by quarterback Carson Lathem, who’s completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,260 yards with 14 touchdowns. The Knights’ receiving corps is balanced with Jackson Head, Riley Caines, Andrew Bingham and Micah Martineau. Kennesaw Moutain has relied on a trio of sophomores offensively in quarterback Cayman Prangley, running back T.J. Jenkins and receiver Jailen Taylor. Jenkins is coming off a 358 yard and five-touchdown performance against Osborne last week and has totaled 1,173 and 13 touchdowns this season. Taylor leads the Mustangs with 21 receptions for 515 yards and six touchdowns while Prangley is a dual-threat who has accounted for 13 total touchdowns. The Mustang’s sophomore center [player_tooltip player_id="34060" first="Connor" last="Lew"] (6’4”, 260) holds college offers from Georgia Tech and Virginia. The River Ridge defense slowed down Cambridge last week and continues to play well. Senior defensive back Scotty Rutherford leads the Knights with 106 tackles, finishing with a county-high 23 on Saturday. Rutherford also connected on three field goals in last week’s win and is 9-for-11 on the season. Kennesaw Mountain’s defense is led by senior safety Jaylen Hill (72 tackles, one interception) and senior linebacker Hudson Freise (62 tackles and one interception). <strong>Game:</strong> Sprayberry (5-4, 5-2) at Creekview (7-2, 5-1) <strong>Last meeting:</strong> Sprayberry won 27-21 in 2019 <strong>Series:</strong> Creekview leads 3-2 <strong>Prediction:</strong> Sprayberry 21, Creekview 17 <strong>Preview:</strong> Last year’s regular-season contest between Sprayberry and Creekview came down to the final quarter and this year’s playoff matchup should also provide fans with fourth-quarter drama. Sprayberry (5-4, 5-2) will travel to Creekview (7-2, 5-1) this Friday for a first-round playoff matchup in AAAAAA. It will be the second-straight postseason appearance for Sprayberry which enters the game as the No. 3 seed out of Region 6 and coming off a 54-7 win at South Cobb. Creekview will be back in the playoffs, two years removed from a state quarterfinal appearance in 2018, and coming off a 19-14 win at home against Johns Creek. Two former region opponents, these two teams battled last fall with Sprayberry coming away with the 27-21 victory. The Yellow Jackets rushed for more than 250 yards in last year’s contest and establishing a similar gameplan will likely again be a key to victory. Sprayberry fell 15-14 in its first-round playoff game last year at Lanier which has been another emphasis for the Yellowjackets this week. Creekview is a handful of plays away from being undefeated as its two losses, to River Ridge and Cherokee, have come by a combined eight points. Offensively, junior running back Tyler Stevens has emerged as the lynchpin for the Creekview offense. Stevens has totaled 1,124 total yards this season (863 rushing and 261 receiving) with nine total touchdowns. Senior quarterback Brody Rhodes is completing 58 percent of his passes during Creekview’s current three-game winning streak and has totaled 1,710 total yards this season (1,099 passing and 611 rushing). Both team’s defenses make a habit of meeting the opposition in the backfield. Creekview is allowing 10.1 points per game and has three players (Grant Anderson, [player_tooltip player_id="34020" first="Isaac" last="Hubert"] and Sam Minozzi) who each has at least 12 tackles for loss and 7 sacks. Sprayberry’s defense is allowing 21 points per game but has totaled 28.5 sacks and 26 forced turnovers. Senior linebackers Dang Tran (75 tackles) and Donovan Brod (72 tackles) lead the Yellow Jackets defense along with defensive lineman and four-year starter Christian Mergler. Offensively, Sprayberry will be led by its senior class of running back Damarion Owens (1,032 yards with 15 touchdowns), quarterback Kyle Brown (1,463 passing yards with 13 touchdowns), and the duo of Fatir Muhammed and Josh Bush, who have combined for 54 receptions, 1,009 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. <strong>Game:</strong> Cherokee (8-2, 3-2) at North Gwinnett (8-3, 3-1) <strong>Series:</strong> First-ever meeting <strong>Prediction:</strong> Cherokee 27, North Gwinnett 24 <strong>Preview:</strong> One year after recording the only road win in the first round of the AAAAAAA playoffs, Cherokee will once again look to play the role of ‘Road Warriors.’ A loss last Friday in the final week of the regular season, paired with Etowah’s upset of Alpharetta, bumped Cherokee out of the top two seeds in Region 5. As a result, Cherokee (8-2, 3-2) will travel to Suwannee this Friday to take on North Gwinnett (8-3, 3-1), the No. 2 seed out of Region 8. There is familiarity between Cherokee coach Josh Shaw and North Gwinnett’s coaching staff. Shaw and North Gwinnett coach Bill Stewart coached together for six years during Stewart’s tenure as head coach at Etowah (2006-11). North Gwinnett’s offensive coordinator Steven Jackson also served in the same position under Shaw from 2012-16. Cherokee fell 41-29 to Milton last week. The Warriors struggled to slow down Milton’s running game, surrendering more than 300 yards rushing, but offensively Cherokee was explosive. [player_tooltip player_id="33908" first="A.J." last="Swann"] finished 18 yards shy of setting a new single-game passing record for Cherokee, finishing 27-for-36 passing for 437 yards with three passing touchdowns. Swann is now four touchdowns shy of setting a new program career passing touchdown record. Cherokee totaled 500 yards of offense and 29 points against Milton’s No.1-ranked scoring defense (9.9 points against per game) and this week will face the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs (11.4 points against per game). North Gwinnett has several Division 1 commits on its roster including linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="33661" first="Barrett" last="Carter"] (Clemson), defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="33662" first="Jordan" last="Hancock"] (Ohio State) and defensive back Jayson Gilliom (Kansas). Senior linebacker Kemar Brown leads North Gwinnett in tackles while sophomore defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="34064" first="Kayden" last="McDonald"] (6’3”, 325) holds offers from Georgia, Michigan State and Tennessee. Offensively, North Gwinnett has struggled to find consistency at the quarterback position. Seth Anderson has been the Bulldogs’ most dynamic wide receiver and offensive playmaker while an array of running backs has served in the backfield. Carter, one of the highest-rated defensive players in the country, will also get carries at running back and scored three touchdowns last week against Peachtree Ridge.