Milton, Alpharetta Begin State Playoffs On Friday

By Mike Blum

MILTON, GA — Milton and Alpharetta will begin their stints in state high school football playoffs Friday, Nov. 9, with the Eagles at home against South Gwinnett and the Raiders traveling to Cherokee County to face Sequoyah.

The Eagles enter the playoffs with an 8-2 record, dominating Region 5-AAAAAAA. Milton went 5-0 in region play, outscoring its opponents 211-54. South Gwinnett finished fourth in Region 8 with a 2-3 record, 4-6 overall.

Milton’s two non-region losses came by two points against state-ranked teams that went a combined 19-1. The Eagles, ranked eighth in 7A, defeated No. 9-ranked Archer in their season opener and also own a win over a top-ranked team from Florida. Among South Gwinnett’s six losses was a 21-7 defeat against South Forsyth, a team Milton was leading 35-7 in the fourth quarter before winning 35-21.

The Eagles are led by senior quarterback Jordan Yates, who has passed for 1738 yards and 18
touchdowns and rushed for 598 yards and 8 touchdowns. Running back Josh Edwards had a season-best 202 yards rushing and three touchdowns last week in a 48-23 victory over North Forsyth, and has gained 940 yards on the season with 11 touchdowns. Dylan Leonard leads the Eagles in receiving yards (509) and touchdowns (7).

A strong Milton defense is led by linebacker Jordan Davis, outside linebackers Jack Rhodes and Allen Walker, defensive end Zander Barnett and safety Joseph Charleston, who also has scored three touchdowns as a receiver.

The Eagles are in the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight years. They reached the quarterfinals in 2014 before losing to eventual state champion Colquitt County, and made it to the second round last year in their first season under head coach Adam Clack. Milton has gone 8-2 in the regular season each of the last two seasons under Clack, with the team’s region title just the second in the modern history of the football program. The first came in 2014.

South Gwinnett has had just one winning season the past six years, going 7-3 in 2016 and reaching the second round of the state playoffs. The Comets also went 8-2 in 2012 and defeated Milton 27-20 in the first round of the state playoffs in Snellville.

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The Comets are predominantly a running team, and were held to seven points or fewer in all six of their losses this season. The Comets have not beaten a team with a winning record, and have just one victory over a playoff team, defeating Central Gwinnett 14-7 in their season opener.

If Milton wins Friday night, the Eagles will host either Brookwood or Mill Creek next Friday. Both finished 7-3 during the regular season, with Brookwood third in Region 7 and Mill Creek second in Region 6. Brookwood defeated Milton 28-23 in the second round of the state playoffs last year.

Alpharetta at Sequoyah

The Raiders are making their eighth playoff appearance in the last nine years, but were unable to
capture their fifth region title in that span. Alpharetta tied for third in Region 7-AAAAAA, and is the region’s No. 3 seed thanks to a 26-14 win over Pope in the Raiders’ region opener. Alpharetta struggled offensively in losses to Johns Creek and Centennial, the region’s top two teams, and suffered a 28-26 loss to Northview in the next-to-last week of the season that put the Raiders in
danger of missing the playoffs.

The Raiders responded with a 41-21 victory last week over Cambridge, which could have made the
playoffs with a win over Alpharetta. Quarterback Will Gerdes threw for three touchdowns and the
Raiders rushed for 200 yards led by Kent Cherry, who has taken over for injured starter Kevin Watkins at running back. Bradley Rowlinson, who splits time at quarterback with Gerdes, had the other rushing touchdown.

Alpharetta has fielded a succession of outstanding offensive teams over the past decade, led by
standout quarterbacks like Josh Dobbs, currently with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Matthew Downing, who has played for Georgia this season as a true freshman. But this year’s Raiders’ attack has not been as consistently productive as in recent seasons.

The Raiders’ defense has consistently been the best in the region, and features a strong pass rush led by the trio of Jack Stanton, Jackson Michaels and Jamal Ellis. However, Sequoyah is a run-oriented team that averages about 250 yards rushing and only 100 yards passing.

The Chiefs feature a strong defense and have been frequent playoff participants, although they have typically gone out in the first round. Since 2012, Sequoyah is 1-5 in the playoffs, scoring its lone post-season win in 2014.

Alpharetta has advanced past the first round in three of its last four playoff appearances, reaching the quarterfinals last season for the first time since the school started its football program in 2004. The Raiders are 3-3 in the playoffs under Jacob Nichols, who is 36-14 in the regular seasons in his five years as the Raiders’ head coach. This will be just the third road playoff game for the Raiders. If they score their first ever road victory against the Chiefs, Alpharetta will likely be on the road next week against Region 5 champion Creekside.

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