Benedictine went on the road to Roswell and lost to Blessed Trinity, while North Cobb Christian came to town and upset a Savannah Christian squad that entered the playoffs ranked No. 1 among Class A-3A Private School teams by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Here's a look at how things went down for Benedictine and Savannah Christian.
Blessed Trinity 24, Benedictine 10
It was the third straight trip to the Atlanta area for Benedictine, which entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed out of the rugged Region 1-4A.
Junior quarterback Stephen Cannon returned behind center for the Cadets for the first time since he was hurt in a loss to Ware County on Oct. 11. Benedictine was never able to get its run game going, and Blessed Trinity pulled out to a 17-0 lead at the half.
Cannon connected with Bubba Frazier on a 5-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Standout senior Connor Ferguson had a 30-yard field goal to start the second half for BC. Cannon threw for 120 yards with the touchdown and an interception. BC was held to under 70 yards on the ground.
Blessed Trinity quarterback Brooks Goodman had a touchdown run and a pair of scoring passes as he connected with Quinn Davis and Charles Ellswood for scores.
"Our defense played hard and as well as they could, but our offense just couldn't get anything going in the first half and that put us in some bad situations that Blessed Trinity took advantage of to score some points," BC Coach Danny Britt said in a phone interview Saturday morning. "Stephen (Cannon) came on stronger in the second half, but their defensive line put a lot of pressure on him the whole game and things were just choppy."
And Britt knows the future is looking bright with the return of players like Cannon, junior receivers Bubba Frazier and Joshua Washington, junior defensive lineman Kam Cody and his classmate, defensive back Micah Williams. The sophomore class was also strong with Stanley Smart Jr., the team's leading rusher, linebacker Isaiah Jones, and his classmate Omari Burse, who filled in well at quarterback when Cannon was sidelined.
"We've got a lot of young guys who got some valuable experience this year and we're excited about the talent we have coming back," Britt said.
