What you need to know about each Savannah-area football second-round playoff matchup

The second round of the GHSA playoffs is coming Friday night and there are six teams from the Greater Savannah area still alive.

Here's a look at the second round matchups, along with a preview of Bethesda's SCISA championship game with Williamsburg Academy and Memorial Day's GIAA semifinal game at Robert Toombs.

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Playoff highlights: SCPS wins in 4 OTs Football playoff highlights: O-lineman saves day in 4-OT thriller, plus a No. 1 goes down

Where Savannah schools landed in reclass Where Savannah area schools landed in GHSA's reclassification

Class 4A

LaGrange (9-2) at Benedictine (11-0) at Memorial Stadium

The two-time Class 4A defending champion Cadets, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, will be looking for their 23rd consecutive win as they host a LaGrange squad ranked No. 10.

Florida-State bound Luke Kromenhoek had a big game in BC's win over Baldwin as he completed 18 of 28 passes for 257 yards and a pair of scores as he hit Bryce Baker and La'Don Bryant with touchdown passes. He also ran for 31 yards and a score.

Running back Na'Seir Samuel came up big as the senior ran for a career-high 128 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries in the win.

Wilkes Albert, the senior linebacker who set the Cadet school record for tackles earlier in the year, led the defense with 10 tackles.

If the Cadets win, they will be set to host in the quarterfinals after the GHSA did a universal coin flip which determined that teams in the higher bracket would host, should two teams with equal seeds match up.

New Hampstead (6-4) at Starr's Mill (8-3)

The Phoenix, the No. 2 seed out of Region 3-4A, looked strong in their opening round win over Westside-Macon, a 40-12 victory, their first playoff win under Coach Kyle Hockman, in his fifth season leading the program.

Junior Ra'Shawn Truell continued to impress in a breakout season for the first-year starter. After missing on his first seven attempts, he was 17 of 31 passing for 231 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 53 yards and a pair of scores. He has thrown for 2,949 yards and 35 touchdowns in 10 games.

Jaylen Hampton had six catches for 102 yards and three scores and has 69 catches for 1,087 yards and 19 total touchdowns on the season. Malachi Lonnon (46 catches for 831 yards and 10 touchdowns) and Kamari Maxwell (36 catches for 654 yards and seven scores) combine with Hampton to form one of the top trios of receivers in the state.

Aaziah Scott led a strong defensive effort for the Phoenix with three sacks on the night.

Starr's Mill, ranked No. 8 among Class 4A teams in the state by the AJC. Panther quarterback Logan Inagawa has thrown for 1,065 yards and 10 scores (through 10 games) and running back D Benefield has ran for 13 scores and 694 yards for a squad allowing just 10.6 points per game.

Class 3A

Thomasville (6-5) at Calvary Day (11-0)

Jake Merklinger was on point, as usual, as the Tennessee-bound senior quarterback completed 13 of 13 passes for 260 yards and three scores as he hit Caden Arnold for an 80-yard touchdown, with a scoring pass to Doopah Coleman and another to Trevor Strowbridge.

Merklinger has completed 72% of his throws for 2,144 yards with 28 touchdowns and just two interceptions on the season.

Strowbridge, the standout senior, had a career-high four touchdowns on the night as he also ran for a pair of scores and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Thomasville is lead by sophomore quarterback Cam Hill, who has thrown for 1,683 yards and 17 scores. He threw for 240 yards and a score in a 36-29 win at Harlem in a playoff opener last week, while Ant Anderson racked up 187 yards rushing and a pair of scores on just nine carries.

Savannah Christian (9-2) at Morgan County (10-1)

Savannah Christian is coming off of one of the craziest games in Georgia playoff history as the Raiders beat visiting Peach County 48-46 in an opening round matchup that went to four overtimes.

Jaden Milles led the defense with 14 tackles and knocked away a pass on a two-point conversion to ice the game. Sophomore quarterback Blaise Thomas was solid in his first playoff appearance as he ran for a touchdown and completed 13 of 21 passes for 203 yards with scoring passes to Logan Brooking and Kenry Wall, who also rushed for 88 yards and a score. Brooking, the junior who committed to Clemson two weeks ago, added nine tackles.

Junior running back Zo Smalls had another big game rushing for three scores and 83 yards on 25 carries, while South Carolina commit David Bucey had eight tackles and eight receptions for 78 yards.

Morgan County has a strong ground game led by Jaydon Dorsey, who has rushed for 1,213 yards and 17 touchdowns (through 10 games).

Class 5A

Jenkins (4-7) at Dutchtown (6-5)

The Warriors travelled to Lithonia and knocked off No. 1 seed Arabia Mountain on Friday behind a stellar defensive effort in a 14-13 victory.

Now Jenkins, the No. 4 seed out of Region 1-5A, heads north once again to face Dutchtown, a No. 3 seed out of Region 2-5A.

The Warriors are 4-7, but that record comes from laying arguably the toughest schedule in Georgia. The Warriors Jenkins played three teams that reached the state finals in their classifications last season, with seven that advanced to at least the state quarterfinals. That rugged slate of games paid off as the Warriors shut down an Arabia Mountain team that finished the season with a 9-2 record.

Jenkins' top player is defensive end Lorenzo Cowan, the Kentucky commit who will join his brother Tavion Gadson with the Wildcats.

Jeremiah James has been excellent on both sides of the ball — he had 12 tackles and 94 yards of offense in the win over Arabia, while Sylvester Harris had a 75-yard pick six for the Warriors.

Dutchtown beat Northgate 42-31 in the first round. Sophomore quarterback Michael Johnson rushed for 102 yards and a pair of scores on six carries, and threw for 97 yards, while senior Jakarri Ponder had a pair of rushing touchdowns and 78 yards on 14 carries.

Class 1A Division 1

Pelham (5-6) at Bryan County (10-1)

Bryan County had already captured the first region crown and first nine-win season in school history, when the squad beat East Laurens 55-14 for the first playoff win in program history last week.

Jacari Carney rushed for 188 yards and four scores on just six carries in the win, while Austin Clemons had 98 yards rushing and 10 tackles. Tanner Ennis caught a 60-yard scoring pass and ran back a kick 85 yards for a score, while playing well defensively.

Pelham is coming off a 41-22 road win at Heard County as the Hornets ran for 495 yards. Senior Nathaniel Walker had a huge night as the 5-foot-9, 150-pounder ran for 269 yards and three scores on 18 carries.

SCISA

Bethesda (12-0) vs. Williamsburg Academy (12-0) at Charleston Southern, Saturday at noon

Bethesda is looking for its first state title in the Blazers' third appearance in the championship game. The Blazers have posted five shutouts and are allowing just six points per game.

The Blazers are led by senior quarterback/linebacker Triston Randall, who has thrown for 1,806 yards and 13 touchdowns, while rushing for 307 yards and 11 scores and leading the team with 65 tackles.

Senior running back Noah Jenkins has been a force — averaging 10.4 yards per carry, while rushing for 1,740 yards and 26 scores.

Senior Thomas Peters is the leading receiver with 33 catches for 695 yards and five scores.

The Blazers face their toughest test yet in a Williamsburg squad averaging 41 points per game and allowing 10 points. Quarterback Conrad Balder has thrown for 1,145 yards and 17 scores, while senior Camden Moore has rushed for 1,037 yards and 13 scores.

GIAA

Memorial Day (5-6) at Robert Toombs (6-4) in Class A semifinal

Memorial Day won its first playoff game under second-year coach Jaha Taylor last week with a 34-6 win over Harvester Christian.

Junior running back Assir Best had another big game with 179 yards rushing and a score and three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Kindle was 14 of 29 passing for 211 yards and two scores, with another touchdown pass to Charles Chappell, who had four catches for 91 yards. Craig Harris led the defense with 11 tackles and Best added seven.

Robert Toombs presents a big challenge for Memorial Day as the Crusaders beat the Matadors 63-6 on Nov. 3.

Senior David Hill leads a run game averaging 250 yards per contest. He has 922 yards and 12 scores on the year.

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah-area football second round playoff matchups this weekend