Predicting the winner of the Georgia Class 4A football state quarterfinals

High School On SI is going on the record to make our predictions on the GHSL 4A playoffs

Cambridge is going up against undefeated Marist. Can they move on to the state semifinals? See our prediction below. / Cambridge Football Instagram

We did extremely well predicting the outcomes of last Friday’s Georgia high school football Class 4A second-round matchups. We correctly predicted seven of the eight matchups, but that’s sure to get more difficult as we move into the quarterfinals this week. 

Of the final eight teams that remain, three have undefeated records. North Oconee, Cartersville and Marist. Two of the eight teams left - Cambridge and Benedictine - have needed two road wins to advance this far. 

What will make the quarterfinals the most intriguing this Friday is the depth. All eight teams are more than capable of winning, and while there are definitely some tournament favorites, no one is safe heading into Friday night. 

Check out who High School on Si predicts will win their quarterfinal matchups on Friday, and who will secure a spot in the Class 4A state semifinals.

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Eastside (11-1) at Creekside (9-2) 

Not many gave Eastside much of a chance last week when they faced Perry in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs. We, on the other hand, predicted the Eagles to win the game and that they did. 

Georgia Tech signee Jayden Barr took the game’s opening kickoff to the house and the Eagles never trailed from there, winning the game 21-10 to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals for the third time in seven years. 

Their opponent on Friday is Creekside, a team we had on upset watch last week. We picked the Seminoles to lose to a red-hot Kell Longhorns squad, and they very nearly did. The Longhorns led the Seminoles 21-6 in the first half and were tied 28-28 in the fourth quarter before ultimately losing the game by a touchdown, 42-35. 

On Friday, the Eagles are looking to do something that they’ve only done once before in their program’s history - advance to the state semifinals. And we’re here to tell you that this is absolutely a winnable game for them. 

The Seminoles played for the Class 5A state championship last year, losing to Coffee 31-14. They have the edge when it comes to experience in games this deep into the playoffs, but the Eagles are on a roll. They haven’t gotten a ton of love this season and that hasn’t fazed them one bit.  

Prediction: Eastside 27, Creekside 21 

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Cambridge (10-2) at Marist (12-0) 

The Cambridge Bears are set to take on undefeated Marist on Friday, and it’s a matchup we correctly predicted in last week’s bracket breakdown. 

We were one of the few to predict Cambridge’s road win at Central Carrollton. The Bears came into the matchup riding high after beating Cedartown on the road in Round 1, and they carried that momentum right on over into Round 2, winning the game convincingly 41-22. 

They’ll now play a third consecutive road playoff game this Friday with a spot in the Class 4A state semifinals on the line, and it’ll be a Marist team that very nearly had their season come to an abrupt end last week. 

The War Eagles tangled with a 10-1 Jones County squad in last week’s second round, and while the Greyhounds had put together a really good season, we didn’t expect it to be all that close of a game.

We were wrong. The Greyhounds took a 14-9 lead into the fourth quarter, but the War Eagles found a way to win the game 22-14 to keep their perfect season alive. They’ll now have to deal with a Cambridge team whose confidence level is at an all-time high. 

Heading into the season, the Bears had never won a second-round playoff game, let alone a quarterfinals game since the school opened up in 2012. Now they’ll enter this matchup with a chance to continue what has been their best season in program history. 

The War Eagles have been in this situation many times before. This will mark their eighth straight season playing in the state quarterfinals, and they’ve done it across two different classifications. 

This is a classic old blood vs new blood matchup. Was Marist’s close second-round win the wakeup call they needed to get back on the right track? Or will the hungry Bears keep their record-setting run going? 

Prediction: Cambridge 31, Marist 28

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Benedictine (7-4) at Blessed Trinity (10-1) 

Benedictine squaring off against Blessed Trinity in the Class 4A state quarterfinals was almost a forgone conclusion when the brackets were set. 

They were the two teams with the most talent and experience come playoff time, and here they are ready to do battle on Friday with a spot in the state semifinals on the line. The Titans are 4-0 all-time against the Cadets, but this will mark the first time these two have squared off in the playoffs. 

The Cadets entered the playoffs as a No.3 seed, and that was fairly surprising given the type of track record they’ve had in recent years. But as luck would have it, the Cadets were placed into a more than favorable bracket, making their path to the quarterfinals a relative piece of cake. 

Last week, the raced past an inexperienced Ola squad 34-14 to advance into their 11th quarterfinals appearance in 12 years. The Titans had a much better go of things during the regular season and entered the playoffs with a No. 1 seed. Last week they handled business at home against Jonesboro 22-7. 

This is a very intriguing matchup and one that is going to be hard to predict a winner. The Titans have been ranked much higher than the Cadets have been this season, and on paper they are definitely the favorite.

But it’s usually never a wise thing to bet against the Cadets in the playoffs. They’ve been one of the state’s most dominant playoff times over the past decade, winning four state championships since 2014. 

Prediction: Benedictine 35, Blessed Trinity 31 

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Cartersville (12-0) at North Oconee (12-0) 

It was fairly easy to predict that these two teams would be squaring off in the Class 4A state quarterfinals once the brackets were filled out. We just didn’t know which team would be hosting. 

Three of the remaining eight teams in the Class 4A state playoffs have an undefeated record, and Friday night’s matchup between Cartersville and North Oconee will feature two of them. The game will be played in Bogart thanks to the Titans winning a universal coin toss put on by the GHSA. 

So who is the favorite? 

While both teams are unbeaten, the edge has to go to the Titans, who outside of a come-from-behind victory to beat Eastside - another team that’s in the quarterfinals - they’ve been flawless. They won their second-round matchup last week against Ware County in dominating fashion 35-6. 

The Purple Hurricanes didn’t show any weaknesses until the latter half of the season. They won their final two regular season games by a combined seven points against Cedartown and Hiram, but have since gotten back on track in the playoffs. 

They beat Starr’s Mill in the second round last Friday 53-35 to clinch their third consecutive quarterfinals appearance. 

The Titans getting this game at home is a big deal. Both teams sport tremendous home-field advantages and the Titans forcing the Purple Hurricanes to travel to them is a major plus. 

History will tell you to never bet against Cartersville in the playoffs. In most years, you would be downright dumb to do so, especially in the quarterfinals. But this is an excellent North Oconee team that they have waiting for them on Friday. The game could go either way, but it’s the Titans game to lose. 

Prediction: North Oconee 42, Cartersville 28