How Benedictine football team is approaching quarterfinal road matchup at Stockbridge

Benedictine, the defending Class 4A state champion, finds itself in an unusual position this week as the Cadets hit the road for a state quarterfinal matchup with Stockbridge.

The Georgia High School Association uses a coin toss to decide home-field advantage when like seeds meet once the quarterfinals get started. BC has had good luck in those situations over the last two seasons as the Cadets lost at home in the state semis against Jefferson in 2020, before winning it all last year.

The Cadets' last postseason road game before the finals came in 2019 when BC went on the road in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs and lost to eventual champion Cedar Grove 49-13.

BC (11-2), which entered the playoffs ranked No. 4 among Class 4A team by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will travel to the Atlanta area to take on Stockbridge (11-2), which was unranked entering the postseason, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.

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The Tigers' defeats came in back-to-back games as they lost 29-0 to Class 7A power Colquitt County 29-0 followed by a 33-30 setback against Dougherty, which was knocked out of the Class 3A playoffs in a 54-41 loss at Calvary Day last Friday.

"Stockbridge is a very talented team; they've got a lot of guys who can really move," said Danny Britt, who has led BC to three state crowns in his 12 years at the helm. "That kid No. 2 (senior Clemson commit Shelton Lewis) does it all for them as a defensive back, receiver and return man, and their QB (Cobey Thompkins) is a lefty who's very athletic. They have good size up front and a lot of fast kids, which really helps their special teams. They run a spread offense and have two guards that love to pull and they are really nasty."

Stockbridge also has a big-time running back in junior Jayden Scott, who has a host of offers including Mississippi State, Arizona, Miami and Duke. According to Maxpreps.com, Scott has played only in the last four games — rushing for 416 yards and nine touchdowns in that span — including 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 11 carries in a 38-6 win over Walnut Grove last week.

Jordyn Mack, a 5-foot-7, 170-pound junior, leads the Tigers with 864 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns on the season. Senior Dionte Stone has six rushing touchdowns and 535 yards on the ground.

The Tigers average 236 yards rushing and 94 yards passing per game, while scoring 34 points per game and allowing 11 per contest. They'll be matched up against a BC squad that allows just 8.9 points per contest, while scoring 34 points per game.

"I feel like we match up well with them," Britt said. "Our defense has been playing so well and I think we can make it challenging for them to score."

The unit includes Cole Semien, Jeremiah Thomas, Third Scroggins and Alijah Alexander up front, with a strong linebacker crew consisting of Bryce Baker, Wilkes Albert and Jonathan Hardy. Minnesota commit Za'Quan Bryan leads a secondary including Cody Brinson and Joshua Paige.

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Britt said the Cadets need to win the special teams battle — and they have the talent to do so as Bryan has returned four punts for touchdowns in the last four games.

"Za'Quan is going crazy at just the right time," Britt said of the senior, who is also a key on offense as a receiver and runner.

Quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, the junior who has committed to Florida State, has completed 67% of his passes for 2,221 yards with 24 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He is also second on the team in rushing with 369 yards and a team-high seven rushing scores.

Na'Seir Samuel leads the team with 654 yards rushing and has four touchdowns, as the Cadets average 151 yards per game on the ground and 185 yards through the air per game.

Sophomore Thomas Blackshear, who entered the season with offers including Minnesota and Boston College, leads the team with 41 catches for 641 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Bryan has 48 receptions for 482 yards and five scores.

Bryan, who is finally getting healthy after dealing with nagging injuries all season, is ready for his first road playoff game since his freshman season.

"It's always tough playing on the road, but we need to play our game and make it feel like a home game," Bryan said. "Stockbridge has some big skill players and their defense is really quick. They like to play with five defensive back. On defense, we need to stop their run game and on offense we just need to do what we do with our passing game —-- those are keys for us."

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: Benedictine on road to face Stockbridge in state football playoffs