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One week down, one team down. Lanett was knocked out of the playoffs after falling to No. 1 seed Cottonwood on Friday. The Panther lost 54-16 on the road and wrapped up their 2024 season with a 5-6 record. With only four graduating seniors and a playoff bid in head coach RJ McDonald’s first season, Lanett’s future is bright. 

The last teams standing are AISA schools, Chambers Academy and Springwood School. Both will play their semifinal games on home turf on Thursday. They are favored to go to the finals of their respective playoffs. 

 

Springwood

Springwood received an unexpected bye week for their first-round playoff game of the season when Meadowview forfeited due to player safety concerns. The Wildcats go into the semifinal game against Macon-East having not played a game since Oct. 25. 

The opponents played each other in the regular season, with Springwood coming out on top 85-54. However, Macon-East holds the all-time record, 12-4. This will not be a gimme, as the Knights are ranked No. 3, right behind Springwood. 

The Knights won their first six games, one forfeit, of the season. However lost their final two games of the regular season against Springwood, and No. 1 Cornerstone. They do have some momentum on their side beating Lakeside in the first-round 62-7. 

8-man football is an offense-focused game. Springwood favors the run thanks to players like CJ Johnson who averages over 273 rushing yards a game and nearly 40 points. His counterpart, brother Greg, leads the teams in receptions and sacks with 41 yards on average and 1.3 sacks a game. The team notched their most rushing yards in a game this season, 524, when they faced the Knights in October. 

Young quarterback Wes Carden has improved his numbers as the season progressed, hovering around 100 passing yards a game. Carden had one of his best passing games of the season the last time he met Macon East. 

Springwood outnumbers Macon East in nearly every statistic category except passing. Knight’s QB Sam Wallace averages 142 passing yards and 225 all-purpose. The double threat will need to be addressed by the Wildcat’s defense.

This year’s defensive squad has been led by Junior captain, Tucker Sides. The linebacker and offensive guard puts up over 10 tackles a game, followed by Greg Johnson with eight. Forced turnovers have been spread out across the productive side. Clarence Moore, Sides and 8th grader Jax Cheeney all have a couple of interceptions to their name and six players have tallied a fumble recovery.

The Wildcats have the home advantage, where they are undefeated. The semifinal game kicks off at 8 p.m. ET to see who punches their ticket to Montgomery. 

Chambers

Chambers is favored to go all the way, winning a state title for a second time in as many years. However, to get a shot at the trophy they must beat Monroe Academy. The two teams have never met in a game before, making for a unique challenge for the Rebels. 

Monroe has won 10 state championships and is one of the all-time winningest programs in AISA history. 

“Our kids know what is at stake and will be ready to play in front of our fans one final time, head coach Jason Allen said. 

Chambers is coming off of a productive first-round win 53-13 against Clark Prep. Quarterback Landon Hand and other starters only played until halftime against Clark Prep, when the reserves were put in. Hand went 0 for 3 passing, but had 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the night. 

Some of the younger players got valuable playoff time. Gabe Bridges walked away with two sacks. Colton Fuller, Bryce Modling and Hunter Andrews all had four tackles, and Modling tallied three broken-up passes on defense. Andrews also rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown. 

“Our kids came out firing on all cylinders and really put the game away early,” Allen said. 

Luke Tarver was once again the leading rusher on Friday, with 179 yards, three touchdowns and two conversions. The offense reached 600 rushing yards against the Gators.

This may be the toughest challenge the Rebels have faced all season. Chambers kicks off in LaFayette on Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. ET.