Quarterback Jaquez Parks tossed his 17th and 18th touchdowns of the season, while running back DeVontae Freeman ran for his 8th, 9th and team-leading 10th touchdowns as Griffin High punched its ticket into the Class AAAA state playoffs with a 49-6 win Friday at Memorial Stadium against Eagle’s Landing.

In the process, the second-seeded Bears (9-1) extended their school-record consecutive state playoff streak to 12 years as they set up an opening-round state playoff showdown this Friday against Region 1-AAAA third-place Monroe-Albany (7-3). The game will be played at Memorial Stadium where kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

There Steve DeVoursney-coached Griffin will be trying to extend its consecutive school-record opening-round state playoff win streak to five years.

However, DeVoursney expects a much tougher game than his team had this past week.

“There are no more 1-8 teams left in the playoffs,” he said Saturday morning on 1320-AM, WHIE’s Morning After radio show.

While No. 6-state ranked Griffin is averaging a blistering 37 points per game for while allowing 14 ppg against, the Charles Pruitt-coached Monroe Tornadoes are averaging 26 ppg for and 16 ppg against.

Monroe — which lost to Region 1-AAAA second-place Westover by three points, 17-14, and Region 1-AAAA first-place Cairo by eight points, 28-20 — could have easily finished in second or first place in Region 1-AAAA, Devoursney said.

However, Griffin’s region — which houses No. 5-ranked Stockbridge, No. 6-ranked Griffin and No. 7-ranked Jonesboro – was nearly as tight at the top. Griffin lost to eventual region champion Stockbridge 17-14 on a 27-yard field goal with no time left, while rallying from a two-score deficit in the fourth quarter to edge third-place Jonesboro 34-33.

Of course, Griffin has come a long way since then.

Led by Parks (18 TD passes and 3 TD runs), Freeman (10 TD runs and 3 TD receptions) and Malik Miller (9 TDs rushing), the Bears have been explosive all season. Back-up quarterback Anforne’ Stroud (6 TD passes and 2 TD runs) and Parks have formed a potent one-two punch for the Bears during a season where their favorite targets have been Quay Mangham (7 TDs), Trey Willis (4 TDs), Jordan Colbert (3 TDs), Keyton Fuller (2 TDs) and Christian Owens (1 TD).

While the offense has grabbed most of the accolades this season for the Bears, Griffin’s defense is coming off its best three-game stretch of the season — limiting archrival Upson-Lee to two TDs in a 28-14 win three weeks ago, blanking crosstown rivals Spalding in a 42-0 win two weeks ago and limiting Eagle’s Landing, which had been averaging 26 ppg, to six points in Friday’s 49-6 victory.

REGION 4-AAAA STANDINGS

Division A

School |Overall |Region PF PA

Stockbridge |9-1-0 |4-0 25 9

Locust Grove |6-4-0 |2-2 22 22

Dutchtown |6-4-0 |2-2 30 24

E. Landing |1-9-0 |1-3 24 40

Woodland-Stock. |2-8-0 |1-3 18 27

Division B

School |Overall |Region PF PA

Griffin |9-1-0 |5-0 37 14

Jonesboro |9-1-0 |4-1 33 17

Riverdale |7-3-0 |3-2 22 18

N. Clayton |2-8-0 |2-3 12 23

Upson-Lee |4-6-0 |1-4 26 24

Spalding |2-7-1 |0-5 10 21



THIS WEEK’S GAMES

Monroe (7-3) at Griffin (9-1)

Worth County (4-6) at Stockbridge (9-1)

Jonesboro (9-1) at Westover (6-3)

Riverdale (7-3) at Cairo (8-2)



LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Spalding 42, Forest Park 22

Griffin 49, E. Landing 6

Jonesboro 43, Dutchtown 28

Riverdale 20, Locust Grove 10

Stockbridge 29, North Clayton 0

Upson-Lee 23, Woodland-Stockbridge 11