One of the hottest teams in the state meets one of the state’s biggest surprises when the Lee County Trojans travel north from South Georgia to play the Archer Tigers in the second round of the GHSA AAAAAA Playoffs Friday night on GPB. The winner advances to the state quarterfinals to play either Hillgrove or Roswell.

After starting the season 0-3, Archer has reeled off eight consecutive wins. In the process, the Tigers finished as Region 8-AAAAAA co-champions. They eliminated two-time defending state champion Norcross 38-22 in first round action to open the state playoffs. Archer’s three losses during the regular season came by a combined 16 points to Sandy Creek, Peachtree Ridge and Grayson while missing a number of crucial players due to injuries.

Under Head Coach Andy Dyer (5th Season, 33-25), the Tigers 2014 region title was their second straight, coming in just the program’s fifth full season of football. Finally healthy, Archer finished in three-way tie for first in Region 8 with Dacula and Grayson at 7-1 and won a coin toss to enter the state playoffs as a number-one seed.

Meantime, Lee County has been one of the biggest surprises in the state. Moving up from AAAAA where the Trojans won the Region 1 championship last season, not much was expected from the Leesburg school in their first season in AAAAAA. But under Head Coach Dean Fabrizio (6th season, 38-26), Lee County started 5-0 and finished 3-2 in region play to emerge as the number three seed out of 1-AAAAAA. The Trojans reached the state playoffs with wins over Tift County, Lowndes and Camden County.

The Trojans routed Lovejoy 44-6 at Twelve Oaks Stadium in the first round of the playoffs for just the fourth playoff win in the 44-year history of the program. At 8-2 on the season, this is just the ninth winning season in Lee County history and the program has won only thirty-six percent of its games in its over four-plus decades of play. This is also just the seventh playoff season since the program started in 1971 and the Trojans have never advanced beyond the second round.

Recruiting players to watch for Archer: 247 Sports Composite 4-star junior and No. 12 athlete in the Class of 2016 Kyle Davis who is committed to South Carolina and senior 3-star and #33 TE Connor Redmond who is also committed to the Gamecocks. The Tigers also boast two big-time sophomores starting with 4-star and No. 5 safety Isaiah Pryor whose 10 offers include Georgia, Miami and Tennessee; and 4-star Jamyest Williams, who is rated as the No. 9 athlete in the Class of 2017 with 11 offers including the likes of Georgia Tech, Clemson and Wisconsin.

In addition to Davis in the Tigers junior class, you will also find 3-star and No. 34 CB Dylan Singleton whose been offered by Duke, Kentucky and South Carolina and 6-3, 315-pound DT Kobe Smith who has been offered by Wake Forest.

Recruiting players to watch for Lee County include two impressive underclassmen in 4-star sophomore and No. 7 DT Aubrey Solomon, who’s been offered by Ole Miss and 3-star junior and No. 39 OT Chris Barnes, who’s also been offered by Ole Miss and Old Dominion. In the Trojans’ senior class, there’s CB Quan Jamison who is committed to Buffalo and WR Fundrail Quimbley who’s been offered by Marshall.

It will be another great GPB Football Friday in Georgia live from Lawrenceville. It all starts at 7:00 p.m. with our GPB All Access Pass show hosted by Mark Harmon and and Claire Simms and then join me, former Atlanta Falcons star DE Chuck Smith, Jon Nelson and Grace Olson on the game call starting at 7:30 pm. It’ll be fun. Be sure to tune in.