After losing last year's state championship to West Forsyth by a single point, the Hillgrove Hawks are ready to try it again. The Hawks looked convincing last night in home wins over River Ridge and North Gwinnett. 

Despite a physical and defensive battle in their Round 2 game against the Bulldogs, Hillgrove was able to end North Gwinnett's season with a TD late in the second half. It was the only score of the game. The Hawks advance to a quarterfinal matchup against Milton tomorrow night at Hawk Stadium.

Three miles south of Hillgrove, the McEachern Indians also punched their ticket to the quarterfinals with wins over Chattahoochee and Central Gwinnett. Their first round game was a tight contest, which came down to the wire. 

Taking a 7-6 lead into halftime, the Indians knew they had work to do in the second half. Both teams found the end zone again, but missed extra points by the Hooch Cougars was the determining factor in the game. The Indians took the hard-fought victory, 14-12.

Three other Cobb Schools were represented in the first round round as well. Allatoona, Osborne, and Pope each lost their initial playoff games on the road. Allatoona lost a close match to Johns Creek (6-0), Osborne was on the short end of 14-12 game at Creekview, and Pope lost to Blessed Trinity.

If Hillgrove and McEachern both stick to their winning ways, we will have an all-Cobb final at Center Parc Stadium on December 9. Keep it up, ladies!