GPB Sports Friday Playoffs in Georgia kicks off tonight with what promises to be an incredible ballgame as the ninth-ranked Houston County Bears take on the North Atlanta Warriors in the first round of the GHSA 6A postseason tournament. The Maxwell computer ratings project HoCo as a mere one-point favorite.

Our live, Emmy Award-winning coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. from Eddie Henderson Stadium in midtown Atlanta on GPB-TV Georgia Public Broadcasting. Formerly known as Grady Stadium, this was once the home stadium of legendary coach Erk Russell who led the Grady Grey Knights to a 1953 state championship.

As the No. 3 seed coming out of Region 1 the Bears again find themselves playing on the road. Houston County has played 10 straight state playoff games on the road dating back to 2015 when its one and only region championship team beat Mays 42-40 at home in the second round. In fact, this is the second straight season the Bears and Warriors have met in the playoffs with Houston County beating North Atlanta 41-31 in the second round on this very same field last year.

Complete state playoff brackets

HoCo has gone 18-5 in two seasons under coach Jeremy Edwards including 8-2 this season with the Bears only losses coming to region rivals No. 8 Lee County 44-35 and No. 2 Thomas County Central 27-0. Edwards came to the Bears from cross-county rival Warner Robins where he was the offensive coordinator for coach Marquis Westbrook and three straight state finals teams twice winning the state championship.

North Atlanta comes in with a 9-1 record, the best regular-season finish in the program’s 33-year history. The Warriors are the No. 2 seed out of Region 4 with their only loss coming to No. 7 Marist 16-3 after starting the season 7-0 for the first time.

North Atlanta is led by coach Jamie Aull, who played for Mt. Zion-Jonesboro’s 1999 state finals team and less than nine years after graduating from high school was the head coach of his alma mater. That was a decade ago.

Now in his fourth season as the Warriors head coach he has taken the program to heights it has never experienced, going 23-9 the last three seasons after a 3-5 record in his first year, the 2020 COVID season. Last year he led North Atlanta to just the third playoff appearance in program history and it’s first state playoff win.

That’s not to say the school has not had playoff success … well at least kind of. The school opened in 1991 following the merger of North Fulton and Northside Atlanta High Schools. North Fulton won a state championship in 1966 and Northside in 1957 under the legendary Hall of Fame coach Wayman Creel.

The winner of this game will advance to the second round to play the winner of the Evans at Woodward Academy first round match-up. That will be on the road if the heavily favored War Eagles win and at home if the Knights pull off the upset.

So that’s the game preview. Let’s take a look at the top prospects to watch this evening.

Houston County Bears

Antwann Hill, Houston County

Antwann Hill, Houston County

Credit: 247 Sports

Antwann “AJ” Hill – 6-5, 210, Junior – Committed to Colorado  over 25 other offers including North Carolina and Georgia – Highest Ranking: Consensus 2025 4-Star and ESPN No. 3 junior QB in the country. Stats: 67% completion. 2,223 yards. 26 TD, 4 INT. Career: 6,769 yards, 74 TD, 13 INT. Uncle Trey Hill starred for HoCo and the Georgia Bulldogs and is now in his third season as OL with the Cincinnati Bengals. Coach Edwards: “A.J. attacks each day with a pro mindset. Does great job handling all the attention.”

Kale Woodburn – 5-9, 150, Senior – Committed to Cincinnati over 11 other offers including Georgia Southern and Wake Forest – Highest Ranking: Consensus 2024 3-Star WR. Stats: 41-477 receiving yards with 4 TD. Career: 120-1,739 yards, 18 TD. Coach Edwards: “When you see him you won’t be that impressed (because of his size) but he can float.” Consistent 4.3 time in the 40.

Kahlil House – 6-4, 305, Senior – Committed to Stanford over 23 other offers including Auburn – Highest Ranking: Consensus 2024 3-Star IOL (Interior Offensive Lineman). Played most of the season at guard and center but starting at RT last couple of weeks.

Recordo Tarver – 6-0, 180, Senior – Committed to Georgia State  over seven other offers after originally committing to Troy – Highest Ranking: On3 2024 3-Star WR. Stats: 28-328 yards receiving with 3 TD. Career: 67-937 yards and 7 TD. Coach Edwards: “Hard-nosed and talented.”

Ricky Johnson – 6-1, 180, Senior – Committed to Stanford over 22 other offers including Georgia Tech and Minnesota – Highest Ranking: Consensus 2024 3-Star WR – Stats: Leading WR 54-969 yards receiving with 12 TD. Career: 107-1,809 yards and 23 TD. Moved in from South Gwinnett High School where he had played JV OLB. Coach Edwards says they saw him in the gym during PE and asked if he played football. “He was long so we tried him out at WR. From very first rep he’s been a splash.”

Jaquari Brown – 6-0, 160, Senior – Committed to Georgia Southern over USF and seven other offers - Highest Ranking: On3 2024 3-Star CB. Stats: 12 TT, 3 TFL, 4 PBU. Stats won’t wow you because like most top-flight CB doesn’t get thrown at a lot. Bears put Brown on the opponents No.1 WR every Friday night.

Xavier Ryan – 6-1, 210, Senior – Committed to Army over Navy and Morgan State – Highest Ranking: Rivals 2024 2-Star LB. Stats: 66 TT, 8 TFL, 5 QBS. Coach Edwards: “Xavier got a motor.”

Jeremy Blute – 6-2, 230, Senior OL – Committed to Air Force. One of three returning starters on the OL for the Bears this season.

Ryan Taleb – 5-8, 175, Senior RB – Offered by Chattanooga. Stats: 924 yards rushing with 9 TD. Career: 2,768 yards rushing, 28 TD. Coach Edwards: “Not big but tough. Could start at slot receiver. Never seen a defender get square hit on him.”

Jayden Jackson – 6-0, 245, Senior DL – Offered by Savannah State. Stats: 36 TT, 7 TFL, 4 QBS. Coach Edwards “Consistent 4.6-4.7 time in the 40 which is kind of wild being as big as he is.”

Jacob Dema – 6-5, 360, Senior DL – Offered by Sewanee. Coach Edwards: “Dema is a monster.”

North Atlanta Warriors Prospects

Chase Linton, North Atlanta

Chase Linton, North Atlanta

Credit: 247 Sports

Chase Linton – 6-4, 206, Junior Edge – Four offers including Memphis, Georgia State and App State. Stats: Leading tackler 55 TT with 5 QBS, 19 TFL. Coach Aull: “Linton is special. Spring 2022 I was yelling at our players “why can’t we block this sophomore.” Now we see why.” Expect power conference offers Spring 2024. Long and bats down a lot of passes.

Grant Thompson – 5-11, 180, Junior WR/SAF – Offered by Akron and UMass. Stats: 23-401 yards receiving, 2 TD on offense. Day one starter as freshman at CB and eventually grew into safety. Two-way starter after moving him to offense this season. Coach Aull: “Explosive with the ball in his hands.”

Darius Malcolm – 5-9, 173, Senior CB – Five offers including Austin Peay, Samford and ETSU. Stats: 3 INT and also plays No. 2 RB. Coach Aull: “Been our best cover guy last two seasons. Very fast and often baits QBs into bad throws so he can make a play.”

Xaden Benson – 6-0, 165, Junior WR/SAF – Offered by Hampton and Long Island. Two-way starter and great CF on North Atlanta baseball team. Hopes to play both sports in college. Stats: 26-533 yards receiving with 5 TD. 5 INT on defense four that have been returned for TD. Did not play freshman season because of Covid but started on defense since his sophomore season and going both ways this season. 4.2 GPA.

Demetrius Barnes – 5-9, 160, Senior RB – Offered by Wright State and Culver Stockton. Stats: 1,038 yards rushing, averaging 100-plus yards per game, 7-plus yards per carry with 18 TD. Coach Aull: “Great to see senior work hard for 3 years and finally get a chance to have big season. Worked on ball security issues in off-season and has 0 fumbles this year.”

Jaylan Oliver – 6-3, 271, Senior NG – Offered by Miles College and Peru State. Stats: 23 TT, 1 QB Sack, 4 TFL. Coach Aull: “Work ethic been different this year. Always been big physical kid. Good last year, better this year. “

Saalim Davis – 6-0, 171, Junior CB – Offered by Austin Peay.

Dallas Ford – 5-11, 165, Senior WR – Receiving interest from Clark Atlanta and Morehouse

Tobi Adewoyin – 5-10, 160, Junior SAF – Offered by Louisville and Miami-Ohio

So, join Wayne Gandy, Jon Nelson, Hannah Goodin, Niki Noto Palmer and me for our Emmy Award-winning Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week as the North Atlanta Warriors host the Houston County Bears starting at 7:30 p.m. Remember at halftime Hannah will highlight this week’s Make That Kid an Offer nominees.

You can watch Football Fridays in Georgia in so many ways. You have traditional TV (GPB), online at GPB.org, GPB Sports app, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitch.

Now if somehow, you miss it live or just want to watch it again, don’t worry, we replay the entire Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week at 11:30 p.m. or you can watch it on demand anytime at GPB.org. 

Enjoy your Playoff Friday in Georgia!