Pope Greyhounds vs. Allatoona Buccaneers

When: Wednesday, 11 a.m.

How they got here: Pope (24-2) d. Pebblebrook 34-6, d. Valdosta 40-0, d. Central Gwinnett 25-0, d. Blessed Trinity 7-6. Allatoona (22-2) d. Hughes 25-0, d. Alpharetta 19-7, d. Woodstock 13-6, d. Sequoyah 28-0.

Coaches: Pope – Kevin Fraser. Allatoona – Jordan Davis.

Looking ahead: It’s an all-Cobb County matchup in the state’s highest classification. Pope was the Area 3 champion whose only losses have come against Blessed Trinity and Milton, the two state finalists in 2022. Pope avenged its loss to Blessed Trinity in the semifinals to reach the title game. Allatoona is the No. 2 seed from Area 3 and lost to Pope 40-7 during the regular season. The Bucs’ other loss came to McEachern. Top players for Pope are quarterback Riley Bensman and receiver Carly Oubs, who combined for six touchdowns in the two first-round playoff games. Allatoona’s top players include Aoife Flynn, Hazel Shultz and Maci Strickland.