By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

It’s been nearly 15 years since the Troup Tigers reached the state quarterfinals.

Troup will have a chance to change that when it visits St. Pius X on Friday night in Atlanta with a berth in the Class AAAA quarterfinals on the line.

Also on Friday, Callaway will attempt to reach the quarterfinals for the fourth time since 2009 when it goes on the road to play Rockmart in the Class AA playoffs.

Troup advanced with a dominant 31-7 win over Heritage-Catoosa last week, while Callaway overwhelmed Douglass-Atlanta 28-8.

St. Pius went 5-5 in the regular season, but it won Region 8-AAAA with a 5-0 record before beating West Hall 44-31 in the first round of the playoffs.

St. Pius dropped its first five games of the season, but it will bring a six-game winning streak into the Troup game.

In last week’s game, St. Pius trailed 3-0 after the first quarter, but it surged to a 21-3 lead at the half and continued to pour it on in the second half.

St. Pius has been scoring at will during the winning streak, and it gets it done with a powerful running game.

In the region-championship game on the final night of the regular season, St. Pius had nearly 600 rushing yards, with Sam Schwaner leading the way with 227 yards.

Troup, which finished third in Region 5-AAAA, would play either West Laurens or Woodward Academy in the quarterfinals.

In Class AA, Callaway will hit the road after beating Douglass in the first round last week.

Callaway’s second-round opponent, Rockmart (9-2), has won eight consecutive games since opening with two losses in its first three games.

Rockmart made it eight in a row with a 47-7 win over Monticello last week in the first round.

If Callaway gets past Rockmart, it would play Brooks County or Dodge County in the third round.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Callaway at Rockmart, 7:30 p.m.

Troup at St. Pius X, 7:30 p.m.