Private school Class A football playoffs preview for Friday

Mt. Pisgah Christian at Athens Academy
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Slaughter Field, Athens
Records, rankings: Mount Pisgah Christian is 6-4, the No. 16 seed and unranked; Athens Academy is 10-0, the No. 1 seed and ranked No. 3.
Last meeting: Athens Academy won 36-6 in the 2007 regular season.
Three things to know: 1. Mount Pisgah, an Alpharetta school that began football in 2003 and joined the GHSA in 2006, is playing in its first playoff game under the GHSA banner. The Patriots reached the Georgia Independent School Association playoffs in 2005. 2. Athens Academy coach Michael Gunn is in his 23rd season, the most of any private-school coach in Class A. This season, Gunn achieved his ninth 10-win season, his seventh region title and his second perfect regular season. 3. Athens Academy beat five playoff teams toward its 10-0 finish. The biggest win came Oct. 26, when Athens Academy defeated George Walton Academy 21-20 after trailing 20-7 at halftime. QB Austin Schulte threw second-half TD passes to Eric Williams and Bobby Marshburn.
Maxwell Ratings' projection: Athens Academy by 25
Winner plays: Prince Avenue Christian/Darlington winner

Prince Avenue Christian at Darlington
When, where: 7 p.m. Friday, Chris Hunter Stadium, Rome
Records, rankings: Prince Avenue Christian is 8-2, the No. 9 seed and unranked; Darlington is 7-3, the No. 8 seed and unranked.
Last meeting: Darlington won 49-13 in the first round of the 2010 Class A playoffs.
Three things to know: 1. Darlington has made the playoffs nine of the past 10 seasons but advanced to the quarterfinals only once, in 2009, when the Tigers also made the semifinals. 2. Prince Avenue reached the semifinals last season and lost to eventual champion Savannah Christian. The Wolverines started football in 2005 and made the playoffs only one other time, 2010, when beaten at Darlington 49-13. 3. While Savannah Christian's Donald Chumley is the only coach in the private division who has won a state title in the GHSA, Prince Avenue coach Mark Farriba and George Walton's Don Williams have won state titles in the GISA. Farriba won with Stratford Academy of Macon in 2004 and First Presbyterian Prep in 1985. Farriba's record is 144-96-3.
Maxwell Ratings' projection: Prince Avenue Christian by 4
Winner plays: Mount Pisgah Christian/Athens Academy winner

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