If the Chattahoochee defense has done one thing well during the 2010 postseason, it's this: they've been able to stop the run. If the Cougars are going to knock off Statesboro and advance to next week's state championship game, they're going to have to stop the run again on Friday down in Coastal Georgia.

Two weeks ago it was Marist's triple option. Last week, Dutchtown ran a thought to be extinct version of the single-wing. This week, Chattahoochee will have to stop Stateboro's wishbone attack.

What will Chattahoochee be up against when they head down to Statesboro on Friday? Lets take a look.

Offense: The Statesboro game plan is going to be simple on Friday: they're going to run the ball. And then run it some more and then when you think they might pass it, they'll run it again. The Blue Devils flawlessly run a wishbone offense that can feature up to seven guys touching the ball in any given game.

The Chattahoochee defensive line is going to have to keep their eyes on shifty Statesboro backs Dequan Daniels and Aaron Lester. Daniels ran for a regular season high 207 yards in an Oct. 2 game against Effingham County, he ran for 206 yards in the Blue Devils quarterfinal win over Griffin and last week against Kell, the sophomore exploded for 237 yards. Lester is the blocking back of the Blue Devil wishbone offense. He creates big holes for Daniels. Up front for Statesboro will be three offensive linemen listed at over 290 pounds: Herman Lee, Freddie Burden and Cade Rushing.

The key for Chattahoochee is going to be jumping out to an early lead. Like Dutchtown last week, Statesboro doesn't have a quick strike offense. Blue Devil quarterback Reid Pennington only threw for 490 yards in the regular season or less than 50 yards per game. The key for Statesboro is simple: they'll need to run their offense to perfection and keep the high-octane Chattahoochee offense off the field.

Defense: The Statesboro defense will come into the game confident. Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Blue Devil D has seen three teams that run a predominantly shotgun based offense. Statesboro held Kell to only seven points in last week's 17-7 win. In round one, the Statesboro defense struggled to stop Tri-Cities in the first half –falling behind 21-7 – but they adjusted and ended up winning the game 24-21. Last week, Statesboro played a Griffin team that runs a very similar spread to Chattahoochee and came out on top 34-28. However, that same Griffin team was only able to score 10 points on a Dutchtown defense that surrendered 37 to Chattahoochee. The Blue Devils are big in the interior, but they may have problems matching up with Chattahoochee's talented skill players. Wide receivers Kane Whitehurst, Hunter Thomas, Josh Gregory and Will Johnson have combined for 124 catches, 2,112 yards and 29 touchdowns this season.

The Bottom Line: Chattahoochee is the slight favorite in this game. The Cougar offense hasn't been held below 31 points in 13 games this season. On the other hand, Statesboro has only scored over 31 points two times in 11 games. If this game turns into a shootout, Chattahoochee will waltz to the dome. Chattahoochee's biggest test this season was against a very disciplined Marist team that ran the triple-option to perfection. Hooch will see the same thing on Friday: Statesboro will be disciplined and running their wishbone to perfection. If the Hooch offense can score early and often, the Cougars should come out on top. 

Breech's Prediction: Chattahoochee advances to the state championship game with a 34-24 win. 

Tim's Take (Beacon Sports Correspondent Tim Altork offers his take)

Ever since Hooch rallied past Marist in the second round it has just felt like they’ve been on a collision course with Tucker for a state title showdown.

For the Cougars, there is the x-factor of playing four hours away from home, which is double the longest they’ve traveled all season (the Cougars did make an almost two hour trip to Northwest Whitfield).

But Statesboro has two losses this year. The first was to a Liberty County team that won twice all season, and the second was to an average Evans team that went 6-4 and missed the playoffs. Those games don’t mean a whole lot in the state semi-finals, but they do speak to the fact that Statesboro has something that Chattahoochee hasn’t shown all season – vulnerability. Statesboro is a team that has gotten hot in the playoffs. It happens.

But Chattahoochee is a team that has been hot all season. If being 200 miles from home doesn’t spook the Cougars they should be able reserve a locker room at the Georgia Dome for next Friday.

Chattahoochee 38, Statesboro 21