For only the second time in school history and the first time since 1999, Chattahoochee is headed to the state semifinals. Behind three touchdowns from Kane Whitehurst and a stellar defensive performance, the Cougars blew past Dutchtown 37-14 to advance to next Friday's Final Four where they'll take on Statesboro.

Going into Friday night's quarterfinal, the Dutchtown defense had surrendered exactly zero points in their first two playoff games (6-0 and 15-0 wins). Chattahoochee head coach Terry Crowder was a little bit concerned going into the game, "Nobody moved the ball on them all season," Crowder said of the Dutchtown D that only gave up six points a game this year.

With Dutchtown blitzing on almost every play, Crowder and offensive coordinator Scott Carmichael put the game in the hands of AAAA player of the year candidate Timmy Byerly. Byerly responded by slicing and dicing the Dutchtown defense to the tune of 95 rushing yards and 173 passing yards. "I have so much trust in Timmy to be able to throw the ball when they're sending everybody like that," Crowder said after the game. Byerly threw touchdown passes of seven and 62-yards in the game, both of which went to Whitehurst. The 62-yarder was the longest touchdown the Bulldogs surrendered all season.

After one quarter of play and the score knotted at zero, it looked like there would be no way for Chattahoochee to penetrate the invincible Dutchtown defense. But in the second quarter, Chattahoochee finally found a chink in the Dutchtown defensive armor.

On a drive that started at their own 33-yard line, Chattahoochee called six straight runs to get to the end zone. Byerly had the biggest play of the drive when he ran 32 yards down to the Dutchtown 11. One play later, Whitehurst took a reverse handoff into the end zone for a Cougar score.

The senior combo struck again just before halftime when Byerly hit Whitehurst with a 7-yard touchdown pass that stretched the Chattahoochee lead to 14-0. Dutchtown hadn't trailed by 14 all season and the Bulldog defense seemed shocked to have given up 14 points in only two quarters. Before Friday's game, 14 was the most points Dutchtown had given up in an entire game all season.

Crowder credited Carmichael for putting together a game plan that allowed the Hooch offense to move the ball so effortlessly. "Coach Carmichael does a great job of seeing things and setting up plays," Crowder said after the game. "And like I've said all year long, it's really hard to defend us. If you want to take away the run or the pass, you can try, but we have weapons either way."

On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter Byerly and Whitehurst effectively put the game away with a 62-yard throw-and-catch that put the Hooch lead at 21-0. The score was Whitehurst's third of the night. "He's a heck of a ball player," Crowder said of Whitehurst after the game. "The one thing about Kane is that he's probably the smartest football player I've ever coached." Whitehurst finished the game with six catches for 91 yards.

Dutchtown finally got on the board midway through the third quarter when QB Wendell Long hit Kelvin Leaphart with a 27-yard touchdown pass. It was Long's first passing attempt of the game. The Bulldog senior finished the night 3-of-9 for 40 yards.

Chattahoochee got the touchdown back minutes later when Hunter Thomas took a pitch and ran 36-yards down the sideline for a score.

Ammon Lakip, the hero of last week's win over Marist, hit two field goals in the game (41, 20). Lakip's backup, Kevin Hady, also put some points on the board when he drilled a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Dutchtown's Jamaal Watkins rounded out the scoring when he returned the kickoff after Hady's field goal 91-yards for a touchdown. Mycheal Brown was the leading rusher for the Bulldogs, the Dutchtown senior finished his high school career with 97 yards on 15 carries.

For Chattahoochee, Byerly finished the game 11-of-20 for 173 yards. His 95 rushing yards came on 11 carries. Thomas had 33 yards receiving to go along with his 36-yard touchdown run.

Josh Gregory had two plays of over 50 yards in the game, but the Hooch senior wasn't able to find the end zone. Gregory had a 51-yard catch in the third quarter and a 58-yard run in the fourth quarter, both plays set up eventual Cougar field goals. Gregory finished the night with 75 yards rushing and 51 yards receiving.

Defensively, Trey Hart had an interception for Chattahoochee.

The Cougars (13-0) will play Statesboro (11-2) on Friday in the state semifinals. The Blue Devils are the No. 1 seed out of Region 2-AAAA, they knocked off Kell 17-7 on Friday night.

After three home playoff wins, Crowder doesn't seem overly concerned with making the almost four hour trip to Statesboro. "It really doesn't matter [where we play]," the seventh year coach says. "This team has shown they can travel. We went to Northwest Whitfield, which is two hours and we played really well up there. The big thing is not having a letdown when we go down there. We just need a great effort and we'll see what happens."