Northwest Whitfield High School’s playoff run from a third seed in its own region to the Class 4A Final Four ended in a state semifinal defeat Friday night.
Gainesville’s Johnson High School, the 2022 5A champ and last year’s 4A champion, scored a late goal to knock off the upstart Bruins 1-0 and get a chance to play for a third straight state title.
Johnson (18-1-1) will play for the 4A state championship on Wednesday in Duluth, while the season ends for Northwest (9-8-4).
The defense of the Bruins and keeper Nery Martinez kept Johnson off of the scoreboard for nearly the entirety of regulation, but the Knights broke through with just 2:23 to play. Daniel Trujillo collected a rebound and put in the lone goal of the game.
Northwest, after entering the playoffs with a losing record of 6-7-4 and coming in third in Region 7-4A, won three straight playoff games and came within a few minutes of breaking through to the state championship game. The Bruins reached the finals in 2022 and won a state championship in 2018.
After going on the road to defeat Clarkston in the first round of the playoffs, Northwest got to play two straight home games in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, thanks to some more road upsets in the 4A bracket. The Bruins bounced Cedar Shoals 4-1 and knocked off LaGrange 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinals.