TIFTON — As they prepare to face off Saturday at the Georgia Dome in the semifinals of the state Class AAAAA football playoffs, the Tift County Blue Devils and the Roswell High Hornets are both 12-1 on the year.

That is just one of several similarities both teams share.

They were each ranked No. 1 in a state poll this year, Roswell in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Tift County in the Associated Press poll. Both teams only had a one-week run alone at the top, even though Tift did share the top spot in the AP for one week with Colquitt.

Each team holds a victory over the Collins Hill Eagles and the Houston County Bears.

Roswell defeated Collins Hill, 31-28, in the first round of the state playoffs. Tift got a 7-2 victory over the Eagles in the second game of the regular season at Camden County.

In last week’s state quarterfinals, Roswell defeated Houston County, 42-21. During the regular season, Tift got a 20-17 win over the Bears.

The two teams each feature balanced offenses.

Roswell quarterback Dustin Taliaferro has passed for 1,718 yards while Tift County quarterback Sean Baxley has thrown for 1,856.

Each team has a junior running back that has put up big numbers.

Roswell’s Alex Daniel has scored 15 touchdowns while rushing for 1,560 yards. Tift County’s Kaream Hess has 1,251 yards rushing, 51 catches for 419 yards and 16 total touchdowns.

“Daniel is a good running back,” Scott Kennedy of Scout.com said.

P.J. Beidel leads the Hornets with 38 catches for 472 yards. Tift’s Israel Troupe has 58 catches for 645 yards and six touchdowns.

Both teams also have similar-sized lines.

Roswell’s offensive line averages 239.4 pounds per man with the biggest lineman being right guard Brandon Reynolds, who checks in at 6-foot-2, 270 pounds.

The Tift offensive front averages 245 pounds per man. Sophomore Anthony Bryant is the biggest along the front, checking in at 6-foot-4, 300 pounds.

An average Roswell defensive lineman is 5-foot-11, 231 pounds. Justin Byrd is the biggest along the line. The Roswell defensive end is 6-foot-2, 244 pounds.

The average Tift defensive lineman is just over 6 feet tall and weighs 228.75 pounds. Defensive end Anthony Woods is the biggest Devil along the defensive front, coming in at 6-foot-2, 245 pounds.

A tie game at the end of regulation has not been a problem for either team this season.

Roswell defeated McEachern in overtime 20-14 in the team’s season opener. Tift has overtime victories this season over Valdosta, Houston County and Colquitt County.

The Roswell win over McEachern came in the Georgia Dome as a part of the Corky Kell Classic. That is one main difference between the teams — Roswell has played in the Dome this season while Tift has not.

Even though this is the first time Roswell has made it to the state semifinals since 1971, they do have that experience in the Dome.

Tift head coach Jay Walls does not consider Roswell an “underdog.” He also does not think the Dome will be intimidating to his team.

“Roswell is an excellent team, and we are going to be in for a fight Saturday,” Walls said. “We are going to get up there early and let the kids walk around and get the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ out. I think we will be fine once the game starts.”

NOTE: Tift is due to leave the Tift County Field House Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The squad will go up 20th Street to Highway 41 to get to the Interstate. The Tift County Touchdown Club wants to urge people to line the route and for houses along 20th Street to decorate in blue and white.