TIFTON — For the first time since 1997, the Tift County Blue Devils will be playing in the state Class AAAAA semifinals at the Georgia Dome. Tift will take on the Roswell High Hornets at 6 this evening for the right to go to the state championship contest.

Tift and Roswell will both go in with 12-1 records. Roswell’s only loss came back on Sept. 29 against Wheeler, 14-3, while Coffee is the only team that has defeated Tift, 23-20 on Oct. 13.

The Hornets are led offensively by quarterback Dustin Taliaferro and running back Alex Daniel.

Taliaferro has completed 106-of-204 passes this season for 1,718 yards. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes and has been picked off six times.

Even though he has missed time with a sprained knee ligament, Daniel has rushed for 1,560 yards on 298 carries, an average of 5.2 yards per carry. Daniel also has 15 touchdowns.

“The quarterback is a very good athlete,” Tift head coach Jay Walls said. “He runs, throws and he does a good job of running their offense. They got him doing audibles and checks at the line and he does a great job at that.”

About Daniel, Walls said, “He is a very good player. He is a tough kid. Everyone that has rushed for 1,500 yards in the state of Georgia has to be good. Playing with an injury shows his toughness.”

P.J. Beidel and Daniel Neidwiecki are the team’s leading receivers. Beidel has 38 catches for 472 yards and three scores and Neidwiecki has 26 catches for 420 yards and three touchdowns.

“They have got a couple of good receivers that run great routes,” Walls said.

Up front, “their O-line has good size and they do a great job of executing,” Walls said.

Senior center Trey Johnson leads the line. Johnson graded out at 84 percent for the season.

“You can tell offensively that they know are doing. The kids are well-coached and they do a great job of executing.”

On defense, the Hornets are led by defensive end Justin Byrd. The senior has 34 tackles, five for loss yardage, four quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery.

However, Walls is also impressed with Byrd’s bookend on the other side, junior Curtis Hazleton.

“Both of their ends, No. 79 (Byrd) and No. 58 (Hazleton) are very good players,” Walls said. “No. 79 is a little bit bigger, he is a big-play guy for them on defense, against both the run and the pass.”

Also, upfront, “another guy that stands out is their nose tackle, No. 67 (James Kelly). He is tough in the middle,” Walls said.

The Tift coach is also impressed with Roswell linebacker Ebelle Okakpu.

“He is very athletic and makes big plays for them,” Walls said of Okakpu.

The defensive backfield, “does a good job of executing their coverages. They do a good job against the run and pass,” said Walls.

Jim Broadway Jr., who is the son of former University of Georgia punter Jim Broadway, does all of the Roswell kicking.

“They are very good in the kicking game. Their kicker is very talented,” said Walls. “He does not kick it into one spot. He is able to kick it to the right, to the left, deep, sky — he can kick it all over the place. He is a good kicker.”

While Walls and his staff have been studying the Hornets, they have also been busy getting the Devils ready for tonight.

“We have had a very good week of preparation,” Walls said. “We are healthier than we have been in a long time. I have always said that is very important when you make a playoff run, if you can stay healthy and have a little bit of luck and play some good football, good things can happen for you. Our trip to the Dome is proof of that.”

The team will leave the high school field house at 10 this morning.

“We are going to eat our pregame meal at 1 at the Holiday Inn in downtown Atlanta,” said Walls. “Then we are going to the Dome and arrive there at 2:30. We will watch some of the Early County-Charlton County (Class AA semi). We will then go in and get dressed and taped and get ready for our kickoff at 6.”

The team will get 30 minutes to warm-up. Tift’s normal warm-up period is around 40 minutes long, Walls said.

“We will be fine as far as that is concerned,” the coach said.

Walls thinks his team is ready for the big atmosphere.

“We have handled going on the road and playing at a neutral site, when we went to Camden County (for the South Georgia Classic),” Walls said. “We have handled different situations, playing on Thursday, playing on Saturday. We have had rain delays and thinking we were going to play on Friday and playing on Saturday. We have handled some different situations. I think our guys will handle playing in the Dome.”

Walls feels that his team’s practice on the Sprintturf at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta Thursday was also a big help.

“Our preparation yesterday down at Valdosta on the turf was very beneficial,” Walls said. “I think our kids will have some confidence on the turf.

“You know watching the kids today. I think the turf there is a great surface to play on. You don’t see any kids having any problems, they are just out there playing.

“We are really excited about playing there. It is going to be a great atmosphere.”

One other thing going for the Devils will be the prize Tift will get for a win over Roswell. A victory would mean Tift would host a state title game at Brodie Field for the first time in school history.

“We can bring back the state championship game to ‘The Brodie’. That would be a great experience,” said Walls.