ONEONTA – Appalachian quarterback Jeremy Hill completed 12-of-16 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 41-6 victory over Gaylesville in the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs Friday.

Appalachian (9-2) advances to face Cedar Bluff next Friday in the second round. Gaylesville’s season ends at 6-5.

Hill got the Eagles going early by finding Jacob Chapelle on a 32-yard touchdown pass. Luis Guerra connected on the extra point to give Appalachian a 7-0 lead with 9:40 to go in the first quarter.

Appalachian struck again with 6:02 left in the first on Zac Blythe’s 1-yard touchdown run. Guerra’s point after made it 14-0 Eagles.

Gaylesville got on the board with just seven seconds left in the first quarter. Justin Jennings recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown. A bad snap on the extra point kept the score at 14-6 in favor of the Eagles.

From there, it was all Appalachian.

Blythe scored his second touchdown of the night on another 1-yard run, putting the Eagles on top 21-6 at the half.

Chapelle opened the third-quarter scoring on a 52-yard touchdown pass by Hill. Guerra’s point after was good, giving Appalachian a 28-6 advantage.

Tonny Strickland scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns for the final. The first was on a 5-yard run with 10:57 left in the game. Strickland’s second score came with 3:19 to go on a 10-yard run.

Dylan Schuman led the Eagles’ ground attack with 122 yards on 16 carries. Chapelle caught four passes for 111 yards and two scores.

Gaylesville was led by John Jennings, who rushed for 51 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Luke Murphy completed 4-of-18 passes for 42 yards. Paul VanPelt had two catches for 25 yards.