East Forsyth sweeps top-seeded Jackson-Atlanta, reaches Class 4A quarterfinals

East Forsyth did more than survive the second round. The Broncos went into Jackson on Wednesday and left with a 10-0, 6-0 sweep of the top-seeded host, punching their ticket to the Class 4A quarterfinals and turning a road series into a statement.

The No. 3 seed from Forsyth County, which entered the series at 25-10, never trailed in either game. Adiel Gibson sparked the opener with a two-run homer, then came back in the nightcap to throw a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts. Grant Barden set the tone in Game 1, firing six shutout innings and striking out seven as East Forsyth rolled to the first win.

The offense kept coming in the second game. Drew Collis, one of the Broncos’ most productive bats all season, launched two home runs and drove in four runs as East Forsyth completed the sweep. Across the doubleheader, the Broncos piled up 16 runs, 18 hits and 13 scoreless innings, a full-team performance that showed how dangerous they can be when pitching and power arrive together.

That balance has been part of the Broncos’ profile all spring. MaxPreps lists Collis as the team’s batting leader at .429, while Gibson and Barden both carried 0.00 ERAs into the series. Brooks Smallwood led East Forsyth in hits, and Jackson Staton and Jake Adamson were among the team’s top run scorers, evidence that the lineup has depth beyond the playoff headlines.

The result carries extra weight in Forsyth County because it came against a No. 1 seed in late April, when only a small group of teams remain alive in each GHSA bracket. Class 4A began on April 22, and the quarterfinal round is set for next week, giving East Forsyth a chance to keep extending a run that already has the county buzzing.

The Broncos will face the winner of the Kell-Harris County doubleheader with a semifinal berth on the line. For East Forsyth, the sweep was not just another playoff advance. It was the kind of road breakthrough that can define a program, and it sent the county’s spring sports attention squarely into next week’s quarterfinal round.