DACULA, Ga. — Dacula defeated Valdosta 56-21 to advance to the Class 6A state semifinals Friday night, where the Falcons host Northside-Warner Robins.

Dacula (11-2) continued to own the first quarter, then watched Valdosta (8-5) claw back for a 14-13 halftime edge. But the second half was all Falcons.

They outscored Valdosta 43-7 in the final two quarters, including 27-0 in the fourth quarter. Kyle Efford capped the victory with 69- and 83-yard touchdown runs, finishing his night with 11 rushes for 189 yards.

Jalen Perry (84 yards rushing, one TD), Jarrett Jenkins (69 yards rushing, one TD) and Trenton Jones (63 yards rushing, one TD) also contributed in a 398-yard rushing night for the hosts. Of that total, 297 came in the second half.

Dacula’s stout defense held Valdosta quarterback Tate Rodemaker — a 6-foot-4 junior with more than 3,000 yards passing and 30 TDs this year — to a 10-for-28 night with only 72 yards and no scores.

The passing star of the quarterfinal was on the opposite sideline. Jenkins, a Georgia Southern commitment in baseball, completed 9 of 17 passes for 161 yards and two first-quarter TDs, a 44-yarder to Chris Scott (three catches, 68 yards) and a 52-yarder to Konata Mumpfield (four catches, 85 yards).

Those two scores gave the Region 8-6A champions a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.

Valdosta answered with a TD run from Rajae’z Mosley, who had 18 rushes for 103 yards before leaving with an injury in the third quarter. The points were the first allowed in the first quarter by the Dacula defense in eight games, dating back to Sept. 14 against Central Gwinnett.

Jaheim Bell scored on a 1-yard run with 39 seconds left in the first half, and Dacula trailed 14-13 at the break.

From there, the Falcons did a better job in run defense and continued to frustrate a Valdosta offense that leans largely toward the pass. The Wildcats had scored 105 points in their first two playoff wins, but the passing game never got going against a talented Dacula secondary.

Perry broke up a pair of passes, while Tyler Lawary, Kaleb Edwards and Jaiev Khan also had a pass breakup each. Khan added a sack on a first-half fake field goal. Jalen Cole (two tackles for losses, one fumble recovery), Chris Smith (tackle for loss), Sean McDaniel (tackle for loss), Noah Duba (sack, quarterback hurry) and David Freeman (tackle for loss) also chipped in with negative plays against the Valdosta offense. Mohamoud Diallo added a late fumble recovery, as did Malyke McDermott.

Dacula scored on the second offensive snap of the third quarter when Jenkins made an option pitch to Perry, and the Michigan commitment did the rest, tight-roping down the home sidelines for a 56-yard TD run. A quick defensive stop on the ensuing possession set up Zach Gerks’ 33-yard field goal, which put the Falcons up 22-14.

After a fumble recovery by Lopez, Jones ran 15 yards for a TD on the next play for a 36-21 lead. Valdosta came right back with a one-play drive, an 80-yard TD run by Tarrell Roberts with six seconds left in the third quarter.

Jenkins executed a perfect fake handoff to Efford on the next possession before racing untouched for a 49-yard score early in the fourth quarter. Efford’s 69-yard TD run was followed by a fumbled kickoff by Valdosta, setting up Jaylen Drummond’s 1-yard scoring run. Another Dacula turnover led to Efford’s second long TD run and the 56-21 edge.