Free-For-All Friday: Georgia high school football Week One scores, updates, photos and chat – LIVE!
Chat live on Fridays with the AJC's Michael Carvell
It’s Week One of FRIDAY NIGHT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL. Whenever possible on Friday nights, AJC high schools beat writer Michael Carvell will try to blog live and take your questions about high school football and related topics.
We are here to talk football, football and more football. Going to a game? Take the cellphone or PDA and let us know what’s going on at YOUR game. Got a score update, see a killer play or have a shout-out? Keep it clean and POST IT HERE. And SEND US YOUR GAME PHOTOS.
Here are the Week One games you can find stories and photos from on ajc.com…
Photos: M.L. King vs. Southwest DeKalb | Game story
Photos: Peachtree Ridge vs. Harrison | Game story
Photos: St. Pius vs. Marist | Game story
Photos:Collins Hill at Parkview | Game story | Feature: Parkview’s glory years past
And look for these Week One game stories on ajc.com…
Lovett vs. Woodward
Riverdale vs. North Clayton
SURPRISE! Extra game / fan photos especially for YOU (and you and you)…
Check out some game (and band) action from Cedar Grove-Stone Mountain. Also some cool fan photos from Harrison High, the St. Pius-Marist Fish Bowl and Collins Hill-Parkview tailgating. SEE THEM HERE.
Don’t forget to check out our roundups from around the metro area. Here’s what you’ll find…
Chamblee at Douglass
Lassiter at Sprayberry
Tift at Roswell
South Gwinnett at Norcross
Chattahoochee at Milton
Banneker at Westlake
Weekend topic: Who looks overrated / underrated after their Week One performance?
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197 comments Add your comment
TrojanDude
August 30th, 2009
11:12 am
**BOB SPIRHES**
I know nothing of this dude’s history and I quit listening to the game broadcast before the interview. However, after listening to the comments on this site by folks that seem to know something about him, I just have one impulsiver comment. I hate his guts.
MLK DAD
August 30th, 2009
11:21 am
What happen to the first two eople to post a comment on this blog…. Not Talking now, that MLK just killed the #1 ranking for SWD……. Advice when you are ranked #1 do not start your season off with a rivary…. every football fan knows that…. Go LIONS MLK 13 SWD 9
Strong Bear10
August 30th, 2009
2:24 pm
THE GRIFFIN BEARS did they thing Friday 27-0 against dunwoody already stout DEFENSE STAY UP
slalom1
August 30th, 2009
2:51 pm
williambrado, Thanks for taking the bait. LOL!
Coweta County
August 30th, 2009
2:56 pm
Northgate was blown away by Dutchtown Friday nite. Its does not get any better, going forward. Alexander,Banneker and Hiram. Better fix the offense and defense fast. Little Bobby can’t stand the pressure. Shut the Touchdown Club down.
??
August 30th, 2009
3:04 pm
wildcat fan, the only reason the southern Ga teams are any good is because they are all ONE COUNTY! Think about it, if Gwinnett was one county, i’m pretty sure they could beat COLLEGE teams. Yet Grayson still beat TWO south Georgia teams, which were both defending state champions, I don’t care if Camden is young, Grayson had alot of sophmores and juniors on the field too, think about that. “whatchu know bout them wildcats” 0-1.
Yo
August 30th, 2009
3:10 pm
HornetFan haven’t you seen enough of Lowndes already. Great win over Tift. I take from that either Roswell will have an opportunity to get their butts kicked by Lowndes again this year in the playoffs or my brethren from Tift Co. is sorely lacking this year. Probably a little of both. You guys gave us our best game in 2007 during the playoffs. Would love a rematch, but just know you should be facing a better Lowndes team this time around. As I have said earlier…this may be the best Viking team in Lowndes history. Good, strong possibility.
??
August 30th, 2009
3:11 pm
Enter your comments here
Yo
August 30th, 2009
3:17 pm
Cobbfan we like to be hated…..it generally means we are on top.
You been hated any lately?
Yo
August 30th, 2009
3:26 pm
Slalom…as you know speed goes without saying. Bring on the Grayson BIG boys I pretty confidant we will match up just fine this year. All 8 of them.
slalom1
August 30th, 2009
3:32 pm
REEZE, How are things looking for Northside?
slalom1
August 30th, 2009
3:38 pm
YO and REEZE, Better look out for Valdosta and Colquitt. In the rear view mirror, keep an eye on Newnan.
slalom1
August 30th, 2009
3:52 pm
Where are the Newnan Cougar fans? This 2009 team has the potential for greatness.
Suwanee 0wnz
August 30th, 2009
3:54 pm
Bob Sphire is an excellent coach who takes an active role in his community and goes out of his way to make sure his players get a quality education. He works hard to get his players exposure to recruiters from top schools. That is what the Progressive Challenge is all about. By inviting #1 teams like Prattville, and Byrnes to one place on the same day, he is assured that his players will get exposure to some top recruiters who might not take a look at North Gwinnett players otherwise. The North Gwinnett community is very happy with Bob Sphire.
It is a lot easier to attack the coach than to comment on the performance by the “second ranked” team in Suwanee who just swatted down the 3 time defending 6A Alabama Champions. North held the Alabama Champions to only 3 yards in the first half, and to just one touchdown, and one field goal for the entire game. The “first ranked” Suwanee team, Peachtree Ridge, clobbered Harrison, while the “third ranked” Suwanee team, Collins Hill, manhandled Parkview. Add in the fact that many Buford players are recruited from Suwanee and there is not really much doubt that Suwanee is THE football power in the enitre state.
Meanwhile, SAT scores are on the rise at North as they concentrate on their first priority of educating students, while socres in the rest of the state are dropping. It is no wonder the rest of the state wants to deflect attention to a coach’s comments. I expect Bob Sphire will improve his interview skills as he gets many more opportunities to practice over the next few years. Perhaps Lowndes should spend a little more time teaching its players how to read and write, and how to stay out of jail.
We’ll gladly keep Bob Sphire right here in Suwanee; thank you very much.
Grayson Student
August 30th, 2009
4:30 pm
plowboy… that game was last year, it is laughable that you still bring it up. To the ridge fans i wish you the best of luck but lets get one thing straight you did beat us but only because our snapper. Lowndes fans who are always hating on grayson, if you would of crawled out of your trailer parks and made the trip to atlanta you would know that we were the far superior team and special teams is the only reason they were in that game
Grayson Student
August 30th, 2009
4:42 pm
yo, can i get an honest assesment of lowndes on friday night besides the score how did they look
HeadEast
August 30th, 2009
4:55 pm
Pridge looked very good but they were helped by a very mediocre Hoya team. Sorry Hoyas, no playoffs for you, 5-5 with losses to Etowah, McEachern, Woodstock, and East yet to come. Big mouth 1AAAAA was going to have four teams in the semis last year but they only had one, a team that disgraced itself in losing both the game and the fight it started!
wildcat fan
August 30th, 2009
5:51 pm
?? your correct on the defending state champs, after both defending state champs lost a lot players from the year before. Grayson Student must be on drugs, what in the world does Grayson have for anyone to hating on. One or two decent years and you guys are the best thing since slice bread. Grayson please win one first, act like you have been here before, oh my bad you have noooooooooottttttttttttt. Lowndes, Camden, PeachtreeRidge/Roswell have the last 6 state champioships. Grayson Student you act like your school is on that list, for some strange reason i do not see it. Win one first baby, then you can get your name on that list. You better win one this year if not, you may never win one. Because you know as well as i do, your team is only any good every 3 to 4 years if that.
viking lover
August 30th, 2009
7:43 pm
Grayson Student, if you would like an honest assesment I will try to do my best. After following Lowndes football for the last 6 years I can honestly say I have never seen a more explosive offense from the Vikings. We are three QB’s deep and honestly I can’t tell you how many running backs we have that can do it all. The years past of watching Lowndes run the normal wing -t all night long are over. QB Cole Parker throws bullets and runs for long yardage. He made good decisions all night long against Woodland. Last years QB K. Franklin is RB this year and ran for over 100 yards on 10 carries. I believe Tyler Hunter also went over 100. If I’m not mistaken Lowndes had over 500 total yards. That’s with 1st string on the bench early third quarter. Wing -T misdirection is still part of the offense, but mixing in the passing game this year keeps the defense wondering what the hell is coming their way. Defense is still quick and tough as nails. LB Telvin Smith is one of the best I’ve seen. Not big, but hits like a truck and also playing WR on offense. The only TD the first string defense gave up was 40 yard pass play. Other Woodland TD came late in the game with the bench playing on defense. I was very impressed with versatility of the offense and not at all surprised by the defense, which is always a Viking mainstay. Honestly after seeing one game, they may be the best I’ve seen in six years.
??
August 30th, 2009
8:02 pm
wildcat fan,
Grayson has only been opened since 2000, so of course it’s taken us a while to build a program.
Grayson Student
August 30th, 2009
8:15 pm
i believe wildcat fan is still a little upset… i never claimed to be among those programs when it comes to winning titles but when u beat the best what does that mean… so we have beat lowndes and now camden and came within a botched field goal of beating the ridge. my point is when are yall gonna give some sort of acknowledgement towards grayson being a contender… speaking of lists i just took a glance at our list of opponents and saw some numbers, something along the lines of 14-10 with a big fat W beside it. idk maybe thats good maybe its not. I sure hope camden thinks that as they beat up on the weak teams down in that joke of a region that they are getting better. Come play the big boys again (lowndes, ridge, and grayson and we will see in december) I have the up most respect for the programs down south but its ignorant people like you who cant take the time to realize an up and coming program. Maybe we arent exactly sliced bread but at least the polls around the nation think were OK and the decent lowndes fans who have class can at least say hey these guys are OK. Please come see us in the dome again…
Grayson Student
August 30th, 2009
8:16 pm
viking lover, i read a few articles and thats what i was afraid of. guess we will see come friday
grayson
August 30th, 2009
8:50 pm
best of luck to peachtree ridge next friday, show them hillbillies some class. but be careful, lowndes might start a fight again if they lose. yea those are some real champions, role models of the community.
Pridge senior
August 30th, 2009
8:50 pm
Grayson Student, you’re right, we did beat you last year only because of that bad snap in OT, but still it was such a close game anyway, a lot of other things could’ve easily caused the outcome to be different. BTW, I hear that your special teams nearly cost you the game against Camden, too. hmmmmm…….
grayson
August 30th, 2009
8:53 pm
wildcat fan,
14-10
14-10
14-10
14-10
14-10
wanna cry about it some more?
if youre team is worth anything we’ll see them back in the dome
wilcats (0,1)
SouthGARules
August 30th, 2009
9:01 pm
SuwaneeOwnz: Very good points about Bob Sphire. Before he & the late Dennis Roland Sr. came to North Gwinnett, the Bulldogs were a wretched program. Roland started to turn the program around before he went into the college ranks. Sphire has taken the program to another level. All of this happened with new schools opening that cut into their enrollment (PTree Ridge & Mill Creek). The PRidge-North game should be for Region 7 championship. North looked great on defense last night, holding Prattville to negative yardage in the first half & not allowing a first down until the 7:00 mark of the third quarter.
In regards to last years Grayson-Lowndes game, Grayson won, Lowndes lost. Outside of a couple of big runs by Greg Reid, Grayson held Lowndes in check all night.
Grayson Student
August 30th, 2009
9:24 pm
pridge senior, no doubt… that was one of the best games ive ever seen and im not making excuses but im just arguing with these rednecks. trust me we are rootin for yall friday at grayson.
Grayson Student
August 30th, 2009
9:25 pm
hahaha o yes special teams sure could be our downfall this year if it keeps up
Pridge senior
August 30th, 2009
9:37 pm
Wildcat Fan, in case you have not noticed, Grayson was opened in 2000 and Peachtree Ridge in 2003. It really is quite a feat to be at this level of success in just a few years of existence. So I don’t think pulling the Camdens’ and Lowndes’ history over the last 10 years is a very good argument. its kind of like the incumbent president in an election saying to his opponent, “you must not make a very good president, because you haven’t accomplished anything so far.” Duh. any 3rd grader could tell you that.
PRidge Lions
August 30th, 2009
9:42 pm
whatever happens Friday happens….In the end we all know South Georgia football is still overrated.
John Young
August 31st, 2009
12:00 am
How can I look up all the scores for the whole state? There’s a link to it on Friday night/Sat morning, but I can’t find any way to access it now. You know, the massive list of scores, and you can click on the school’s name and see their whole schedule etc. Thanks -
Anne
August 31st, 2009
4:23 am
Region IAA Thomasville defeated Region IAAAA Thomas County Central 13-9 in a “lights-out” game!
TrojanDude
August 31st, 2009
8:51 am
***JOHN YOUNG***
To find scores by team, with schedules on a very flexible site goto: ghsfha.org/
Click on georgia high school football historians society.
Under “Find your team” type in your team name, or, Click on the down arrow to the right of the box and schroll to your team and click on it.
Click on record by year and click on 2009.
You can click on any team name and it will bring up info for that team. you can also check back years as long as records have been kept. It’s a fun site and very versatile. Enjoy
shankit
August 31st, 2009
9:38 am
??
Reasoning why South Georgia is sometimes stronger than North Georgia is we are one county,
and if ya”ll were one county, ya’ll could beat most college teams.
Not true.
Lowndes County has four football progams in a county of less than 100,000 persons,
Lowndes High, Valdosta High, Valwood and a couple of private schools.
Demographics have changed in our county over the past twenty years to the extent
that once dominant Valdosta HIgh has less than 1900 students, whereas Lowndes
has over 2,500 students.
Our county has less population than some of your surburbs.
Point is
Valdosta High has 23 state championships and 6 national championships and two Peanut Bowl victories.
Lowndes High has 6 state championships
and Valwood has 1 state championship.
Valdosta STate has two national championships.
TITLETOWN USA (population 100,000)
shankit
August 31st, 2009
10:02 am
??
Facts
Lowndes has an advantage for being one county school.
7 High schools in Lowndes including Valdosta High.
Enrollment
Valdosta High 1976 students
Lowndes High 2724 students
Grayson High 2838 students
Ptree Ridge 2794 students
Valdosta High is at the disadvantage.
Watch out for the Cats.
SportsFan31313
August 31st, 2009
12:15 pm
Hey Trojan 73,
Region 3-AAAAA Bradwell Institute use to play Coffee County Trojans, but you all have beaten us every year. However; by the Region being so big at the time with Division A and Divison B, Coffee County would win the region and Bradwell insitiute would win the Sub Region. I think the first year we played each other, Coffee County won the Sub Region and Bradwell Institute won the Region. But the South Georgia Football is a Monster especiall in the Southwest and South East.
SportsFan31313
August 31st, 2009
12:18 pm
Believe it or not, South Georgia Football is a dominant force to reckoned with in any Region or Class.
EAST Raider Cannoneer
August 31st, 2009
1:51 pm
Another season of RAIDER football!!! The Cannon is once again LOADED and ready. The road opener against a VERY tough Rome team (yes I know before someone states the obvious, Rome is a 4 A team) was again a game either team could have won. Rome is full of talent every year and gave EAST all it wanted right from the start. At the final gun it was EAST 25 / Rome 22 and EAST gets a bye week to fix some issues before the home opener against South Cobb. The stands will be full and the Cannon ready for a great night of Raider football as this years Raiders get set to roll thru their tough 5 AAAAA schedule.
??
August 31st, 2009
5:34 pm
shankit , it’s not my fault nobody wants to live in podunkville, usa
Plowboy58
August 31st, 2009
9:07 pm
i hope and pray that we get grayson on the schedule for next year.
plowboy
September 1st, 2009
9:53 am
this is for south ga class and his comment about lowndes playing in texas and for you grayson student i did not bring up last years game , another blogger did we will just have to see how grayson does against warner robbins !!!!!!lowndes will pound pridge friday!!!!wonder if i should crawl out of my trailer and go!can i even afford to go!how many grayson students are bussed in!
plowboy
September 1st, 2009
9:56 am
south ga class check out what buford did a couple of years ago in texas
Grayson Student
September 1st, 2009
12:18 pm
Ya that would be the right time to hope for… next year grayson will fall off the map
Grayson Student
September 1st, 2009
12:19 pm
Enter your comments here
Yo
September 2nd, 2009
10:37 pm
Grayson Student….my assessment of Lowndes. First, Viking Lover gave a pretty good assessment except the first string defense has not given up a touchdown this year. The first 40 yard score by Woodland was immediately “after” taking the first string out.
Now my assessment. First a quote. “Hiram Johnson, who is entering his 37th year as a coach at Lowndes, said he believes this year’s defensive line is the best he’s ever seen at Lowndes” Pretty big statement by Hiram Johnson but it is exactly what I have observed thus far this year. The strength of Lowndes this year is “first” in the trenches on both sides of the ball. They are not only big, but quick. Lowndes Dline against PTrees OLine is the test for both teams. 3 of the starters on Lowndes DLine are definite Div 1 prospects (Christian-committed to FSU, Copeland and Black – both of who have many Div 1 offers). I believe Copeland has been offered by FSU also, at least according to his Grandad. The other 2 starters on the DLine are a tackle who is 6′2″ and 260. 2 defensive ends (they rotated) who are fast both around 6′3″ to 6′4″ and 200 to 215 lbs. Copeland is DE on the other side.
Our linebackers are Div 1 committment to FSU (Telvin Smith) and
a rotation of 3 other players. Starter is Robert Anderson at other linebacker (starter at fullback last year). Probably end up a Div 2 committment due to being a little small for Div 1. Unless he goes Div 1 as a fullback.
The unknown for the Lowndes team remains the secondary. We have a Div 1 prospect at safety in Tyler Hunter (junior). The rest of the secondary graduated from last year. Both of Lowndes Wbacks (Franklin and Braswell) played some secondary last year and can should they need to. They have not thus far this year.
Running backs. As I have been telling everybody, Troy Braswell (junior) is ready to make his break out at wingback opposite of Khary Franklin (fastest player on team and last 2 years starting qback). Braswell was player of the game last week scoring 4 TDs. 101 yards rushing on 10 rushes and 14 yards in 2 receptions. All in the first half.
Our Qback Cole Parker (junior) is the best we have had under a McPherson coached team. A very good passer who was 6 of 7 passing last week for 107 yards (didn’t play a down in the 2nd half). Also runs
the ball well if he needs to. 2 good scrambles last week for good yardage both times.
What I observed in the 1st half last week.
I counted 29 ball players who played in the first half (not counting kicking teams). 15 of these players are seniors. About 1/2 of these 29 players are subject to play both sides of the ball at any given time. So based on this I would say there are in essence 29 who got enough playing time to pretty much be called starters.
Lowndes will be graduating a large part of the OLine and DLine this year. We will return good skill positions for 2010 but the question for next year will be in the trenches.
Now here is my candid assessment to sum it all up.
I believe this will be the best team Lowndes has ever fielded and
I have been watching them for a lot of years now.
Add to that talent the embarrassment of the Grayson game
of last year and you have some seriously motivated kids.
PTree may prove me all wrong Friday night….we’ll see.
SportsFan31313
September 5th, 2009
12:21 pm
As Predicted, Lowndes County Beats Peachtree Ridge convincingly. Lowndes County Football Team this year is like Camden County last year. This is a mammonth of a team. The defense is very fast, and very physical. I can’t see any team beating this year. This Lowndes Team will definitely win the Class AAAAA State Title keeping the championship again this year in South Georgia.
SportsFan31313
September 5th, 2009
12:22 pm
As Predicted, Lowndes County Beats Peachtree Ridge convincingly. Lowndes County Football Team this year is like Camden County last year. This is a mammonth of a team. The defense is very fast, and very physical. I can’t see any team beating Lowndes County this year. This Lowndes Team will definitely win the Class AAAAA State Title keeping the championship again this year in South Georgia.