Pounded at Lowndes: Can we write off Peachtree Ridge?
If they play again in November, will it be the same story?
I didn’t see the Lowndes-Peachtree Ridge game, but hearing from a few who did, and reading newspaper reports, it sounds like Lowndes played a great game, while Peachtree Ridge got knocked down hard early and couldn’t get up. Result: 51-17.
Tyler Hunter, the son of former Georgia receiver Brice Hunter, returned the kickoff for a touchdown, then ran a fumble in for a touchdown. Lowndes also scored on an interception return.
Don’t misunderstand: If I didn’t think Lowndes were the better team, I wouldn’t have put the Vikings at No. 1 in preseason. A few people grumbled at my sticking by Lowndes after its QF exit last year and the loss of Greg Reid. If Lowndes played Peachtree Ridge tomorrow, I’d expect Lowndes to handle the Lions again.
But it’s a long ways until November. Just ask Tucker and Marist. Or just ask Lowndes, for that matter. Just curious of how others view the significance of this game.
Can we write Peachtree Ridge off? I don’t see how a team that reached the final in 2008, played Camden County to the wire and returned two-thirds of those starters can’t still win a state title this year.
But Lowndes is the favorite. 51-17 settled that.
In other news, Holy Innocents’ and Chattahoochee County in Class A are ranked for the first time in their histories, and Treutlen is there for the first time in 10 years. HI plays No. 1 Wesleyan this week.
Etowah got pounded, leaving a hole in the rankings. I picked Woodstock. Who was your choice? McEachern? Roswell? South Gwinnett is looking good, fwiw.
Big game this week: Carver-Columbus vs. Northside-Warner Robins. I think I’m taking Carver.
Also watch Buford vs. Lovett.
CLASS AAAAA
1. Lowndes (2-0)
2. Grayson (2-0)
3. North Gwinnett (2-0)
4. Camden County (1-1)
5. Stephenson (2-0)
6. Northside, Warner Robins (1-0)
7. M.L. King (2-0)
8. Newnan (2-0)
9. Peachtree Ridge (1-1)
10. Woodstock (1-0)
CLASS AAAA
1. Tucker (2-0)
2. Griffin (2-0)
3. Southwest DeKalb (1-1)
4. Westside, Macon (2-0)
5. Statesboro (2-0)
6. North Clayton (2-0)
7. Hillgrove (2-0)
8. Sandy Creek (1-1)
9. Clarke Central (2-0)
10. Bainbridge (2-0)
CLASS AAA
1. Carver, Columbus (2-0)
2. Gainesville (2-0)
3. Flowery Branch (2-0)
4. Baldwin (2-0)
5. Peach County (2-0)
6. St. Pius (2-0)
7. Carrollton (2-0)
8. LaGrange (1-1)
9. Washington County (2-0)
10. Burke County (2-0)
CLASS AA
1. Buford (2-0)
2. Calhoun (2-0)
3. Fitzgerald (2-0)
4. Thomasville (1-1)
5. Jefferson County (2-0)
6. Pepperell (2-0)
7. Lovett (2-0)
8. Brooks County (2-0)
9. Jefferson (2-0)
10. Charlton County (1-0-1)
CLASS A
1. Wesleyan (2-0)
2. Wilcox County (2-0)
3. Lincoln County (2-0)
4. Wilkinson County (2-0)
5. Savannah Christian (2-0)
6. Johnson County (2-0)
7. Bowdon (2-0)
8. Chattahoochee County (2-0)
9. Holy Innocents’ (2-0)
10. Treutlen (2-0)
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236 comments Add your comment
Yo
September 7th, 2009
3:53 pm
Yea thats what I meant plowboy….I wasn’t clear on the Harrison/Grayson locations. The point was the weather and the turnovers…not the location. One was a road loss and one was a home loss.
TJ
September 7th, 2009
3:56 pm
Lowndes is just a great teams with deep talent pool. Each position is two to three deep. Camden is the same. That is where Metro Atlanta schools suffer. They just do not have those kind of numbers due to school splits and in some cases local economics. I think Wing T teams always have advantage in wet games. They do not depend on pass.
Warner Robins scored 44 points their first game against Wheeler. Grayson defense hammered Robins only received 5 first downs, 2 by penalties, and 40 yards of offense. They could not punch it in. Only score Camden received was on blocked punt and field goal from Grayson fumble. So South Gwinnett may struggle too. How good is South’s defense? Robins and Camden had really good defenses that held Grayson score low. Nod goes to Grayson, it will be on their home field this year. Odds are against Sout Gwinnett but should be a really good game.
I would like to see some more Georgia teams travel and play out of state powers to guage where Georgia now stands in theses national rankings. I think Georgia high school football can play with some of these teams in other states like Florida and Texas.
????
September 7th, 2009
4:03 pm
yeah Micheal- I wouldn’t start talking down to p tree ridge. after all they did beat y’all last year 31 to 19. and it’s not like y’all murdered prattville.
Todd Holcomb
September 7th, 2009
4:11 pm
Not sure if I’ll be at Stephenson-MLK. I write ‘perspective’ stories each Friday night for the AJC and look for outside-the-lines kinds of stuff and not necessarily the best game. But I hope I can see Stephenson-MLK.
Regarding Chattooga: Yes, you are averaging 40 points a game. But last season, you were averaging 44 points per game at the same point in the season, but didn’t make the playoffs.
Michael
September 7th, 2009
4:19 pm
Look out Woodstock…McEachern’s speed will smoke you. I do not think they are ready for it. The game should be on http://ghsa.tv/ on the a video webcast if you can’t attend this game.
Wolverine Fan
September 7th, 2009
4:25 pm
Yeah, that’s just what Kell said Michael. Their all world RB had about 5 yards rushing and their WR’were shut down by the best LB’s and DB’s in the area.
luella pl
September 7th, 2009
4:59 pm
luella needs to b n the top ten, we have a lot of great players this year and we r putting luella on the map this year… !!!CHECK US OUT!!!
Michael
September 7th, 2009
5:02 pm
*Wolverine Fan*, McEachern has too many good college prospects for slow Woodstock to defend against. They have many more than just good one like Kell. You will see. I didn’t believe it either until I saw for myself. They were the most balanced team in the Dome in the Corky Kell Classic.
Indians09
September 7th, 2009
5:25 pm
Amen Michael, I didnt belivie at 1st (I mean after the brookwood game) but I saw the game against Etowah and man I havent seen speed and atheltic ability like that sense back when I played and honestly I think these kids are a bit faster.
wolverine fan
September 7th, 2009
5:34 pm
OK Michael I guess you got me. Woodstock is to slow to stop your speedsters
wolverine fan
September 7th, 2009
5:37 pm
Where in the hell or what is a Luella
Micheal 18
September 7th, 2009
5:42 pm
Well yea TJ Graysons D is really good its almost impossible to score. Souths D is mediocre but I believe they can hold Grayson but they have to score on Offence and Defence to win the game, Souths O line isnt very good if the line gets itself togeather if South starts to run the ball with Wimberly it will be a long night cuz of Graysons d line but if Kent Rollins has time in the pocket it will be a long night for Grayson
joe
September 7th, 2009
5:52 pm
tucker,tucker,tucker,tucker is da best team in the state of georgia period. And there best player (james vaughters) isnt even playin yet
Quinn
September 7th, 2009
6:35 pm
I think Peachtree Ridge will win the region championship. After seeing PRHS’s first two games, and North Gwinnett’s game against Prattville, I think PRHS is a better team. North Gwinnett won 14-11 over a weak Prattville. This is not Prattville of years past. The P’ville Lions had some very talented skilled players, but their offensive line was horrendous. North Gwinnett was running through the Prattville O-line and getting to the Quarterback almost immediately. Had Prattville had a decent O-line, they would’ve easily handled North Gwinnett. Peachtree Ridge easily handled Harrison in week 1 (Harrison is a pretty decent team, probably a 3-seed playoff team) This week, Peachtree Ridge seemed to get distracted by that 4 hour busride to Valdosta. They came out and allowed many turnovers and made mental errors. At least 30 of the points scored by Lowndes was more of PRHS giving away points than it was Lowndes actually earning them. In the end of first/whole second quarters, PRHS pretty much played at the same level as Lowndes. But It wasn’t enough, you can’t get down 24-0 5 minutes into the game and expect to come back at the Concrete Palace. Peachtree Ridge plays Northview this week who is the easiest team on the schedule (0-10 last year) PRHS could easily beat Northview by 60 points, but under coach Bill ballard, PRHS hasn’t been known to run up scores. I predict the 7-AAAAA playoff seeds to be 1) PRHS 2) North Gwinnett 3) Collins Hill 4) Mill Creek.
Wolverine2Blazer
September 7th, 2009
6:45 pm
Ah, How I’ve missed the ranking chats. I was a Senior at Woodstock last year and now go to Valdosta State. So woodstock people should know who this is see how i’m one of 3 down here from da Wood. To all the people saying (or thinking) that Woodstock is going to loose last year because our glory team from last year went to the Indians house and lost, its funny how short of memory ya’ll have. If you remember correctly we also lost to Kell last year, but this year they came to the Woodshed and got shutout. And I had to brign back this topic from last year cuz it was a sour one around the school, but we were missing 10 of our starters last year against Kell and McE. This year none of the starters have been suspended. So exspect a good ole fashion game at the Rock Friday with the Wolverines defending the Woodshed with a win. We totally deserve the ranking, cuz we’ve got the most going for us right now. And friday will further prove that. =) I know last year a hot topic was South GA ball vs. ATL ball. Sense one of the stadiums is litterally 400 yards from my bed and the other a easy 3 min drive I’ve been to a Lowndes and Valdosta game. Gotta say their pretty good. Lowndes seems to be fireing on all cylinders, and if they’re not, its going to be something when they are. South GA ball is pretty great. But I’m not convensed that its all that different from ATL. Just different styles. I do wish northside, lowndes, valdosta, and camden came above the nat line more to play some atl teams so we could settle this on the field. haha.
Once a Wolverine, Always a Wolverine~ WE ARE WOODSTOCK
The Ridge
September 7th, 2009
7:44 pm
Quinn- You hit the nail on the head with that one. lol. I agree with you and im not just saying that because i go to the ridge. I also watched the Pratvv=ille- North Gwinnett game and i just thought that Pratville looked like a weak team. Don’t get Me wrong North Gwinnett is a good team but when they play us they will not be getting to our Qb as easily they did against prattville. And yeah P ridge was making a lot of mistakes and maybe the long busride had to do a lot with how we played so sloppy. But its not fair to bump us that far down from losing to a team that was already ranked ahead of us..but its whatev. We started off last year ( 0-2) and ended up making it to the Dome.
lion pl
September 7th, 2009
7:58 pm
luella is region 2AAAAA school, its the best team henry county offers…
decatur where it is greater
September 7th, 2009
8:30 pm
Todd, how good is the Stephenson team? Will MLK Challenge them at all for 2AAAAA?
Micheal 18
September 7th, 2009
8:57 pm
South Ga is good but North Ga has one more titles the past 20 years, the only powerhouses in South Ga are Lowndes and Camden County, Valdosta used to be the powerhouse for the longest time but not anymore
TUCKER FAN
September 7th, 2009
9:52 pm
Joe and J-Real i disagree, its pretty clear who should be at the top and who should be the team to watch( Tucker). We are starting this season off in a great way. Plus, ( not to brag ) but we were state champions for AAAA last year, and the one and only team that we lost to last year during the regular season was the team that we beat at the dome. I find it funny that you are comparing Brunswick with Tucker. The fact that we beat Brunswick shows that we are the better team. It doesnt matter that Tucker barely won in overtime, because at the end of the day, Brunswick couldnt match Tuckers defence and make the last touchdown to take the win. Obviously Tucker is the team everyone is looking at. WE ARE CHAMPIONS. WE ARE WINNERS. WE ARE TUCKER !!!
vikingsrule
September 7th, 2009
10:03 pm
Michael18, you really should research your facts before you start trying to compare north and south Georgai football. Over the past twenty years the only classification that the north has a majority of wins is AA. All other classes the south has a commanding lead. Check it for yourself, GHSA.
vikingsrule
September 7th, 2009
10:04 pm
oh and one more thing, You certainly do not want to look any furhter back than that because it gets really ugly for teams north of warner robins
vikingsrule
September 7th, 2009
10:07 pm
What Todd, no comments about my blog giving Valdosta their due credit?
Matt
September 7th, 2009
10:19 pm
Bowdon#7 seriously what a joke! OVERRATED!!!!!!!!!!!
BigboySWD
September 7th, 2009
10:50 pm
Tucker won last year but they havent proved anything as of yet lakeside and brunswick cmon wait till SWD gets our hands on them just wait
Yo
September 7th, 2009
10:52 pm
vikingsrule I have to agree with Todd. Till Valdosta beats someone worth talking about they shouldn’t be in the top 10. They started the season this same way last year only to go downwards from there. They are beating up on patsys right now. I do anticipate a better outcome from them this year, but they do need to earn it first.
EagleNationRising
September 7th, 2009
11:24 pm
Todd, it is great to see that you have recovered from all of the crow that reality, I mean Lowndes County and football outside of metro Atlanta stuffed down your throat. I am going to go out on a limb. I am writing off any program that lost 51-17 as a legitimate state championship contender. End of story. Peachtree Ridge is officially written off as the first of many overhyped metro Atlanta programs.
You are the man with all of the stats. Name one large classification program in Georgia history that has gone on to win the State Championship after getting beat by more than 30 points in the regular season. Forget about it. P-Ridge is out of the conversation for state championship contender.
I will add that every top ten program should be a state championship contender. Since P-Ridge is not, I say they should not be in the top ten until they earn the ranking.
Jslark
September 7th, 2009
11:36 pm
If the teams up north was not able to recruit all over the city (not allowewd in south Ga.) they would not win very few games. Check it out.
decatur where it is greater
September 7th, 2009
11:39 pm
Hey tucker fan,
Didn’t stephenson beat you easily in your jamboree.
1 5 aye man
September 8th, 2009
1:12 am
i saw a former lowndes player greg reid have a big night for FSU.
1 5 aye man
September 8th, 2009
1:17 am
IF a north Ga team beat a south ga team they say Maybe the south isnt all that good or refer to the grayson lowndes game………….if the southern team wins then they say ” well we keep redistricting and dividing up talent.
which one is it.
Way of the Vikings
September 8th, 2009
1:51 am
Quinn for your information Lowndes scored 31 points on offense and Peachtree Ridge 10,the Lowndes starting defense gave up 3 points and 92 yards to the Lions whose only offensive TD came against the 2nd and 3rd team defense late in the 4th quarter when the score was 51-10.Don’t let the first half stats mislead you,Lowndes only had three offensive possessions in the first half to the Lions six,for the game Lowndes had nine offensive possessions to the Lions twelve,they both had six possessions in the 2nd half.Lowndes gained 336 yards against the starting Lions defense,the Lions gained 92 yards against Lowndes starting D.
Peachtree Ridge did not give Lowndes anything,the turnovers were the result of great plays made by the defense.The points scored on defense and special teams had no effect on the outcame of the game,takeaway all points other than offensive and it would have been 31-10,actually 31-3 because the Lions would not have scored a TD on the starting defense.Lowndes did not get 30 points unearned as you say,Lowndes scored 31 offensive points,do the math.You better be glad Lowndes only had the ball three times in the first half or it would have been much worse,the 275 yards gained in the 2nd half would have been doubled.
????
September 8th, 2009
6:02 am
stop talking about the lowndes- peachtree ridge game! that was last week! let’s all focus on this week when we actually start our region play. and eaglenationrising. Just wait. PRHS is gonna bounce back. what are everyones winners/ losers for this friday the 11th.
TrojanDude
September 8th, 2009
6:16 am
Well,,, let me just tell you what I think………………duh
drock09
September 8th, 2009
6:24 am
Like I said last year cancel the season and give lowndes the championship they are bigger stronger and faster than anyone in Georgia. They also play in the same region with great teams like valdosta Warner robins tift county coffee and northside. This is the best region in America. Stop the rankings right now. The Vikings will win back to back championships. lol
South GA Rules
September 8th, 2009
8:20 am
Quinn: Don’t sell Norcross short. I know they have been lit up their first 2 games, but don’t rank Mill Creek above them. Mill Creek has done nothing to impress me yet. Beating a wretched Central Gwinnett squad & giving a game away to Dacula is nothing to brag about. However, I do agree with the first 3 seeds in Region 7, with the PRHS-NGHS game to settle the region on Nov 6th.
steve
September 8th, 2009
9:03 am
y do yall stephenson fans talk about how yall beat tucker it was a scrimmage and most of our defense didnt even play and yet yall only scored 10 points wen da varsity got in let yall play us in a real game lol cause we are tucker defending state champs
Todd Holcomb
September 8th, 2009
9:46 am
re: Valdosta … ‘Yo’ hit the nail. What has Valdosta done so far that the 5-5 Valdosta team of 2008 didn’t do?
re: Stephenson … No one really knows how good the Jags are. They’ve got better talent than last season. So does MLK. But both have much to prove.
re: Peachtree Ridge … It’s interesting to hear the two takes on the Lions’ ranking. One says no team that loses 51-17 should be ranked, and the other says no team that loses to the No. 1-ranked team should fall as far as six spots to No. 9. A year ago, I dropped Tucker out of the rankings when it lost to Marist 38-0. Perhaps that experience taught me. Despite what the scoreboard showed at Martin Stadium, I have a lot of confidence that Peachtree Ridge is one of the best 10 teams in the state. Too many key players are back from a very good team.
re: Prattville: I disagree that this was a weak team. It got physically beat at times, but Prattville played a clean game – few turnovers, few penalties. It’s tough to play your best a long ways from home early in the season. Peachtree Ridge knows about that.
Buford U
September 8th, 2009
9:51 am
Lowndes meet us BUFORD anywhere anytime!
AVikingFan
September 8th, 2009
9:52 am
Hey there ENR! Glad you’re back in this thing. I really do think we need to “wait and see’ about judging how PRidge does the rest of the year. Remember, from here on out they pretty much play Atlanta area teams and who knows, they may run the table and get to the show again. The PRidge vs N. Gwinnett game in a few weeks should tell the tale about what the rest of their season will be like.
I’m thinking McEachern and Greyson(and possibly No. Gwinnett) are the NG teams to beat this year, with Lowndes, Northside WR, and Camden carrying the torch from SG. But Valdosta and WR are good this year also, and may both end up in the top ten.
One thing’s for cetain, the Lowndes vs NSWR game this year should be a good one.
Where is “HeadEast” this week? And Sportsfan31313?
Last night former Lowndes player Greg Reid ran three kickoffs back past the 50 yard line, had one pass interception, and hit the QB causing another pass interception. Great 1st game for the 1st non redshirt Freshman since Dion sanders to start at FSU on defense!
Yo
September 8th, 2009
10:32 am
Buford may I suggest you walk across the street and take a shot at
Peachtree Ridge first. Show you are the big boy you “think” you are and then we can talk. The alternative would be to go back out west and beat some more of those Texas wimps, but that doesn’t impress us.
Buford U
September 8th, 2009
11:06 am
Hey Yo,
U want another beatdown like last week. Come on u need to try a team more your speed like Loganville.
Buford is the best team in Ga for at least the last 4 years!
R.W. Gweed
September 8th, 2009
11:50 am
I don’t quite follow your strange way of ranking teams. Jackson began the season ranked # 10 in AAA. They’ve won their first two games convincingly and have fallen out of the top ten. How can that be?
Decatur 4 Life
September 8th, 2009
12:29 pm
Jslark
Right, just like holding dominant players back a grade here and there to ensure that you keep the winning tradition is not right either. Note to all your relatives moving to the metro area, STAY AT HOME. That’s the reason we have to build new schools in the area to accomodate all you nomads. This S. Georgia talk is funny to me, until recently the only school worth talking about out of that area was Valdosta and maybe Warner Robins. The more schools they built in the metro Atlanta area the better your S. Georgia teams got. When one school and one area turns into 4 schools in that same area the talent level evens out. So just go ahead and bragg about your titles, your hick town and your bands that don’t dance. Everyone knows it’s about talent and coaching not about how superior you think S. Georgia teams are. That stuff doesn’t mean a hill of beans just ask Grayson last year, the game is still played between the lines and any given weekend anything can happen.
plowboy
September 8th, 2009
12:32 pm
buford u you barely beat brooks county last year and your boys you sent to the under armour allstar game did not impress any of the coaches check it out its on the under armour website
Grayson Student
September 8th, 2009
12:34 pm
I agree, the week 4 showdown with south and grayson will determine alot. One thing to keep in mind is the d line i believe they will determine this game by stopping wimberly and not giving rollins time to pick the secondary apart. i do like our secondary better this year with more athletes headed by gaines
plowboy
September 8th, 2009
12:35 pm
decatur 4 life why don`t you look up the record of region1 against any of your decatur teams
AVikingFan
September 8th, 2009
12:42 pm
Decatur 4 life: Your logic doesn’t take into consideration the number of students at each of the schools you are talking about still outnumbers almost every school south of the nat line. In Lowndes County there are barely 100,000 people in the whole county, and we have two public high schools and one large private school. North of the nat line 100,000 people is a drop in the bucket. Lowndes has right at 2800 students and Valdosta a little less than 2000. So, how many schools you have is not a good excuse for not winning championships. Quite the opposite, you should be winning more!
Besides, I’d like to see more positive comments about how a lot of schhols in Georgia have good teams, and how we are doing in comparison to other states. We are all Georgians, north and south, GEORGIANS.
AIN’T IT A GOOD TIME OF THE YEAR NOW THAT FOOTBALL IS BACK??
Buford U
September 8th, 2009
1:05 pm
plowboy FYI Buford didn’t play Brooks Co last year. I think you are thinking of Calhoun who we whipped in the Dome
SportsFan31313
September 8th, 2009
1:36 pm
Greetings AVikingFan