Invite only – so get your info and invites here:

http://tr.im/lockerzinvites

I believe the EPHS cannon will miss fire this week also.

Obviously we were because the McEachern game was back and forth ALL night and EAST was in the game with an opportunity to win it with just over 4 minutes left…

BUT that really has nothing to do with anything at this point as the EAST team that showed up at McEachern and the EAST team that showed up friday night against Etowah were TWO complete different teams…

At the McEachern game the team played ALL NIGHT like it wanted to win and make a statement but at the Etowah game it was as if they thought they could just show up and win…

BUT…it is mid week and we are trying to get over it and look to this weeks match with North Cobb at “THE BONEYARD”…

How do you figure that you all beat yourselves against McEachern. Are you basing that on the fumble you had late, after the Indian fumble that gave you the ball back anyway. Or is it the way that McEachern shoved the ball down your throats and scored to seal the deal. Or how about the two missed FG’s that the Indians had, or the TD that was called back. Wait, I got it. You must be basing on the fact that McEachern LIT UP your defense for nearly 600 yards. Guess we were watching different games…..

I think I said the SAME thing as you did…that THIS years’s EAST team is not as good as teams from the past few years. Did North Paulding pull some kids from EAST…SURE it did…but that is going to happen when ANY new school opens!!!

The QB issue is different and it is REAL…you again are saying basically the same thing I did…YES #2 is a decent RUNNER and he can take the snap and HAND OFF/ i.e. he can run the Wing T BUT if the play doesn’t develop or if he thinks he can “make something happen” thats when he gets “happy feet” and THATS WHEN EAST has had it’s problems. #2 is a “BALL HOG” and CANNOT PASS at all! Mixing plays with a two QB type offense may be the fix for this year it has been done in past years VERY successfully!

Our “JV QB” as you call him CAN PASS and has proved he can but is not being given enough chances to gel with the receivers. Bottom line is that if something isn’t working, you change it and right now with EAST SOMETHING ISN’T WORKING!!!!

I’m not surprised we beat EP like we did and would love another shot at mceachern. Not saying we would beat them but it wouldn’t be the 31 point beat-down we saw.

That kid is playing QB because you don’t have anyone else. The backup is a JV QB at best. You have stud running backs so your running a Wing T this year and #2 is very good at running the Wing T, its a great offense for the weapons you have. You only have one WR worth a crap so its not like you guys should be throwing much. #2 has kept you guys a float in the games I have seen with his running ability. His plays were about all you had against Marietta, he kept you in the McEachern game with his long 3rd down conversion runs along with the punt returns from #28. Face it you guys just aren’t that good this year. You have a few solid players in #28,#6,#2,#20, and #24 but other then that you are just an average football team that is about to get hit hard by this Senior class leaving. Your playmakers will all be gone and I expect EP to go down after this class leaves, Welcome North Paulding into the football world, they got EP’s athletes.

Size does matter… exactly how much it matters is certainly arguable. There is a significant talent pool difference in 3000 kids and 2000 kids when you play only 11 players on each side of the ball.

The additional factor is the dynamic nature of redistricting… because even if you maintain the size, you lose consistency (i.e. feeder programs) and disrupt community support. How do you effectively switch allegiance overnight? It is not easy and will have an more of an impact on the school that has lost part of the community support to a new school in the long run. You can build a tradition in a short period of time (see P’Ridge and Grayson) as “successful” programs because you had size, coaching, and a growing community support. We have seen a dropoff with Brookwood & Parkview in comparison in recent years which I think is due to some of the redistricting… and its after effects.

Perhaps, you live in some sort of a vaccuum or something. It is simply a numbers game. If Warner Robins, GA built three new high schools, it would obviously spread the talent around and negatively affect every program’s ability to compete. If there were three high schools of equal size in Valdosta, it would negavtively affect those program’s ability to compete. What many Atlanta posters are saying is this happens to their schools. I am simply saying that it does happen in Atlanta, but the schools still have LARGE student bodies.

When metro Atlanta posters complain about redistricting, they are not simply seeing a mirage. They know that their programs have lost talented players and staff due to changes. Since Atlanta is one of the fastest growing (by real population) metropolitan areas on earth, new schools are constantly popping up.

My point is that most of those metro Atlanta schools have a student body that is large enough to compete. STEPHENSON HS definitely is large enough to compete and have some of the best athletes in the state…BY FAR! It is an excuse to say that Northside-Warner Robins has just under 2000 students, therefore we can not compete with Peachtree Ridge or Lowndes County because they have so many more students. At some point, you have to realize that you are only going to play 30-35 kids, at max.

To say that the size of the school doesn’t matter is a little short-sighted. Buford supports their team as much as Northside-Warner Robins, Lowndes County, Valdosta, or Parkview. Central-Carrollton supports their teams as much as Warner Robins, Marist, & Grayson. Go to Lincoln or Clinch Counties and tell me that their communities do not support them. Although Buford posters proudly proclaim that their teams would compete against larger programs, most of us know that is crazy. It is not because they lack very strong community support or that they lack coaching. They lack size. It is that simple.

The argument the new schools in metro Atlanta force Atlanta programs into a disadvantage does not fly because they still maintain size. They maintain a student body large enough to identify 50-60 good kids and athletes annually. SouthGARules, you can easily draw a coorelation to the student body of Valdosta and their trend of being a middle of the pack program in the past decade. Now, Valdosta is one of the smaller AAAAA schools. That was not always the case. Are you proclaiming that Valdosta does not have community support? I do not live there. However, I do not buy that Valdosta lacks fan support. They lack size. This season Valdosta would probably run the table in AAAA.

FIRST and FOREMOST!!!…

CONGRATULATIONS to ETOWAH’s EAGLES for a COMPLETE win over our RAIDERS!!

Etowah dominated from the start, even though the score stayed close until the middle of the 2nd quarter, it SHOULD NOT HAVE!!! Etowah should have scored several times and EP was LUCKY to even still be in the game at half time!!!

This game was a HUGE step backward for EAST and many fans and parents in the stands around where we were sitting were voicing their displeasure. The play calling was horrible, they ran plays all night long that didn’t work from the start and it was obvious Etowah could stop them. We again let our “starting???” quarterback “BALL HOG” the entire first half, this kid gets “happy feet” and refuses to pass until its too late and then he tries to run and gets dropped for losses time after time!!! This is a kid with good running skills and would be fine as a “wildcat” style player but SHOULD NOT BE the starting Quarterback…He is in WAY over his head!!!!

Our defense was RUN OVER all night and let Etowah convert 3rd downs into long runs of 15+ yards all night. I am sure this post is going to upset some of the other EP posters, but I am (as everyone knows) as strong an EP supporter and as vocal as anyone on here, but when you see a game played with as little heart as EP showed friday night they need to be called out for it. They came unprepared (Coach’s fault?)and players were just standing around on the sidelines talking to each other not looking like they wanted to win this one.

I agree with some of the other EAST posters that the RAIDERS are not as good this year as previous years but they should not be getting BLOWN OUT like they did friday night. Against McEachern EAST beat itself but friday night a MUCH BETTER Etowah team showed up…they deserved this win and agina I say CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

We’ll still be here the rest of the year…one loss does not destroy a season or what has been built over the last few years BUT the coaching staff really has to grab itself by the “boot straps” and get this years team refocused, there is still 5 games left to play!!!

The EP crew is rather quiet… let’s give them a break. You can’t fault the mostly good natured spirit!

Our point was this: Any fan can certainly tell the difference between unsportsmanlike conduct (taunting, excessive celebrating, hurting someone, starting a fight) and just having a small celebration w/teammates after a TD. Is it really so awful for teammates to give a guy slaps on the back for scoring in this day and age? Seriously, are these 6-3 / 225 top recruits so emotionally delicate that they can’t handle seeing the other team give each other atta-boys?

If so, all your AJC Sports mod can say is this: Apparently there have been way too many “Everybody goes to Dairy Queen win or lose after the game because you all tried really REALLY hard and there are no losers in sports — we’re ALL winners in LIFE” moments for today’s kids playing organized sports. When some of us were kids the line was clear: If you won, you won. You celebrated. If you lost, you lost. Next time you tried harder. No whining. No “stop celebrating because you scored” flags. Handshakes after the game. Respect and see you next time. Sheesh.

It’s called discretion. Cops and judges use it all the time. Refs should, too. We’re just curious to see if more unsportsmanlikes start being called in the HS level as well.

No excuses for UGA or any other team that doesn’t post offense for most of a game. That won’t win you much football, no matter what team you are.

No matter who is playing when a game ends as the clock runs out with a 60 yard pass, and the reciever breaks three tackle to get into the endzone against a rival team it is huge, and i wanna thank FOX 5 for telling the story of that game, and other sites for making that play one of the top plays in the state of georgia so far this season.

And if you didnt know, Fayette County won their game two weeks ago in Double OT with a field goal by a kicker who in his life had NEVER even played a game of football. So you keep worrying bout Newnan and if you aint got nothin good to say, then dont say nothin. Cause you dont know what your really talking bout.

Although a school does not deal with redistricting in the manner that many metro Atlanta schools get, there are schools that deal with changes in districts. Whether a district is growing or not, that district is aging. Valdosta had a 50 year run. Now, the Wildcats are far from the state’s eilte. They were once the nation’s most elite every season.

If you want to see a fanbase that is having a challenge with their correct situation travel to McConnell-Talbert Stadium during any Warner Robins HS games. However, if you visit Warner Robins, some of the oldest neighborhoods in the city are districts that feed into Warner Robins HS. The parents are now grandparents. The grandparents are now great-grandparents.

What matters is how many students are in the school. My point to Go UG and SWD Panthers is those are still large high schools. The same is the case for Gwinnett County schools. Many of the Gwinnett Co. schools are so much larger than some of the AAAAA programs, one could make and argument that Georgia needs a AAAAAA classification. Take a look at the enrollment of schools like Collins Hill. Every HS in Gwinnett County has enough students to pool from to be successful. There are no excuses about redistricting.

AJC I absolutely agree with your last post about these idiot officials. Why don’t we make the teams walk not run in single file to their respective benches, place their hands in their laps until their time to take the field and oh….no talking!!!!

We all have to understand that Peachtree Ridge and Grayson are relatively new high schools in relatively new communities. It takes time to build tradition. Programs like the four that you listed (Northside-Warner Robins, Camden County, Lowndes County, and Valdosta) have been at this thing for a very, very long time.

The AAAAA state playoffs are going to be extremely competitive this year. I expect home teams to have great success. However, I believe that there are going to be some big upsets. We are going to have some fun.

1. Lowndes
2. Camden Co
3. Northside
4. Valdosta (wish they would get back to a state power again)

Northern AAAAA school stadiums just do not have the same atmosphere. Home filed at these stadiums are worth 7-10 points. The same can not be said about northern schools.

Peachtree Ridge, Grayson and North look forward to good football games against teams outside of Metro Atlanta. The playoffs should be interesting this year.

I still give the nod to Lowndes and Northside but Grayson, Peachtree Ridge and North should be able to give them a challange in the later rounds. I personally hope the games are in south Georgia because the athmosphere is better.

By the way, Go UG!, Northside-Warner Robins, Warner Robins, and Houston County are about to have a new high school (Veterans HS) that will open its doors next August.

It appears that Warner Robins and Houston County play continue to play AAAAA football. I am not certain when it will happen. I do know that Northside will not be playing AAAAA football for long.

Yesterday’s call in the UGA game may have changed the outcome. (And please, non-UGA fans — nobody’s playing favorites here; your AJC Sports mod thinks any team getting that kind of call would’ve been getting jobbed. It was just UGA’s tough luck Saturday. But it could’ve been your team.) That’s a really bad precedent.

Anyone else see a trend of governing bodies – states, NCAA, NFL – taking a little TOO much of the joy out of the game? Personally, I say if we want to play football with zero exuberance where the guys trod the field like robots, we can just all get the old magnetic games out of the attic, fire them up and watch the little figures move around the steel with no trace of the human element whatsoever.

Lighten up, NCAA, NFL, etc. Let the game stay a GAME.

That’s our (OK, my) opinion. We welcome yours.

Shaw is the last school that can cry fool. They have been recruiting in baseball for years.

What people need to understand is this Lowndes County team is not even close to the highest rated team to step into that stadium. It was just another team and just another win. We could care less about beatdowns. Perhaps, that matters in Lee County. We play to win the game. We won the game!

There is a reason that Lowndes missed those field goals. Two of those misses came after penalties that pushed the team back. Leechampion: At what point have high school field goal kickers been automatic??? I have seen a lot of high school football. I did not know that kicking was automatic in high school. Northside-Warner Robins beat the #1 team in the nation, 7-6, after the kicker missed an extra point. Kickers miss all the time in high school. Why are you guys acting like kickers are automatic i high school. 30+ yard field goal attempts are not automatic, especially in South Georgia. Metro Atlanta teams have traditionally had better kicker, especially in Gwinnett and Cobb County.

We play to win the game. We won the game. We have a tough schedule ahead and still have a great deal of work to do.

Save the excuses! Northside has less than 2000 students and just beat the 4th ranked school in America. Miami’s Booker T. Washington were the defending state champions from Florida and got beat 31-7 by Northside (a smaller school than BTW). Lowndes County is a larger school than Northside. You need 30-35 focused kids and a strong coaching staff. The DeKalb County schools are not at a disadvantage (at least on the sports field).

Stephenson, MLK, and Southwest DeKalb do not lose because they lose students. Stephenson, MLK, and Southwest DeKalb lose because of subpar coaching, delay of game penalties while in the red zone (like Lowndes County agaisnt Northside-Warner Robins on Friday night). No program in the past 25 years has had more players sign at major NCAA Division I than Southwest DeKalb HS. Nonetheless, Southwest DeKalb posters are making excuses about enrollment. Of course, someone from Union Grove HS is applauding his excuse thread. AMAZING!

Any comments from you guys about the great Randy McPherson. Any comments about Conrad Nix for you guys. Any comments about Northside defensive coordinator Kevin Kinsler. Let’s remember that Northside is a team with all sophomores and juniors.

TICK…TICK…TICK…BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

You freakin’ kidding me with that weak statement after a win such as last night?! I know your loyalties lie in S. GA football, however, Northside beat an outstanding Lowndes County team, the PREVIOUS #1 team and #5 in the country. I know everyone outside of the middle GA area will dismiss this overwhelming fact. Northside receives such little respect, but, eventually they will make many outside of Middle GA believers. Not just throw some hype as Lowndes County fans did on this board.

Northside is for real.

I’m dumbfounded how Northside get’s little respect state wide on this board. Must be a lot of haters of any program outside the Atlanta metro area. Sheeple that believe the hype written by those on this board instead of seeing a team first hand.

Word of caution…view in PERSON the team you disregard or you will look just like all the bloviating Lowndes County posters. Eating crow pie all weekend.

Cudo’s to the AJC for this exhilerating forum

There is one guy in your fan base I have issues with and he makes others wanna hate your program! But I have much respect for you my friend as a blogger as we have chatted back and forth the past couple of seasons. Let me congratulate you on NS victory over Lowndes! Yes, I was pulling for Lowndes as a south Ga. boy and yes, I did predict Lowndes would win in a runaway…I was wrong!!! I watched the game via the internet and NS looks strong man!!! I expect you to go deep into the playoffs and cause a lot of teams problems as the season goes on. Thankyou, for the dignified way that you talk about your team…you talk smack when others talk it to…and hey, thats no problem!!! The difference is you support your team like a civil, respectful mature man and others should take notes from you!! Take care and again congrats on your victory!!!!

But totally feel free to keep talking Stephenson football. That’s fine. No problem at all with that. Rep your school. That’s what the blog is for and we’re all for that. We’d just like y’all to keep the convo moving forward with the good, fresh stuff you’ve all been bringing this weekend. It’s amazing, everything y’all have brought to the board. Great stuff. Please keep it going. Let’s get PAST 500 posts!

FYI: Your AJC Sports moderator went to school with Newnan coach Mike McDonald and let me just say this — anyone charged with replacing the legendary Robert Herring has a hard row to hoe, no matter the schedule. They demand a lot of wins down Newnan way and it’s big-time tradition at that program. Mega-pressure cooker for McDonald but he seems to be handling it pretty well so far.