Grayson takes Lowndes’ place at No. 1
Congrats to Northside on the victory over Lowndes. Some would contend that Northside should be No. 1 now, but we moved up Grayson, a team that’s now 19-1 over the past two seasons and beat Lowndes in the AAAAA quarterfinals last year.
More important than the rankings for Northside and Lowndes are the implications of this game in the region standings. Remember that the No. 2 seed from 1-AAAAA likely will be playing at Camden County in the second round. Not that Northside or Lowndes couldn’t win there, but you know they’d rather be somewhere else in November. Further, a No. 2 seed also figures to be on the road for the quarters and semis. Can Lowndes win at Camden, at McEachern and at Grayson (or Newnan) in consecutive weeks?
My gut says Lowndes still is the best team in AAAAA, but the odds of going 3-0 through that gantlet is well below 50-50, IMO. We’ll see how it plays out.
In other news, Westminster’s victory over Lovett rends Class AA very difficult to rank. Do I put Westminster (3-2) ahead of Lovett (4-1)? Westminster’s losses are to Class AAA teams. But if I do that, shouldn’t Westminster go ahead of Buford, too? In the end, I just have a lot of faith in Buford, Region 6-AA and also Region 1-AA (Thomasville). That influenced the rankings.
CLASS AAAAA
1. Grayson (6-0)
2. Northside, Warner Robins (5-0)
3. North Gwinnett (5-0)
4. Newnan (5-0)
5. Lowndes (5-1)
6. McEachern (6-0)
7. Stephenson (5-0)
8. M.L. King (5-0)
9. Peachtree Ridge (4-1)
10. Camden County (3-2)
CLASS AAAA
1. Griffin (5-0)
2. Westside, Macon (6-0)
3. Southwest DeKalb (4-1)
4. Hillgrove (5-0)
5. North Clayton (6-0)
6. Sandy Creek (4-1)
7. Marist (4-1)
8. Tucker (4-1)
9. Apalachee (5-0)
10. Hiram (5-0)
CLASS AAA
1. Gainesville (6-0)
2. Peach County (5-0)
3. St. Pius (6-0)
4. Carver, Columbus (4-1)
5. Washington County (5-0)
6. Carrollton (6-0)
7. LaGrange (5-1)
8. Flowery Branch (5-1)
9. Jackson (6-0)
10. Baldwin (4-2)
CLASS AA
1. Calhoun (5-0)
2. Fitzgerald (5-0)
3. Buford (4-1)
4. Jefferson County (6-0)
5. Charlton County (4-0-1)
6. Lovett (5-1)
7. Thomasville (3-2)
8. Westminster (3-2)
9. Dublin (5-0)
10. Jefferson (6-0)
CLASS A
1. Wesleyan (6-0)
2. Savannah Christian (5-0)
3. Johnson County (6-0)
4. Lincoln County (5-1)
5. Treutlen (6-0)
6. ECI (4-1)
7. Twiggs County (4-1)
8. Wilkinson County (4-1)
9. Greenville (5-0)
10. Miller County (5-1)
Todd Holcomb is co-founder of Georgia High School Football Daily, a free email newsletter. To subscribe, go here.
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227 comments Add your comment
Yo
October 4th, 2009
6:42 pm
YES!
TOP RB RECRUIT TRE "DUCE" SORRELLS
October 4th, 2009
6:46 pm
you guys are still sleeping on Alcovy. i guess you’ll see when we meet Griffin the last game of the season at 9-1. the only lost coming from ranked team north clayton 13-10 in a game the tigers had one had not their runningback Tre Sorrells not get a stinger in the 3 rd quarter.alcovy was in the red zone 3 times with out him in the 4th with no one to punch it in and 2 missed field goals from a kicker that never misses but you’ll see. we knockd off undefeated Dutchtown 19-18 this past Friday and Sorrells had 178 yards on 21 carries and the game winning touchdown with 26 seconds left..wake up the TIGERS ARE THE REAL DEAL AND #2 IS THE TRUTH….
MM
October 4th, 2009
6:48 pm
Again, where is Grady?? They’re having a terrific season with some really great new players, are 5-0 so far, are right here in Atlanta, yet there’s little to no coverage while less exciting suburban teams get tons of coverage.
ALCOVY???????
October 4th, 2009
6:49 pm
ALCOVY SHOULD BE IN THE TOP 10………..
mlkfan#2
October 4th, 2009
7:02 pm
mlk is 5 -0 not 4 -0
Mays High School Fan
October 4th, 2009
7:07 pm
Mays is (5-1) in Class AAAA so how come we aren’t even in the top 10 ranking it makes no sense.
ALCOVY beats the best
October 4th, 2009
7:07 pm
alcovy beat a damn good 5aaaaa team in newton and a at the time ranked eastside. stephenson barely beat newton in overtime and they are ranked in 5a and we’re not ranked in 4a…come on man………….
Todd Holcomb
October 4th, 2009
8:21 pm
re: Alcovy — I don’t disagree that they are good. Good point about the comparative score w/ Newton vs. Stephenson. Ranking Alcovy somewhere between 8-12 sounds about right. We chose No. 11 or No. 12.
re: Grady — Good team, weak schedule. St. Pius will be the measuring stick.
re: Mays — Mays is a borderline Top 20 team right now. Long ways to go to be a Top 10 team.
viking lover
October 4th, 2009
8:36 pm
The Vikes always do better when there’s not a bullseye on their back. They were ranked 2nd in the nation in 2005, lost to Ware County, became insignificant, then won the State Championship. Just a bump in the road on the way to another Championship.
Raider Fan
October 4th, 2009
8:41 pm
Still waiting for people to start putting Walton in their top 10. :\
NHS Eagle
October 4th, 2009
9:05 pm
Enter your comments here Rankings mean nothing this time of the year.
George
October 4th, 2009
9:06 pm
Still a lot of football left to be played.
BulldawgBite
October 4th, 2009
9:10 pm
anybody know Northsides remaining road schedule? i have a feeling that they could still lose some tough road games… they beat valdosta already so thats good for them but traveling in region 1 is always tough
Mays High School Fan
October 4th, 2009
9:11 pm
Todd Holcomb if Mays is a top 20 team in your eyes how come Southwest DeKalb is in the top 10 they haven’t played anybody good so far check out the teams they’ve played records.
Lassiter=UNDER-RATED
October 4th, 2009
9:30 pm
How can Camden County be 3-2 and #10 when Lassiter High is 5-0 and un-ranked?
Etowah Fan
October 4th, 2009
9:35 pm
Raider Fan – I hear you… but I think the earliest you might hope to get ranked is in two weeks after MLK and Stephenson play each other and P’Ridge and Collins Hill play each other. Not sure you will see much movement until then. Same would apply for Lassiter and Roswell… as the cream rises to the top of Region 6. I am curious to see which Region 6 team cracks the rankings first.
ROCK
October 4th, 2009
9:35 pm
Purple hurricane what happened to your bears of Burke Co?. I’m sorry about the whippin that Baldwin gave them. Them WARRIORS are still winning. They beat a very good Swainsboro team in Swainsboro. Well I hope ya’ll bounce back from that loss, which was at home.
SouthGARules
October 4th, 2009
9:36 pm
BulldawgBite: Northside goes to Tift County & that is it. The other 4 games are in Warner Robins.
The rankings mean nothing right now. The only thing that matters is being one of the top 4 seeds in your region.
Todd: In regards to tiebreakers, do they vary from region to region or is there a uniform tiebreaker procedure for region standings.
Mays High School Fan: Hasn’t SWD played MLK (a top 10 AAAAA team)?
Yo
October 4th, 2009
9:38 pm
Northsides only game away in the region is Tift. They have Warner and Colquit at the Mac. They are in the drivers seat to win the region.
Roswell Hornet Fan
October 4th, 2009
9:40 pm
Camden County has played 3 teams nationally ranked and barely lost to 2 of them. Walton, Lassiter and Roswell (all undefeated) will all have their opportunity to get in the top ten as the season progresses. There is 1 statewide poll of the 6 polls that ranks Lassiter 10th. The AP Georgia High School Writers poll basically has Lassiter 11th as it goes by votes. So Lassiter is being noticed just like Walton and Roswell.
SanityRules
October 4th, 2009
9:52 pm
Looking at NSWR schedule ,it looks like a cake walk the rest of the way. Besides NWSR and Lowdnes, the region looks pretty mediocre. It’s top two heavy but the rest are questionable. Face it, 1 AAAAA ain’t the beast it’s been made out to be.
BulldawgBite
October 4th, 2009
9:59 pm
Okay in that case NSWR would have to lose two games. and they will kill tift. and as we all know from a notorious eagles fan, and i quote ” The Eagles will never lose a home game at the MAC!!!” so ya i guess they got the region one locked in. Lowndes still has to play valdosta which is always a fun game for bragging rights sake. should be interesting to see how #2,3,4. end up down there. and agreed sanity rules. region 1 is better. but not by the same margin people thought at the beginning of the season
Newton parent
October 4th, 2009
10:05 pm
ALCOVY: You guys are doing your thing, but you know we aint going to get no respect over here in Newton Co. until we beat the big boys. But yall are in great shape with Ola, a dangerous Mt.Zion and Forest Park before the showdown with Griffin. Depending on that Griffin/ N.Clayton game Friday, it could be for all the marbles on NOV 6.
BulldawgBite
October 4th, 2009
10:06 pm
by the way, i love the gap in the AAAAA rankings to show how much better the top 5 teams are v.s. the rest of the state
FAN
October 4th, 2009
10:07 pm
if you want to see REAL RANKINGS
go to GAVARSITY.COM
those are the true rankings for the state of GA
this is a joke
Newton parent
October 4th, 2009
10:08 pm
MM: I know you are probably a Grady fan, but just like Todd said, look at your schedule. What team weren’t you supposed to beat? And what team in the AAA top 10 would you replace Grady with?
Gwinnett Fan
October 4th, 2009
10:22 pm
Watch out for Peachtree Ridge. Very few teams win at Lowndes. Northside lost last year.
They are still one of the top 5 teams in the state. They will be 8-1 when they play a 9-0 North Gwinnett team for the region 7AAAAA title. in week 10.
BulldawgBite
October 4th, 2009
10:27 pm
Gwinnett Fan who ya got in that game? Im a north fan so naturally i want north to win but if your from an unbiased point of view who do you think wins that game?
Justafan
October 4th, 2009
10:27 pm
When I look at these rankings, Im kind of puzzled at how Camden Co. is ranked over undefeated teams like Roswell and Lassiter. Camden lost the two most meaningful games on their schedule and OMG have you seen there schedule? They only play 1 REGION GAME on the road! HOW DO YOU PLAY ONE REGION GAME ON THE ROAD? On top of that in arguably the worst AAAAA region in the state, hands down. OMG the bottom of pathetic region 4-AAAAA could probably beat teams 2-5 in that region on the road no less, tell me im lying.
MHS Indians09
October 4th, 2009
10:29 pm
Hey “FAN” those rankings on that website are a joke!!!!
Justafan
October 4th, 2009
10:29 pm
OMG IM stupid they are the defending State Champs lol
BulldawgBite
October 4th, 2009
10:31 pm
Justafan your right it is the worst region in the state hands down. but id think the #2 team could hold its own against the bottom feeders of region 4. other than that your correct. and ya not just roswell and lassiter. but i think walton and collins hill are still both undefeated. region 6 will lose all 4 playoff games first round anyways so that leaves collins hill. and ya collins hill should be ranked ahead based on record. but in a game they would lose to camden 9 times out of 10
Justafan
October 4th, 2009
10:36 pm
My bad I left out Walton, probably more deserving of a ranking more than anybody based on their continued success over the last decade. Thats three teams from Region 5 Todd what are you doing?
Justafan
October 4th, 2009
10:39 pm
Three teams from Region 6 my bad again
the real Old Gold
October 4th, 2009
10:42 pm
Good to see Calhoun keep the top ranking in AA. I was at the Gordon Central game and they played 2nd string O and D from the end of the 2nd Quarter and still won 56-17 (or maybe it was 14). And they’re doing it without as much pure talent as last years state runner up. This is simply a well coached ball team and the D is really coming together.
David Grantham
October 4th, 2009
10:59 pm
Todd, here are my thoughts on how you and any pollster should rank teams, including college football.
First, foremost , and always, by record.
Regardless of what class (conference) the team owes its losses, someone wins, loses, or ties. If you are going to rank 1-loss, 2-loss, or 3-loss teams in front of other teams teams that have a better record, then what is the point in keeping score? Obviously, some will say to seed the top 4 teams for the playoffs.
I submit this challenge to you: give us a poll, in your opinion, that ranks teams according to their record.
Top 25 in 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, and 1A.
Unbeatens ranked first, then 1-loss teams, then 2-loss teams, …and lets see how that weekly poll compares to the teams that make the playoffs from each region.
I would like to see what you and the AJC folks think about that.
Yo
October 4th, 2009
11:03 pm
Looking ahead at most likely playoff contests for Lowndes.
As stated most likely headed to Camden second round.
Next possibility is interesting. Loser of PTree/North Gwinnett
would take on McEachern. If that loser is N. Gwinnett and they beat McEachern then a coin toss for home field advantage. If that loser is Ptree and they beat McEachern then Home field advantage to Lowndes.
Next would be the winner of the Grayson/Newnan game on the road.
Then to the Dome.
So the most likely scenarios are 2nd round away against Camden.
Third round either home against Ptree/NG or away against NG/McEachern.
Fourth Round away against Newnan/Grayson.
Fifth round at the dome against NG/Northside.
Region 2 #1 does have the easiest road to the Semis until they most likely then take on either NG/Northside. Up to that point their most dangerous game may be Region 1 #3 seed in second round. Not convinced Region 6 #1 will be that much of an obstacle.
But first the Winnersville classic….always fun and challenging.
Todd Holcomb
October 4th, 2009
11:03 pm
To FAN: GaSports rankings, IMO, are the least valid. Isn’t that the poll that had Chattahoochee County No. 2 in Class A last week? That’s also the poll that had Lakeside of Atlanta at No. 10 after the first week.
re: Camden: I should have a stock answer for this one since it comes up each week. Camden has lost to the No. 1 team in Georgia and the No. 1 team in Alabama. What would the record of Roswell, Lassiter, Walton or Collins Hill be if they had played Grayson and Hoover? Probably 3-2, just like Camden. I’ve got no problem with any of those four undefeated teams being ranked in other polls. Each has a good argument. But here’s the way I look at it: Camden has finished in the Top 10 in six of the past seven seasons. What has happened this season to make me think the trend is ending? The fact that Camden lost by three and four points to teams that are ranked in the top 20 in the nation? If one of those three teams in Region 6-AAAAA begins to dominate the others, or if Grayson and Hoover turn out to be weaker than they appear, then I might see things differently. But right now, if Camden played those teams, I wouldn’t bet against them.
re: Mays vs. SWD: If Mays were a Top 10 team, Mays would be undefeated right now. A Top 10 team in AAAA will not lose to Alexander, need overtime against Whitewater and beat Tri-Cities by a field goal. SWD has played like a Top 10 team in every game – They’ve blown out weak teams and they’ve lost close to a Top 10 team from a higher classification. Further, SWD is a team that made the quarterfinals last season and returns incredible talent. Mays didn’t make the playoffs. Which one-loss team would you give the benefit of the doubt? I’ll stand by SWD.
Yo
October 4th, 2009
11:08 pm
David Grantham so if Camden played some lesser teams like Meadowcreek and Berkmar and won (they would have) instead of playing Grayson and Hoover, then they would be pretty much a guaranteed #1 for the whole year by the way you want the rankings done. Especially since they were last years state champs and knowing how easy their region is for them to walk through each year.
Todd Holcomb
October 4th, 2009
11:23 pm
re: Calhoun – Yes, Calhoun is well-coached, but to say, ”This is simply a well coached ball team,” isn’t fair to a bunch of well-coached ball teams who’d LOVE to have Da’Rick Rogers, Nance Nash and a couple of other Calhoun players who are signing D-I. Fitzgerald, ranked No. 2, has had about one D-I guy in 20 years. Calhoun is well-coached and has tremendous talent for a AA school.
David: I don’t think doing rankings as you propose would be as interesting or as popular or as valid. Do we really want to pretend that Union Grove is better than Lowndes or that Berrien is better than Thomasville? Aren’t people more interested in how good the teams really are beyond the W-L records? We’ve got standings for W-L. Rankings serve the function of informing people (albeit subjectively) how good the teams have actually performed in the context of the schedules they’ve played. In high school football, strength-of-schedule differences from team to team can be profound. Rankings are an attempt to cut through the bull of W-L records and tell you what’s really going on. Nothing wrong with your way of ranking, but I think the way we’re doing them are what people want to see.
hman
October 4th, 2009
11:26 pm
Alright Todd its clear that you got some grudge against Stephenson and that you probably dont respect us as a team to go deep into the playoffs(Your not the only one, so get in line). Why dont you do us all a favor and drop us out the rankings. OK we had a little trouble against a very good Newton County team that will give MLK a fight this weekend. But like you should already know the game was poorly officiated. Also rain is any team that relys on its speed like Stephenson weakness. We had seven starters out with injuries and 5 others with disciplinary problems but SO WHAT. We won the game and thats all you should be concerned with Todd and all other Stephenson Haters. Stephenson could care less what you or anybody else thinks of us and you all should just stop talking about us. Whether you all think we have bad coaches or no discipline doesnt matter cause we over at Stephenson KNOW WE HAVE THE BEST COACHES AND PLAYERS IN THE STATE. Although we dont have a ring to prove it YET, we accomplish the main task that everyone should have when playing football at the high school level and that is get the kids into college for FREE. Many of the top so called teams in the state have good state champion teams but where does that get the kids if they dont have a college to go to after high school. They end up being bums who never go to college and just have a ring to show how successful their lifes have been. I Dont know about yall but would you rather have a Free Scholarship to college and continue your football career or win a state championship that last a few years and sooner or later be forgotten about in the mist of other state championship teams and not go to college or end up paying thousands of dollars to get in a school to walk on and possibly never play football again in your whole life. Think about it.
TJ
October 4th, 2009
11:59 pm
Sephenson has the best players but not the coaches or they would be winning it all in my book.
Grayson makes it past this weekend……they can hold that spot till we see how the playoffs have them pair up. Brookwood has me a little worried, they are looking pretty strong right now. They made some changes that might cause Grayson some problems…as well as the rest of 8 AAAAA.
Grayson knocked Parkviews QB out of action with broken jaw. Parkview will limp into the playoffs now. Still think South Gwinnett can take second seed in 8 AAAAA. Will see.
I watched NSWR on Web. Matched up with Grayson I do not see them beating them at Grayson or in neutral site. At home though…..I would not bet against NSWR.
Are there a lot of AAAAA schools that could possibly be classified as AAAAAA? There seems to be schools out there that should and could field a AAAAAA classifcation. What would it take to make that happen? Just to stir up conversation, not saying it should happen.
THEHILLISREAL
October 5th, 2009
12:04 am
Right NOW, MAYS HAVE no DEFENSE to stand on. Hillgrove would put 60 up on MAYS, SWD WOULD BEAT MAYS BY 30. I DON’T KNOW IF MAYS COULD BEAT SOUTH PAULDING? THE DEFENSE HASN’T BEEN CORRECTED SINCE THE BANNEKER (HOMECOMING GAME), UP 14-0 WITH 6MINS TO GO AND LOSE 18-14. VILLA RICA UP 10-O GOING INTO 4TH QT LOSE 13-10.THIS PAST FRIDAY, TRI-CITIES 28-10 5 MINS LEFT IN GAME, ABLE TO PULL THIS ONE OUT 28-25.NEVER EVER COME AROUND HERE QUESTIONING RANKING! Y’ALL ALREADY KNOW CALLOWAY HALF WAY DOWN HILL, DR.SMITH WILL NOT TOLERATE NOT MAKING PLAYOFF. YOU KNOW IF YOU GET FIRED FOR GOING UNDEFEATED LOSING IN 2ND ROUND AND ONLY GOING 9-1 AND 8-2 YOU GET FIRED. TIME FOR MAKEOVER, IF CALLOWAY GET FIRED/ WHICH I HOPE NOT. WE NEED TO LOOK AT TIM GLANTON GET THAT BOOST CLUB RIGHT. INSTEAD OF PURCHASING ALL THESE SUITE FOR HOMECOMING , SHOW SOME LOVE TO BOOSTER CLUB
MAYS HIGH TIL I DIE
graysonramforlife
October 5th, 2009
12:09 am
Way to go Rams. You deserve number 1
David Grantham
October 5th, 2009
12:28 am
Yo: In regards to Camden, I guess so. Within those unbeaten teams, you would still have arguments. Who is the best undefeated team? One loss team? Two loss team?
Todd: I understand it may be what people want, so maybe my argue is more relevant for the BCS.
I would say that the fallacy in many of the arguments made on here (i.e., strength of schedule, best region) is that they are based on last year’s performance or the history of the program. Quite frankly, there are too many variables week in and week out to use those arguments.
You have 15-18 year old kids dealing with the daily grind of just being a high school kid. Pimples, girlfriends/boyfriends, the flu, classloads, family life, post-graduation, post-game plans, and the list goes on. The same factors could be applied to each coach and how well they are focused during the week.
So strength of schedule doesn’t mean much to me. As we have seen in the past, the W-L gets you into the playoffs, but only one champion is crowned…and it could be a 4-loss team.
syrup made
October 5th, 2009
12:34 am
ga varsity never had chattahoochee county number 2, i think you’re talking about a different poll… ga varsity is the only poll i’ve see that has had gainesville number one the whole season and started grayson out at number one too
i bleed blue and orange
October 5th, 2009
12:35 am
I of course live here in Warner Robins and attended Northside, the only teams left in Northside’s schedule that has a chance is Warner Robins and Colquitt. Only reason i say Warner Robins is because it has been known to happen when one or the other is having a good season (Northside and Warner Robins that is) the other upsets them. It was a very big win for Northside friday (not that they was supposed to win), in the light of it all I still believe that Northside will get beat in the playoffs and not go all the way(if they do go all the way good).
Mays High School Fan
October 5th, 2009
12:59 am
Todd Holcomb Alexander isn’t that bad they are (3-2) and from the look of their remaining schedule they will probably end up with a pretty good record which means Mays losing to them don’t look as bad. Whitewater record is bad but they have always seem to bring their A game against Mays just like from past seasons the games our usually close between the two schools. The Tri-Cities game was suppose to be a blow out but the refs was cheating I was at the game I saw what went on and so did everybody else in the stands Mays got so many calls called back when they were suppose to have scored. I noticed something you always bring up what teams have done last season that doesn’t matter the focus is on this season and what the team can do this year.
Mr. Riley
October 5th, 2009
1:59 am
being an NSWR alumni I was glad to see them pull out the victory over lowdnes and i think we have a pretty good team, however with the team being stock full of soph’s and junior’s (and a few fresh i might add) i dont see us going to far into the playoffs. Now dont get me wrong we do have one hell of a coaching staff however it never hurts to have that senior leader ship on the fied in key positions and that’s were we may be lacking.
As for the rest of the region (1AAAAA)…it is still unsure who’s gonna come out on top…i mean realistically its still anyone’s chance for the taking at this point…it wont start to pan out until week 7 and 8. and also what is it with all of the stephenson fans crying foul?????….for the life of me i can’t understand how your team year to year has some of the premier athletes in the state and yet cannot make it past the first or second round of the playoffs?….i mean really there is no excuse…and i am like everyone else who knows the answer to your issue…COACHING….having D-1 prospects doesn’t mean a hill of beans if the coaching staff is subpar….cause the PLAYERS are only one integral part in winning a championship..
MhsRaider09
October 5th, 2009
2:08 am
I love my mays raiders but.. this is unacceptable. Its nt that Alexander is a good team, our boys lack coaching.. every team on our side of the division is beatable..no way that tri cities games was supposed to even be close. This Mays team is really nt the same team that used to actually compete in region 6 AAAA with marist, tucker, and st. pius… And i actually agree with Todd. Mays isnt going to put into ANY polls for more than a week until we actualy beat somebody outside of 5B-AAAA.. which would mean actually advancing past the 2nd round of the playoffs. Nobody is going to take us seriously until that happens more than once.. Its just the truth
MhsRaider09
October 5th, 2009
2:23 am
Basically now that I think about it, the only team that has ANY chance of doing anything in the playoffs from our region is on the other side: Sandy Creek. But then again i do believe that our region is first paired up with region 6 which means we r most likely going to get SWD, Marist, Tucker, or Chamblee/Stone Mountain (still undecided) which by process of elimination means that Mays really isnt going anywhere. I bleed columbia blue and gold but im bein realistic. There is no way that we are going to beat SWD, Tucker, or Marist. We are 1-1 against marist and tucker and we barely beat them then when the team actually made it out regionals. So plz mays fans, stop embarrasing the hill on this blog with all the nonsense about not bein ranked. we were ranked this year and last year but messed it up wit losts to schools that we shouldve beat.. just let it go.. we still have girls b-ball 2 look 4ward 2…
BigDaddyJ
October 5th, 2009
6:25 am
Hello! Union Grove is unbeaten and barely a point scored on them.
Yo
October 5th, 2009
6:37 am
hman you can get kids into college for (so called) free with out them having to play football. Hardly seems like the main goal to me. More like an excuse.
George
October 5th, 2009
7:12 am
Collins Hill???? 5-0 in 7AAAAA
rwdekalbfan
October 5th, 2009
7:33 am
What is happening to the city schools that used to annually make the playoffs: Washington, Mays, and Douglass. Do the fans of these schools see them turning around in the near future. A lot of d-1 talent has come these programs. To “Mays High School Fan” at this point do you seriously think Mays should be ranked in top 10 on record alone. Mays has actually been one of my favorite city schools in the past to watch but something has definitely changed there. The good news is you dont have to be ranked at all to make the playoffs and win the state title but Mays chances of doing that “this year” slim to none, sorry.
sam
October 5th, 2009
7:38 am
Enter your comments here
Where is Lassiter? You have Camden County with a 3-2 record and yet undefeated Lassiter is not there?
rwdekalbfan
October 5th, 2009
7:40 am
Wow, Northside Warner Robins what a great win by a great program. However it is still hard to bet against Lowndes from winning it all but Northside has laid the blueprint for other top teams on how to do it. The Northside team plays with incredible pride and discipline they are a true joy to watch.
indians
October 5th, 2009
7:51 am
Someone please explain how Seminole County can have the #1 offense in the state in points scored and total yards gained, win their last 5 games by and average of 48-6, and not be ranked in the top 10?!?!? These rankings are worthless and shows how little the voters truely know about most teams.
NTH Trojans
October 5th, 2009
8:00 am
David Grantham,
Your logic on ranking teams SOLELY on W-L makes no sense. A team that plays a cupcake schedule AND plays in a weak region usually makes a first or second round exit in the playoffs to a team that has 2 or 3 losses that played a tough schedule against ranked opponents, getting them prepared for the playoffs. I’ll give you an example of a team like that. The North Hall Trojans. Let’s examine their schedule so far: They beat Johnson, Gainesville in week 1, then lost to Buford (ranked #1 in AA at that time, and the team that I believe will win the AA title), lost Gainesville (ranked #1 in AAA), beat Creekivew (ranked #7 in AAA at that time), beat White Co. (who was 3-1 entering that game) and this week will play Flowery Branch (ranked #8 in AAA) whom I think North Hall will beat. Their opponents combined record is 17-9, with 5 of those losses belonging to Johnson One weak team out of five so far. That’s the kind of schedule it takes to help a team find out where their weaknesses are, and find a way to fix them.
You wre also only half right about a teams record. It’s not how many W-L they have in their overall record, but what their W-L is in region or sub-region is. For instance, if a team finishes 8-2 overall, but has a 4-2 sub- region record, and two other teams finish 7-3 and 6-4, but are 6-0 and 5-1 inthe sub-region, then the 8-2 team gets left out of the playoffs.
The strength of schedule is why I have no problem with Camden Co being ranked. I like seeing that teams are not punished in the rankings for playing a tough schedule. Because come playoff time, teams like Camden Co and North Hall will have a better chance of going deep into the playoffs, than teams that played a cupcake schedule.
Old Town Guy
October 5th, 2009
8:21 am
Mays Football Fan,
Alexander stinks and Mays is just about average. Be thankful that we have a Todd Holcomb who can see through the BS. Knowledgeable fans appreciate him and what he is trying to do. Fans (and some old and old school coaches) just trying to manipulate opinions and the system do not.
WARDAWG
October 5th, 2009
8:40 am
Justafan. Camden goes through this every year. The talk of the region they are in. Last year they won state and this year they were ranked #4 when the state rankings came out. No problem for them. Based on state thinking, the champions will always come out of the stronger regions, since they play, playoff football all year. Not the case though. In fact Camden was an underdog in the playoffs last year, with the exception of Creekside. NSWR,Woodstock, and Peachtree Ridge were favored over Camden. They don’t seem to care about rankings as much as everyone else does. By the way, there was an attempt to place Camden in another region, noone wants to travel to Southeast Ga, something about the distance, however Camden will travel anywhere to play it seems.
wolverine fan
October 5th, 2009
8:59 am
WARDAWG………Woodstock was not favored to beat Camden.
Northside Observer
October 5th, 2009
9:25 am
I was overjoyed in the way NSWR beat Lowndes. This was a big upset for the Eagles. Remind me of the time Ali was yelling how he upset the world with his victory over Sonny Liston. Ali won in a second fight. I love NSWR but believe me I wouldn’t want to play Lowndes again. (Not an Ali repeat here). They are the best team in the state. With so many sophmores and juniors starting, I am surprise we have the record we do. I was looking at 6-4 for 2009. Next year will truly be our year- but the drawback is having to move down to 4AAAA because of the new Veterans High beginning play in 2010. I am sure Lowndes wants revenge against Grayson which will come if both make it to the semis. I hope we can go that far. It will be tought!
Florida Eagle
October 5th, 2009
9:26 am
Enter your comments here I watched the Lowndes-Northside game on the web. I am very proud of my alma mater, great win. I know the team is young and the quarterback is still learning, but I think they can win state if they keep improving. To beat a great team like Lowndes is certainly a confidence booster. However, I was disappointed with the play calling in the second half. Lowndes made good adjustments, and except for the long pass completion, the Eagle offense was shut down in the second half. The coaching staff needs to do a better job with game management.
Grayson may be the better team, remains to be seen, but I think this Northside team has a clear shot at the Dome. Colquitt and Warner Robins worry me, but I think the Eagles will beat both.
eagleforlife
October 5th, 2009
9:31 am
Northside was the underdog against Camden last year. What are you talking about?
catdog41
October 5th, 2009
9:32 am
camden has a weak region schedule every year and what do they do?…win state or go deep into the playoffs. In the early to mid 90’s when camden was lose to these same weak teams nothing was said. we know our region is weak so we’ll meet your team in the playoffs and settle it there. if your team is not in the playoffs maybe you should come to our weak region to make it stronger.
leechampion
October 5th, 2009
9:33 am
AAA, just remember, that one loss Lagrange has was to Newnan!Pretty obvious, as noted by Todd earlier this year, that AAA is loaded with really good teams. Further, note also that Carver’s only loss came to the NUMBER ONE team in the world (according to ENR), NSWR. Thus, if one were to look at AAA games only (yes fantasy but so is a lot of stuff on here)lots of undefeated teams, and real good ones.How good are Peach County, WACO and St.Pius? We know about Gainesville. Also looks like Carrollton is in it again. Coaching jobs done by Pardue and Mcgee to be lauded.
Decatur 4 Life
October 5th, 2009
9:34 am
There’s nothing wrong with the rankings in either class. Camden’s record doesn’t mean a hill of beans when you look at who they’ve played. Neither of the teams that feel left out would beat Camden at anytime, with that being said I don’t think they’ll make it too far this year. Too many question marks up under the center. Teams will stack it up against them and make them throw the ball. I don’t know if their defense can make up for that.
SportsFan 31313
What happened to your beloved Bradwell tema this weekend? You know I’ve been waiting for you guys to slip up in that pie region of yours. What happened to all of the Savannah domination you were talking so confidently about? I’m going to leave you alone but I thought I’d ask for some post game analysis.
JAG FAN
October 5th, 2009
9:37 am
As a Stephenson Jag fan and supporter..I really could care less if the jags are ranked or not..rankings mean nothing,it’s how youp perform on the field. Stephenson is the TRUTH!!..but we just need to take it one game at a time. The season is halfway over and we (Stephenson) are coming up on a critical part of the season. We will roll over Redan this week but then we MAN UP against MLK and then UNION GROVE. All three teams are UNDEFEATED and the front runnersin the region. The region seeding and home field advantage for the playoffs is starting to shape up NOW!! Stephenson has a team that can win STATE but we just have to stay focused, with the right gameplan (coaches)and keeping playing FIERCE!!! The rest will take care of itself.
LET’S GO JAGS!!!
GO UG!
October 5th, 2009
9:45 am
Hey Todd, I am cool with UG not being ranked even though we are 5-0 and have something like 168 PF and 30 PA. Yea we were 7-0 last year when we lost and lost in the playoffs at NSWR 24-7 without our starting TB. We ran a freshman TB who by the way did pretty well. I really think the rankings are overrated. Moreover, you cannot be perfect and please everyone, like someone else said the cream will keep rising to the top the deeper that we get into the season. We know that we have to prove ourselves and our first big test comes against Stephenson.
I do agree with you about Camden County. Do you remember a couple of years ago when The University of Hawaii was undefeated and they were whining about not being ranked higher? Remember what UGA did to them? Yes, one does have to look at strength of schedule. We know that all we need to do is concentrate on taking care of business and not the polls. Just out of curiosity, where do you think UG ranks among the 5A teams?
Todd Holcomb
October 5th, 2009
9:49 am
Indians: Here’s how I would explain Seminole County’s lack of a ranking. Seminole’s five victories are against teams that are a combined 4-26. Two of those four wins came when two of those teams played each other, which guarantees a victory. Seminole’s loss is to an unranked team. I like Seminole and believe they could be a Top 10 team in the end, but they’ve lost to an unranked team, and the best team they’ve beaten would rank about No. 50 in Class A.
Reeze
October 5th, 2009
9:53 am
Good win against the Vikes for the Northside Eagles and there’s still a lot of region play left . True ,Lowndes isn’t going away no time soon. But I don’t see them as the team to beat this year…….Macpherson didn’t learn anything from his Grayson loss last season…..Lowndes passing is still pathetic and if they don’t develope a decent passing game before the playoffs ,they will lose in Loganville again this year…………Northside still has Colquitt and Warner Robins to play who I feel are better than most of the other Region’s #2 teams…….We can’t overlook these two……The Warner Robins/ Northside game will be the biggest since the defensive battle of 2004 and the house will be packed.
Todd Holcomb
October 5th, 2009
10:00 am
re: Union Grove: I can’t say where I’d rank them because, to be candid, they are not among the 13-15 teams that I would consider ranking right now, and with the competition they’ve played, it’s very hard to tell. I’m looking at some computer rankings that place Union Grove at No. 28, which is sobering for an undefeated team. I suspect Union Grove is about as good as some pretty good two-loss teams such as Parkview, Etowah, East Paulding. Not as good as Valdosta or Warner Robins, which have two losses.
GO UG!
October 5th, 2009
10:08 am
Thanks Todd,that’s fair. If we can do well in the home stretch against some stout competition then we should be deserving of further consideration. I don’t want it if we don’t earn and deserve it.
SportsFan31313
October 5th, 2009
10:24 am
Greetings Decatur4Life,
I have read your comments about my “BELOVED BRADWELL”. To answer your question, I am at a lost for words right now concerning Bradwell Institute. I know that this is a very young and inexperienced footbal that Bradwell Institute have, but inasmuch as that, Bradwell Institute normally dominates the City Schools in Savannah. If Bradwell Institute had won, nothing would have been said about it. But for them to lose, it was Headlines in the Savannah Metro News Media. Jenkins was celebrating so much as the last seconds ticked away in the 4th quarter, they drew unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for excessive celebration, as it was a HUGE win for Jenkins. I have a lot to say about this, but I will reserve my comments until after the season is over.
With that being said, Bradwell Institute was not the only stunned team over the weekend you know. They were a few Teams whom I predicted that would have won to to find out that they too were upset. But there you have it everybody. You could never be too over confident when football in the Great State Of Georgia. Where Football is not everything, but the ONLY thing when it comes to REAL SPORTS… Each week, your team has play hard for four quarters as if it is their last game. If not, then you are subject to upsets. Never would i thought in 100 years that Jenkins of Savannah would beat a Bradwell Institute at Bradwell Institute.
There are a lot of Bradwell Institute that are upset and are already stating that they have had enough of the present Coach. Among a lot of emotional Fans, a lot more was said as well but I wont go into it.
Anyway, that does not knock them out of the Playoff picture. They have a chance to finish 2nd in the Region going into the playoff as the #2 seed. We will just have to wait and see. With that loss, I just don’t know anymore.
How did your Columbia of Decatur team do over the weekend?
Crash001
October 5th, 2009
10:49 am
H-MAN – was that a joke about Stephenson having the best coaches? I am Stephenson supporter and have been there from the beginning. We do not even how to discuss the problem because the entire state is aware of it. Regardless of the talent Stephenson will not win a championship under the current head coach.
As far as the kids getting a scholarship and going to college, they are going to do that with or without him. If you are an outsider and do not know the area or the location, a high percentage of the students at Stephenson HS parents has some college education or graduate from an accredited university and a lot more than fewer have higher degrees.
OedipusTax
October 5th, 2009
11:18 am
Stephenson, year in and year out, makes the same claims, and loses early in the playoffs. They never stop complaining about their rankings, and have never achieved much, since they’re too busy bellyaching, day after day, that they’re somehow persecuted. More disciplined teams, that pay more attention to the game on the field, beat Stephenson. It doesn’t look like there’s going to be any changes this year.
Brookwood looks a lot like Parkview did after all of Parkview’s D1 280 lb. linemen were playing in college. Grayson should win, and win big, this Friday. Brookwood doesn’t have a defense this year. Their head coach has been eating way to many pizzas, and is suffering from a grumpy temper and bad digestion while plagued with bad memories of lost opportunities. Six losses in a row to North Gwinnett, and a dismal record to out of region opponents, suggests Brookwood’s days won’t get better until a new coaching philosophy is in place.
Todd Holcomb
October 5th, 2009
11:29 am
Reeze: Is Lowndes’ passing game pathetic, or is it under-used? Many are telling me that Parker is the most accurate passer Lowndes has had in 10 years. But Lowndes doesn’t pass much. My concern for Lowndes this season was the inability to make big plays on offense without Greg Reid. When I saw Lowndes last year, the team couldn’t score much against good defenses unless Reid got loose. Prior to the Northside game, it appeared Lowndes had plenty of big-play potential without Reid. But most of Lowndes’ losses are about problems scoring points.
PMC
October 5th, 2009
11:33 am
Nice to see Conrad Nix and his players get that win over Lowndes.
I know it means a lot after they broke up thier streak last year.
Wolverine2Blazer
October 5th, 2009
11:38 am
I’ve got a question. Am I the only one thinking that Harrison might pull the upset against my Wolverines?
NTH Trojans
October 5th, 2009
11:41 am
Todd,
If North Hall were to beat Flowery Branch this weekend (which they will, I think), would you consider them for the rankings next week (seeing as how their 2 losses were to Buford, #1 in AA at the time, and to Gainesville, #1 in AAA. They also have a win over Creekview, #7or #8 in AAA at the time) or would you prefer to rank someone with a better record, but weaker schedule?
Leechampion,
I agree that AAA is by far the hardest region to pick the favorite in. AAA has about 6 or 7 teams that could win it all. Gainesville and Carver, Columbus are my picks to be in the finals, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Peach Co, WACO, Carrolton, LG, or Baldwin make it. I do know one thing, Flowery Branch, North Hall, and Creekview, will be no pushover for any of these teams. On another note, 2AAA is usually the toughest region in AAA, but this year it has to be 7AAA. With the exception of Gainesville, there are 5 or 6 teams that will be fighting for the final 3 playoff spots. Gainesville and North Hall have the inside track to the 1 & 2 seeds out of region 7, but it seems to be a crap shoot from there. This weekend will start to clear things up as to who will have the third seed after the Creekview – White Co game.
Lissa
October 5th, 2009
11:42 am
Congratulations on a big win for Northside. I honestly didn’t think they’d be able to pull it off, but I was thrilled to get the news on Friday night. Go Big Blue!
Grayson Student
October 5th, 2009
12:04 pm
Northside fans… congrats on the win. What type of offense do yall run? Do yall resemble warner robins in any way?
coach
October 5th, 2009
12:07 pm
Look out!!!! Mount Pisgah and Fellowship Christian are powerful foes to contend with to be sure. Why with those coaching staffs, no wonder they are held in such high regard.
wolverine fan
October 5th, 2009
12:14 pm
Wolverine2Blazer………Did you forget to take your medicine this morning?
Jaguar
October 5th, 2009
12:21 pm
Crashoo1 get a life and get out of our business. You are assuming and dont know what the h*** you are talking about . If you are not a fan a wolf in sheep clothing. Go coach your own team and stop talking about ours.
Jag Fan – I agree.
Reeze
October 5th, 2009
12:29 pm
Okay Holcolm , Pathetic I shouldn’t have used ,under-used I can go with……Warner Robins has a good run defense , keep an eye on this one.
Todd Holcomb
October 5th, 2009
12:42 pm
I wouldn’t say AAA is that much harder to pick a favorite than any of the others except Class A, where Wesleyan, while beatable, is the clear choice at the moment. The other four classes seem pretty wide open.
re: North Hall – My problem w/ the Trojans isn’t who beat them, but how badly they beat them. I’d like to think a Top 10 team in AAA would hang close to one or the other (Buford, Gainesville) and not get blown out both times (for the second straight year, I might add).
But I do think North Hall is a good team that definitely is a threat to beat Flowery Branch. In fact, I’m checking out my Maxwell computer ratings and note that he has North Hall at No. 9, one spot behind Flowery Branch. And with the game being played at North Hall, the Trojans are the favorite (according to the computer).
Reeze
October 5th, 2009
12:42 pm
Lissa……..I’m with you .I didn’t think that they would pull it off either…. I don’t know if you were there at the practices this past spring and summer or the Peach County scrimmage… Honestly after the Peach game this summer I figured at this point of the season we would be 3-3 or 4-2 ,but these kids have gotten better and better with each game…..The majority are 10 and 11th graders ,Nix and especially Kinsler earned every bit of their pay this season so far.
Etowah Fan
October 5th, 2009
12:43 pm
Wolverine2Blazer – I believe that Harrison is capable of pulling an upset… and they are about to run the gauntlet in Region 5 (Woodstock, EP, McEachern, Etowah – in that order). I would not be completely surprised to see Harrison knock off one of these four teams unexpectedly. They shouldn’t, but Harrison is a team with nothing to lose as the expectations are low. If anyone is looking past Harrison, then they just might lose.
EAGLEONE
October 5th, 2009
12:46 pm
Enter your comments her
Great Game Jaquars !!!! Thanks Raymond #25 another stellar game …Big MIKE #56 What can I say …Great game you continue to be the anchor of the BEST defense in DC…Nate #8 Game Breaker … beautiful catch son …Malcolm #49 Break out game …we need you to continue this level of play …Textbook punt block …Shields #18 you’re looking more and more like a D-1 TE …Ball#44 …Jabari #3 …Franchot #22…Tyrone #34 the best BACKERs this side of 285 …and finally to two young players that showed us what lead blocking ,short yardage running,just plain hard nose footballers Patrick #35 … Jonathan #31 you guys got my CHAIN …you played ball!!!I want you all to know that you are THE TEAM to be …the team to become the next STATE champ … DO NOT listen to the nay sayers …YOU and YOU alone control your destiny …
GURU
October 5th, 2009
12:50 pm
northside will not beat Grayson @ Grayson or @ a neutral site…..Are you kidding me. Grayson is way to one dimensional. 10 points against the Demons sounds about right. now just add a little offense to that Defense and you have a northside victory. you better hope its not @ the Mac.
branca
October 5th, 2009
12:55 pm
Are you serious? the city schools since the mid 70’s have been ignored my the local media. i guess the glamour of the rich and famous trendy schools can afford to buy more newspapers. i see grady is not ranked again. This school is the best the city has to offer. Show some respect for the city of atlanta programs. trust me it will come down to oct 31st when grady and st pius will be undefeated and playing in the dome.
rwdekalbfan
October 5th, 2009
12:55 pm
Well we should find out a lot about #1 Griffin this week when they go up against North Clayton. Lots of talent at both teams. Both teams ranked and both teams undefeated. For those who cant make it to game, I believe it will be televised.
Lissa
October 5th, 2009
1:03 pm
Reeze – I’m an alumna that’s out of the area now. I knew this year would be a “rebuilding year” as they say, so I didn’t pay much attention earlier in the season. I’m ashamed to say I think they were two games in before I checked the website to see how they were doing – my expectations were really that low (and I’ve been that busy!). I was so happy to hear they beat Valdosta, but was thrilled to get the phone call that they beat Lowndes. I wish I could be there for the Warner Robins game, but hope to catch it online. I haven’t been to one in ages, but they were always the highlight of the school year. Ahh, memories…
So tell me folks – what’s the deal with the new Veteran’s High next year? Will NHS drop to AAAA in 2010? What classifications will Veteran’s, WRHS, and HoCo have? Will there be four AAAA schools in the area?
Todd Holcomb
October 5th, 2009
1:09 pm
re: Grady
If you were not even a playoff team the previous season, you can’t expect to be in the Top 10 the next season until you beat a quality opponent. That’s unless you have a wealth of returning talent that college programs are looking at. Grady has played the fourth-weakest schedule in Class AAA, according to the Maxwell Ratings. Perhaps Grady is among the best teams, but it needs to be proven. 5-0 vs. that schedule is no proof.
NTH Trojans
October 5th, 2009
1:13 pm
Todd,
That’s the downside to scheduling tough opponents early in the season when you have basically an inexperienced team, you tend to get beat rather handily. The upside is, you learn where your team needs improvement at so you can make the proper adjustments. I saw the NH/Buford, and the NH/Gainesville games, thinking afterword that it was going to be a long season for Trojan fans, then I saw the Creekview game, where NH demolished them 55-21, and it was like they were a completely different team. I’m not Bob Christmas’ biggest fan, but the adjustments he made after those two losses were amazing. I’m not lobbying for NH to be ranked, I’d rather them go into the playoffs under the radar.
Good job on getting Hiram into the rankings, they deserve it. My son plays there, so I’ve had the opportunity to watch them play most weekends. If you would have told me this time last year that they would be 5-0 at this point in the season, I would have laughed at you, because last years team had no discipline, no leadership, and no accountability. This year they have all of those, plus they have a hunger in their eyes that I have not seen in them before. Their toughest test will be in 3 weeks when they play Hillgrove. Hillgrove has the size advantage, but I think that Hiram matches up well with them and creates some match-up problems for Hillgrove. Hiram is still a young team,however, and I think that next year they will be in an even better position to contend in AAAA.
Roland
October 5th, 2009
1:14 pm
SHUT UP JAG WHOEVER. Those of us who live in Dekalb are completely fed up with Stephenson. Yes, you guys have the best athletes in the state( see Perry Riley making the final interception for LSU) but what do you have to show for it.
Region champions over MLK? MLK has made it deep into the playoffs and was one missed kick away from going to the dome in their SECOND year in 5A.
DEKALB COUNTY would love for Stephenson to be the premier team in the state. Stephenson does not however and wonders why nobody respects them.
Here is a tip Jaguars, make it past the first round in the playoffs!!!!
Say it Aint So
October 5th, 2009
1:22 pm
Question for Todd
What is your opinion on why City of Atlanta Schools don’t fare well against Schools outside of 285 in the playoffs. Is it coaching, talent or what? I looked at the 5 city schools with the most playoff appearences since 1990 against Schools outside of 285. Here are their playoff records:
Grady 5-7
Washington 6-8
Douglass 5-11
Mays 2-4
Carver 2-3
31
October 5th, 2009
1:24 pm
NTH Trojans
Last years Hiram team had both leadership and discipline. We had hardworkers, men who knew the possibility of how good we could be. Im sure you were at the Sequoyah Game last year. That senior class helped shape this new team into what they are now. The reason that young team has leadership now is cause of the examples of guys last year. Kyle Demeritt, Marcus Middlebrooks, Tyler Hogue and Jarell Benson were the team leaders last year. Without that leadership last year you would not have a great season this year. Nonetheless Way to go Hiram for being 5-0