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.

226 comments Add your comment

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