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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226 comments Add your comment
BlackandGold24
October 7th, 2009
12:08 pm
EagleNation: Yes, we do agree. Colquitt County at 8-2 is a stretch. The Packers seem to be an up and rising team with a lot of underclassman, but yet have not arrived at the level of Northside nor Lowdnes. The region is very much like the SEC with 2 great teams and a couple of teams lingering around just below the level of the great programs at Florida and Alabama, but like the SEC, Region 1AAAAA is a tough schedule to navigate undefeated.
EagleNationRising
October 7th, 2009
12:12 pm
Nukieie: My guess is the football teams that I played on at Northside would have violated any football team that you played tuba for. I will talk as much as I want. All of Lowndes County has been talking nonstop on this board since the Vikings beat Peachtree Ridge. The comments leading up to Friday’s games were insane. You guys riding that Viking bandwagon get vry sensitive when reality begins to set in. My posts are directed specifically towards someone on this board. You are more than entitled to pass the post. You do not have to read them. No one is holding a gun to your head. With the manner that you are crying, I take back the tuba comment. My guess is you were on the flag corp or wearing a mascot uniform for some pathetic South Georgia cheerleading team.
EagleNationRising
October 7th, 2009
12:29 pm
BlackandGold24: I know that this sounds crazy, but I have not gotten my arms around this Northside team being great just yet. We all thought that had a chance to be great in 2010. The truth is this group of kids did not come in with the Middle school fanfare of the guys who played on the 2006 and 2007 State Championship teams. Conrad Nix told me in the spring of 2005 that the freshman class was the best group of athletes to ever play sports in Warner Robins. I responded to Coach Nix that he was making a HUGE statement considering that Ron Simmons, James Brooks, and Jimmie Womack were all in the same class at Warner Robins on the 1976 National Championship team. Coach Nix looked me right in the eye and told me that they were the best ever and he would know.
These Eagles have not ridden into the halls of Northside on a high horse of expectation. For a matter of fact, there was chatter around the City of Warner Robins that Northside was too young to compete against Warner Robins or Houston County, let alone Lowndes County. It is interesting how things have played out.
Thanks for the information on the Colquitt County State Championship team from 15 years ago. That Valdosta team played all of their playoff games at home, including beating us (Northside) at Bazemore-Hyder 42-32 in the quarterfinals (PAINFUL). They then played an undefeated Southwest DeKalb team in the Georgia Dome. Of course, SWD lost. Valdosta got there chance and Colquitt beat them again.
That was 15 years ago. Today, that same Valdosta team would have gotten one home game and then would have hit the road. It will be hard for a team to win it out playing on the road. Lowndes County is not going to win any meaningful road games.
nukieie
October 7th, 2009
12:57 pm
No sweetie(ENR) I never played football and I certinly did not cary tuba, much to heavy for me. I Just like football….. All I’m trying to say is JUST LET IT GO ALREADY. I’m sure that there are already many poster that are ignoring you just as I’m going to do from this point on…. just make your point and move on….. take care sweetie
RAMMIT BABY!
October 7th, 2009
1:45 pm
MOTIVATION IS EASY….ELIMINATE THOSE WHO AREN’T MOTIVATED ~ROLL RAMS~~
Quinn
October 7th, 2009
3:21 pm
The Lowndes PRHS game was unexpected. PRHS got off the bus and played like crap against Lowndes and made mistakes that you can’t make if you want to beat Lowndes. It’s happened to other teams travelling down south, and south GA teams who go up north. (Coffee County lost to PRHS in the 3rd round of playoffs 38-0). Collins Hill is not a championship caliber team, part of the reason they are 5-0 is because of a semi-favorable schedule in the first half of the season. I think Peachtree Ridge will beat North Gwinnett and win the region. (I’ve seen both teams play). PRHS will meet NSWR in the 3rd round, and the winner will be determined based off of homefield advantage and whoever plays a better game. The winner of that game will eventually get into the finals and play either Lowndes or Grayson.
AVikingFan
October 7th, 2009
3:56 pm
Greetings Sportsfan31313. I’ve just been sitting back and watching that jerk ENR continue to embarrass himself, NSWR, and aws one writer said, his wife. (Remember my post a couple of weeks ago that he took exception to, if someone acts like a jerk, talks like a jerk, and writes like a jerk, they usually are a jerk?!) Some things never change, not even with other Northside fans imploring him to stop his lunatic rants. The man obviously was picked on as a child, has no friends, and probably no real life. He most likely failed at sports, and his shotgun hot air couldn’t be channeled thru the small opening of a horn or tuba, so the band wouldn’t have him. He would like to have a job as a sportswriter for the AJC, but apparently they won’t have him either.
I was out of town Monday and Tuesday, and spent much of this morning catching up on the blogs and news articles. We’ve got a big cross town rivalry game this week, and ENR predicts we will lose to Valdosta. (That might be the best thing.) I have evaluated the post season playoff brackets, and it appears Camden, Greyson, and Northside will be in three of the brackets and Region 1’s 3rd place team will be in the 4th bracket. That bracket will have the winner of Stevenson and MLK as it’s number one seed. H-mmm. But I’ll say it right now, Valdosta will not beat Lowndes this week. Good luck to your Hinesville team here on out. And I hope EP bounces back too!
SportsFan31313
October 7th, 2009
5:11 pm
AVIKINGFAN,
Man it’s so good to have you back. I was beginning to wonder what in the world has happen to you. In response to ENR, yes he goes on like an energizer battery. He keeps going, and going , and going and going, and going. I gave him his props and that was not good enough for him. Even his own Northside told him to stop being an embarrassment to Northside. But as you can tell, he still does it.
Anyway, I don’t believe that Lowndes County will lose any more games this season.
If you read my comments, I said last week was a week for upsets for a lot of teams. Even my team. Bradwell Institute. No one thought they would have lost this past Friday. They were number one in the Region. The Fans there are very upset, and is calling for a coaching change.
South GA beast.
October 7th, 2009
7:45 pm
Its amazing how every time I hear about grayson football I hear about how they beat lowndes “barely” and how lowndes lost and now their number one. So basically they are getting publicity off of lowndes high who has won 3 of the past 5 state titles. You people who really think that they are that good are just about as pathetic as “Camden county, and there region.” With that said the COLQUITT COUNTY PACKERS are back, and why is camden county ranked with a 3-2 record? I honestly think “the AJC! is biased towards south ga schools” and we all know its true.
Bear_Backer
October 7th, 2009
8:49 pm
Hey all Fans and participants of Georgia High School Football and Athletics. First off I want to say how much I appreciate all of the talent we have in this state. We are so blessed to have the amount of quality players and cheerleaders here. I went on a “mini scout trip” and drove from Griffin to scope out the new Drew High School and find the stadium where my Beloved Mighty Griffin Bears will clash against the North Clayton Eagles this friday night. What a nice facility they have there. It looks like a modern small college campus. I had a chance to stop and watch the new Drew Titans doing some workouts, and they seem like a well coached and disciplined bunch. Don’t know what region they will end up playing in, but welcome to them all. TO RWDEKALBFAN: No problem pal…I understand your stance on “pulling for the home teams”. the offer stands though, anytime. I remember when Griffin was in region 6 when I played “back in the day” Man o Man where does the time go? So many great rivalries back then…Remember Griffin vs R.E.Lee? , Griffin vs Lagrange, and Newnan? Even Forest Park and Morrow were solid back then. Griffin vs Lakeside: instant CLASSICS. People probably think I’m stupid to love high school football so much, but I know how much time and effort the youth, coaches and volunteers put into it. Best of luck to everybody this coming week, travel safely and be good sports….remember it’s a game today that teaches us values for tomorrow! Peace be with you all.
North Clayton is best in AAAA
October 7th, 2009
9:05 pm
Game On This Friday Night Bear Backer.
JAYBO
October 7th, 2009
10:24 pm
NUKIEIE…..
Wow, I agree with you about the guy from NSWR(If you’ve been following the blog, you know that I refuse to even type his name)!!! I have been saying the exact thing that you said about this guy for two years!!!! I’m laughing out loud for real b/c I said the identical same thing on the blog from last friday night…however, the weak ajc moderator deleted my post!!! Anyway, just wanted you to knw that you’re not alone in regards to the wanna be from northside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
energizerBUNNY
October 8th, 2009
4:52 am
South GA Beast– Grayson beating Lowndes was only 1 Game. [and that game is long gone] so why bring it up. Grayson doesn’t rank themselves. Nor do I see any Grayson fan’s cont’d smack of that [1] win. That is backseat bla-bla-bla…. Why don’t you admit they have moved on since and done so in a very smooth way. Looking in the rearview mirror does nothing for Grayson’s future. Maybe you should move forward as well. See you in the PLAYOFFS…..NOT!
SouthGARules
October 8th, 2009
8:46 am
South GA Beast: If the AJC has a bias against South Ga schools, then why is Camden ranked with a 3-2 record. Evidently you do not pay attention to the blogs because Todd has gone over that many times. Let’s see about Colquitt Co. being back at the end of the year, if they make the playoffs. I know they are headed in the right direction, but they do have both Warner Robins schools left to play. If they have a defense that can stop the run, they will beat Warner Robins. Warner Robins can’t pass.
AVikingFan
October 8th, 2009
9:20 am
Today’s AJC article about the consensus ranking of georgia high School Class AAAAA ranking shows vividly tghat EaglenationRising (ENR) was totally off base when he criticized Todd Holcomb for his weekly rankings Monday.
Once again ENR, the self proclaimed “know it all” was dead wrong when compared to ALL the rating services.
I may do like some of the other posters and refuse to mention “HIS” blog handle again, and just call him that “poster from Warner Robins that nobody likes.”
Keep up the good work Todd!
Herschworld
October 8th, 2009
10:34 am
As a packer alumni “99, it is so good to see our packer boys back and competitive again. I like our chances in the playoffs and I think this team has shown a niche for playing well on the road. It should be interesting to see how the team improves week to week. Now I know you really can’t compare game scores in this league but if that is any indication Colquitt should be on par with the Warner Robins teams. I think the packers, if they can take care of business at Tift and Houston, may challenge NSWR in their match up and could be co-region champs.
plowboy
October 8th, 2009
12:17 pm
enr greg reid did not play in the us army all star game , it was the under armour game , and our kicker is really good google his name
plowboy
October 8th, 2009
12:17 pm
jed solomon
NTH Trojans
October 8th, 2009
12:23 pm
SportsFan,
I’m not saying that 3AAA is not a tough region, but of the seven teams in that region there are 2, maybe 3, teams that will make any noise in the playoffs. I, personally, think that the region title goes to either Baldwin or WACO. While in 7AAA, there are 6 legit teams vying for 4 spots. Flowery Branch is in an unenviable position of having to beat either West Forsyth or Gainesville, for a spot in 7B-AAA, while in 7A-AAA, North Hall pretty much has a lock on no worse than a #2 seed. Let’s put it this way, what #1 seed would like to have the task of facing Flowery Branch as a #4 seed in the first round. Flowery Branch lost to Creekview earlier this season, so unless FB runs the table in 7B-AAA (and that means beating Gainesville and West Forsyth), or Creekview loses to White Co this Friday (which I don’t see happening either), then FB enters the playoffs as the #4 seed out of region 7AAA. Pretty deep region, wouldn’t you agree? By the way, North Hall will beat Flowery Branch this Friday.
31,
Maybe you misunderstood what I was trying to say. My son doesn’t have any issues with the coach (last year or this year), I just felt like he wasn’t holding the players accountable for their play (or lack of it) last year. That team committed too many penalties and turnovers last year. This year, while they still have too many of both, the coaches are holding them accountable for their actions. Another thing that I had a problem with was the play-calling. It was erratic at best, and allowed for no rhythm to be developed bhy the team. All of that has changed this year. I agree with you that after the Northgate game the team found some unity and came together and gave us a glimpse of what was to come this year. That also coincided with the change at QB, moving McLain to #1, and moving Mario Roland to WR. I’d still like to see Mario play DB, but that’s my opinion. This team is definitely heading in the right direction, and most of this team is juniors and sophomores.
Slalom,
Thanks for the congrats for my sons’ team, they have worked hard to get where they are. SportsFan makes a good point about 3AAA, I just think that 7AAA is deeper, and will go deeper in the playoffs. I’m sticking by my prediction that it will be Gainesville-Carver, Columbus in the finals that I made at the beginning og the season. I keep an eye on your Grangers every weekend to see how they have fared, and I’m looking for to their matchup with C.C. on 10/30 and Troup Co 0n 11/06. Good luck on both games. The C.C./ Troup Co. game this friday has piqued my interest, too. What’s your take on that game? Do you see it being a close game or a blowout?
NTH Trojans
October 8th, 2009
12:32 pm
ENR,
I read a lot of your comments last week before the NSWR/Lowndes game, and while I don’t agree with everything you say (okay, I actually agree with very little you have to say), I got to thinking about what you were saying about Lowndes road woes. The thing about it is, homefield advantage means more in S. Ga. than in Metro Atlanta area, because of the distance traveled. Where most games in South Ga. are a 1-2 hour drive, most games in the metro area are an hour drive or less, which means more visiting fans at games, less time for the initial adrenaline rush to wear off, less time to kill in a bus before a game. Of all the things you said last week, that was the one that made the most sense.
Rush Propst for Coach of the Year
October 8th, 2009
12:38 pm
“The Packers are like a Big 10, Pac 10, or Big 12 team playing three straight SEC teams. All three teams from Warner Robins are big and athletic. Do you remember all this chatter about how big and physical Lowndes County’s offensive line was. Those guys got dominated in the box on both sides of the ball. You can see it on the internet. I know that Colquitt hosts two of those 3 games. Talk of an 8-2 Packers team is as premature as talk of a 10-0 Northside team.”
Have you seen Colquitt County play this season? im not saying a 8-2 record is a given but i think you are seriously doubting the Packers if you think they are somehow not as good as Warner Robins (who lost to Valdosta). Injuries or not, if you actually saw the CC-Valdosta game you would realize that Valdosta was fortunate to only lose by 7. Packers fumbled inside the red zone and then had a ball carrier slip down on 4th and 1 inside the Valdosta 15 yard line…if Colquitt County can minimize the turnovers, they are a very dangerous team that probably has the 2nd best offense in this region (Lowndes being the first). Our spread offense gives opposing Region 1AAAAA teams fits because they are not use to seeing it. i just dont see Warner Robins mustering enough offense to beat us but they are definitely a good overall team that is capable of beating the Packers. we have to take care of business tomorrow night and send a message to the rest of the region by beating a team that we should beat in Tift County
SportsFan31313
October 9th, 2009
12:42 pm
Greetings NTH,
Region 6 and Region 7 are the Largest Regions in Class AAA with Region 7 being the largest.
The only Teams that I believe that Strong in that Region Is Gainesville, and Flowery Branch, and the two of them are in the same Sub Region in Region 7. (Region 7-AAA -B) In Region 7-AAA -A I don’t really see significant strength in that Sub Region.
But in Region 3-AAA You have Burke County, Baldwin County, Washington County, Liberty County. That Region is very tough to play in. 3 out of the four were ranked as well. In Class AAA. I give Liberty County credit as to the win against a winning history against Thompson on the Road. This Region remind me Region 1-AAAAA as far as strength of teams.
jimmy roundtree
October 9th, 2009
1:49 pm
Can’t believe ajc don’t have Lowndes-Valdosta as top 5 game to watch.
a natioannly storied program and one of the finest in the state the last decade, 7-10 D-1 prospects, cross-town rivalry as big as anywhere and enough speed/power to outrun nascar
you should be ashamed
catman
SportsFan31313
October 9th, 2009
2:09 pm
Jimmy Roundtree,
That Lowndes County Valdosta game is Televised. if you have Direct TV you should be able to see it. It is on Channel 610 which is a ESPN Channel. It’s on at 8:00 pm.
AVikingFan
October 9th, 2009
3:58 pm
Howdy Sportsfan31313. I’m about to leave the office and go out to the stadium to the tail gate section, and get all psyched up for tonight. Man is the emotion high in this town! All the fast food places, stores, everywhere THE GAME is all anyone is talking about. Valdosta seems to be playing for their coach’s job (that’s sad – he’s a gerat coach) in addition to keeping Lowndes from being the first team to ever beat Valdosta 6 times in a row. Right now we are tied with Colquitt with 5 wins in a row. We’ve won 8 out of the last 10 in the series. The stadium, with our temprary seats brought in, will handle about 14,000 counting the bands the GHSA passes, etc. Maybe a few more. Martin Stadium will be rocking tonight on my daddy’s old corn field!
SportsFan31313
October 10th, 2009
4:51 pm
Greetings AVikingFan,
I watched that game on ESPN, and all I could say was WOW!!!!!!! That Defense that Lowndes County is Mammonth. They were very stingy on the yards, and my goodness aren’t they fast? Lowndes County controlled the game from the beginning to the end. That Quarter back that was playing in the 4th Quarter, was he JV? I saw a lot of what appeared to be young players out there on the field in the 4th Quarter. Anyway, Lowndes County have definitely woke up and will dominate the remaining of the regular season…. Congrats, and Great Win…….