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…….

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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.

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!

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.

Notice how Lowndes County posters continue to talk about Northside (the past beating that the Vikings took Friday night) or the State Championship game in December (long range and more than two months away). I believe we are seeing that Lowndes County is afraid to look to the present because they know what I know. Valdosta can easily beat Lowndes County.

Heck Todd, you can keep them at #1. You will know exactly what to do with the Vikings after the Wildcats finish with them at Martin Stadium Friday night.

I just do not see it that way. I believe that Warner Robins and Valdosta are every bit as good as Northside, Lowndes County, and Colquitt County. The problem that I see for Colquitt County is that they face three straight Warner Robins teams. Although Houston County just can’t get it together, they have All-State caliber players on their roster.

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.

Warner Robins is good and they are tested. By the time they play Lowndes County, they will have played Grayson & Valdosta. They will play with a sense of urgency since they face Northside and Lowndes County the following weeks. Colquitt (nor Northside or Lowndes County) is getting a free pass against Warner Robins. Trust me. I think that everyone in the region has some tough tests. I really think Lowndes County is going to lose at home to Valdosta on Friday night.

You guys are losing your mind if you believe that Lowndes County is going to go on the road and beat anyone good. I have informed this board that the Vikings are very SUSPECT on the road. Randy McPherson is VERY, VERY suspect on the road. Those guys regularly lose to equal or slightly inferior competition on the road. It is a fact.

It is also premature to place our very young Eagles of Northside in the State Championship game. In my view, our Eagles are too young to reach the State Championship game and I am one of the biggest HOMERS on this board. I have watched enough football to know that a team of 10th graders is not going to win the State Championship game in this state. Northside still has BIG roadblocks, especially playing against a much more experienced and hungry Warner Robins team.

SportsFan31313, name the team that has lost in the regular season and came back to get revenge in the high classifications. Come on. You know Lowndes County is a bad road team. It is more likely that Northside’s young team reaches the State Championship game than it is that Lowndes can win 3 playoff games this season. They will have LONG road trips and get into big trouble playing in Gwinnett (if they make it out of Kingsland).

To compare the 2008 Lowndes County team to the 2009 Northside team is wild! You dropped Northside to #6. That does not mean that you are dealing with some sort of trend. You, nor any objective observer can honestly say that the 2008 Lowndes County team was not stacked with players. They were so stacked, they destroyed the 8th ranked team in the nation 51-17 after losing star players.

In 2008 Lowndes County was the 2nd nationally ranked team that Northside faced. So even after losing to Lowndes County, Northside had beaten nationally ranked Booker T. Washington of Miami 31-7. Like the 2008 Northside team, these 2009 Vikings of Lowndes County beat a nationally ranked program. However, they lost to a team that is REBUILDING. Northside had to replace practically every skill position on the field.

Todd, you and others are welcome to pretend that it is the same loss. It is far from that. Furthermore, as much as posters can stand critical of the DeKalb County schools, they have certainly shown that they are much, much more competitive than teams from Cobb County, like Harrison.

As I have said, the ranking in the state do not really matter. We have a playoff system and there will be one team standing. Lowndes County lost to the 4th ranked team in the state, who was unranked nationally and full of 10th & 11th graders. If I am Stephenson or MLK, I am scratching my head.

As you point to Northside, I would point to the manner that both Peachtree Ridge and Tucker both dropped as top ranked teams. Todd, I know that there is a big part of you that simply thinks that Lowndes County are football gods for the manner that they dismantled your boys from Peachtree Ridge. You clearly drank the Kool-Aid that these guys up in Suwanee were serving.

At the end of the day, you do not lose to an inexperienced team and maintain a top ranking. Lowndes County should be behind Stephenson and Martin Luther King HS.

Where are you my firend? Don’t be concerned about last week, your Vikings will be back, and that is for sure…

I agree with you as well. Todd Holcomb is doing a good job on the rankings…..

Where have you been this season? Yes I am at a lost for words. I wonder what is going on behind closed doors there at Bradwell Institute? I will reserve my comments about this after the season is over. Hollabackk had a lot to say, you should goto page 4 of this blog: You will see what he has to say.

Free-For-All Forum: Georgia high school football Week Six scores, updates, photos and chat – LIVE!

Why do you talk so much? Your comments is like the energizer battery. You keep going, and going, and going, and going , and going. Everyone knows that Northside beat Lowndes County. Don’t be surprise if they don’t meet again in the post season. Common sense tells you that if the two teams continue to win, the two will have to eventually meet up. Maybe for the Sate Title. Don’t say that it can’t happen.

Everyone has a different idea about how to rank teams. If someone feels MLK and Stephenson should be higher than Lowndes out of respect for their being undefeated, then I’m OK with that. That’s not the way I choose to rank teams, but I respect that philosophy. So what I don’t understand is how my philosophy can’t simply be an honest disagreement with yours. Instead, you label it favoritism and a lack of unbiased integrity. Why would I be biased toward Lowndes? Or Camden? Or Northside, another school to which I often give the benefit of doubt.

A year ago, Northside lost to Lowndes 23-7 (or something like that) and dropped to No. 6. Was that an insult to Harrison, Coffee and East Paulding – undefeated teams that were ranked below a one-loss Northside team at the time? And how did that turn out last season? In retrospect, was I not right to keep Northside ahead of those three teams?

Lowndes has beaten two very good teams in Colquitt County and PeaRidge, and beaten them soundly. MLK and Stephenson combined haven’t played two teams that good. And remember that Stephenson needed overtime to beat Newton. If Lowndes is so overrated, then is Northside ranked too highly? You say Lowndes didn’t move the ball vs. Northside, but I believe Lowndes had more total yardage. Northside has relied on its field-goal defense to win too close games. Colquitt – which was routed by ”overrated” Lowndes – beat Valdosta, and Northside barely beats Valdosta — at home. I think if we drop Lowndes, then Northside needs to fall below MLK and Stephenson also.

Th

The way we came out in the first half against Northside and played
as if we were going against Meadowcreek without any enthusiasm at all
was beyond words. I guess the good side of that is despite how pathetic of a performance we gave in that first half, Northside was only
good enough to be up 7-0.

ENR…prior to last year you weren’t so sold on the competition of 1AAAAA but you now seem to be its biggest supporter.

Seems you haven’t always been always right like you think you are.

ENR…Northside won but since you brought up the statistics maybe you better go revisit who couldn’t move the ball on who. One well schemed pass play was all Northside had to offer in the second half from an offensive stand point. The fact is your offense consisted of a first quarter offensive drive and one good pass play. That is about it ENR.

Against Lowndes worse performance of the year in that first half you were able to put up a whole 7 points.

Given that Lowndes looked like they were still trying to get off of the bus in the first half……hmmmmmmmm!

Now this is not to take anything away from Northside’s performance because I would rather have had your performance and score than our performance and score….you won.

So why don’t you act like you have won before and know how to win, instead of acting like this is Northside’s only win ever.

You remind me of the starting running back who just scored his first TD after having already played in 100 football games.

I am not of the opinion that any team with a loss should be ranked ahead of Stephenson or MLK. I have made no bones about it, I fully expect Stephenson and MLK to lose to someone that they should beat in the state playoffs. At the same time, every program should be treated the same. Both Stephenson and MLK have destroyed competition. Todd should show them some respect and place Lowndes County below them.

Lowndes just lost to a team that practically plays all sophomores and juniors. Most of the starting Eagle players have no previous varsity starter level experience prior to this season. Since Lowndes could not beat such a young team, they should trail teams that have literally destroyed their competition.

Before Lowndes took on “Mission: Impossible” (beat Northside at the MAC) people spoke about how badly they beat their opponents. Look first at the manner MLK and Stephenson are beating their opponents. Look also at the manner that Lowndes struggled to move the ball against Northside. Other strong teams (Carver-Columbus and Valdosta) were able to produce more offense against Northside. Everyone talks about Lowndes’ valiant loss. They scored 7 points and Northside had their only All-State player injured and out.

Lowndes should be #8 or #9, at best. It is VERY disrespectful to teams that stand undefeated, like Stephenson or MLK, to put a team that played so flat in their only tough road test of the season. It hints at favoritism and a lack of unbiased integrity.

You beat Valdosta Friday. Don’t let Rush Propst fool you. Region 1-AAAAA is not a reality show. The competition is real! Remember Valdosta hosted Northside-Warner Robins two weeks before facing Colquitt and then won at Warner Robins. Colquitt was OBVIOUSLY facing a beat down Wildcat team that had the misfortune of playing both Warner Robins powers on consecutive weeks. That is hard for any program to come out of. It is almost unfair to Valdosta. They were undefeated last year. They lost at Northside and lost while hosting Warner Robins. They then lost 3 of the following 4 games. A team can’t come back after playing both Northside and then Warner Robins. Colquitt got Valdosta when they were down and beat up.

Sorry BlackandGold24. Until Colquitt beats a AAAAA proram that has a winning region record, the Packers remain unranked. It is very premature of Packer fans to simply assume that Colquitt County is going 8-2. That is crazy talk! Heck, I can not guarantee that Northside-Warner Robins or Lowndes County goes 8-2 and those guys have faced a much more challenging schedule than Colquitt County.

As for Lowndes County at #5, what is really going on? You dropped Tucker from #1 to #10 when they lost to Marist. Before you give me some excuse about how close the game was, Northside-Warner Robins was playing without a 2 time All-State player…the only All-State player on our roster. Watch the game. With Devon Pike, who has a 50+ yard leg, Northside easily score 6 more points….easily. Lowndes County kicker was not having the bad day. The kid obviously can not kick consistently from over 30 yards.

Stephenson should be ranked ahead of Lowndes. They are undefeated. Martin Luther King should be ahead of Lowndes County. They are undefeated. If Northside-Warner Robins, Lowndes County, Valdosta, Tift County, Warner Robins, or any other Region 1-AAAAA program was undefeated and ranked behind any one loss metro Atlanta team midway through the season, the entire Region would be in an uproar.

I say the same should apply to Lowndes County. Peachtree Ridge has played no one and should not even be ranked. Finally, there is no justification for Camden County being ranked with 2 losses. They lost to the only two teams that they will face who will win 7 or more games this season. You could have allowed them to climb back into the top ten. However, ranking them when they have lost to the only two strong programs they have faces, points to a lack of integrity.

Lowndes is not the fifth ranked team with talented DeKalb County teams sitting there undefeated. What if Peachtree Ridge losses a couple of region games? Are you going to drop Lowndes County? The same question that I posed last week should be posed in any decision to rate Lowndes County over undefeated Stephenson and MLK programs…who has Lowndes County played???

Todd, you saw what happened to Lowndes County against Northside’s team of sophomores and juniors (without the only All-State player we have on our roster playing). Also, Todd would you award Lowndes’McPherson with the Buck Godfrey Award for the week. That guy gets a little nervous outside of Martin Stadium. I have not seen a major Georgia coach do less with more since Godfrey was walking the Southwest DeKalb sidelines. Lowndes is loaded, yet McPherson seems scared or something. Watch out for Valdosta at Lowndes Friday night. The Vikings should be put on “Upset Alert.”

I am not a person who believes that Northside has wrapped up the Region championship simply because we beat Lowndes County. I am also under no mirage that Lowndes County faces no more challenges in region play. I just do not buy it. The only teams that have moved the ball worse against Northside are Perry, who is terrible, and Houston County, who is worse.

Lowndes has played cupcakes. I find it highly probable that Valdosta is going to give Lowndes County all the challenge they can handle on Friday night.

For all of the Viking posters who keep chiming about a Northside-Lowndes rematch, give real! It rarely happens. It is not going to happen this year. Lowndes is not going to beat strong teams on the road. As much as I chide metro Atlanta posters about the mediocrity of football up here, there will be more challenging games against Atlanta programs this season in the playoffs. I guarantee it!

People are simply blaming the kicker. First of all, most South Georgia kickers are going to miss 30+ yard field goals. That is common. Anyone saying otherwise is just flat out lying. High school kickers, with the exception of many metro Atlanta programs with GREAT soccer teams, generally miss field goals.

When Valdosta outplayed Northside and lost, there were Wildcat posters crying what-ifs about field goals. Now Lowndes posters are doing the same. When a kid misses 3 field goals from 30+ yards, it is probably logical to assume that the kid can’t make them.

The person that cost Lowndes are the coaches. McPherson should be given the Buck Godfrey Award for the week. His players talent covered up his lack of preparation. The guy was in way over his head. Lowndes County struggles against a defense of sophomores and a few juniors. What happens when the Vikings play more experienced units. FYI: Warner Robins runs the wing T. Do you think they are going to struggle defending what they see in practice every day.

Lowndes County is officially on “Upset Alert” on Friday night against Valdosta. Valdosta must win or they fall to 1-3 in the region. Tomberlin will be coaching for his job. The Wildcats could easily be undefeated in region play.

I have NEVER left my position. I still like Lowndes County. I gave you your props on a successful win last Friday, now lets move on from it. There is still a lot of season left in this Georgia Football in all Classes. Who knows, it’s a strong possibility that Northside may face Lowndes County again in the post season. The results may not be the same the next time around.

To everyone doubting Grayson’s rise to #1, please stop the chaos. Grayson was ranked #2. The #1 team in the state lost. I would be throwing my arms up if Northside was #3. We were all the way down at #4. Therefore, I have no problem with Northside coming in at #2.

I believe that Northside has played the most challenging schedule, by far, at this point in the season. Northside beat Carver-Columbus 21-12 (leading 21-0 at the half)…beat Valdosta at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium…and beat Lowndes County at team ranked third in the state.

On the other hand, Grayson has played and beat the defending state champion, Camden County Wildcats, and beat Warner Robins. Many people, including myself have been critical of their offensive firepower. They hung 34 points on Fridau night.

In my view they should clearly be the top team in the state.

McPherson coached Madison County High, in Madison, Florida, to its first District Title in 1996. For the next five years in a row, his team held that title. They appeared in 21 playoff games including two State Championship Games, winning it in 2001. In 2002 he became the head coach and athletic director at Lowndes High School. In his first year, he led his Viking team to the first round of playoffs. Coach McPherson then led the Vikings to the second round in 2003. In 2004 he coached his team to a perfect 15-0 season and obtained the AAAAA State Championship title. The 2004 team never trailed in game and they had 6 shut-outs.

In 2005 Coach McPherson and his Viking team made LHS history by winning back-to-back State Championship titles. The team completed the season with a 14-1 record.

During his coaching career, Coach McPherson has won 8 Region Championships. Has completed 4 Undefeated Regular Seasons and now has 3 State Championships wins. He has received Florida Coach of The Year honors twice. Since coming to Lowndes he has received the 2004 Overall Coach of the Year Award from the Atlanta Touchdown Club, the 2005 GACA Overall Coach of the Year Award, 2004 Athletic Director of the Year Award and the 2005 Athletic Director of the Year Award. His overall coaching record is 137-21, with a winning percentage of .867. Coach McPherson’s record at Lowndes is 66-12, with a winning percentage of .846.

If his coaching is questionable then what does that make your coach?

3 Class AAAAA Georgia State Championships since 2004 and one Florida State championship prior to coming to Lowndes.

You may not like “the way” he coaches or his style of offense but tell me someone who has gotten better results in Georgia AAAAA football in the last 5 or 6 years.

And I dont belive that’s really HeadEast

Examples:

In the last regular-season rankings last year, the AP had Jackson (10-0) at No. 7. We had Jackson at No. 10.

The AP had Evans (10-0) at No. 6. We had left Evans unranked.

Evans and Jackson lost in the first round.

The AP had Jefferson (10-0) ranked No. 4. We left Jefferson unranked.

Jefferson lost in the second round.

Moral: Undefeated teams playing light schedules are overrated.

Your right after the Marcus incident. You could tell that the team lacked leadership then, most of the leaders stepped up after the northgate game. Alot of the the reasons we lost the last three was because of bad offensive line play by the center and tackle. The same tackle who said coming into the season he was going to Auburn, then Wofford then nowhere. He was the negative energy in that lockeroom and with the negatives gone you see the result. Listening to your son about how the coaches are coaching could have you seeing the coaches as the bad guys. Your son could be biased because one of them got on him at practice at some time. As a former player I know how it is to look past their coaching abilities because i got yelled at by them at some point.

Second, I don’t care about Stephenson. As a matter of fact my response was meant to shut you Jaguar fans up who think WE should care about y’all and your stupid ranking when there are many teams more deserving of your position. If you guys would just shut up and play football when it counts than you would win championships. Going to the dome five years ago is not what some people consider CHAMPIONSHIP.

Warner Robins is also in middle GA and you placed Grayson ahead of NSWR??? But, NO one should be surprised about the metro-Atlanta bias that you continue to show within your polling system.

Matter of fact, you can pull Carver-Columbus from your ranking. It won’t mean a thing in December. The state champion is going to come from either region 1-AAA (Peach County or Cairo) or 2-AAA (Carver or LaGrange). Gainsville was undefeated last year… Until they met up with Carver… Enough said.