Georgia High School Football Daily Spotlight: Grayson makes move in national rankings
Lowndes’ hopes of a national title evaporated with a loss to Northside-Warner Robins, but another Georgia team is now in position, the GHSF Daily staff notes.
Grayson, the new No. 1 team in Georgia’s Class AAAAA, jumped 12 places to No. 3 in the RivalsHigh 100 released Monday. Grayson is No. 10 in the National Prep Poll and No. 15 in three other national rankings.
Northside, which beat Lowndes 10-7 last week, entered three national rankings but remained behind Lowndes in two polls, including USA Today.
RivalsHigh 100
3. Grayson (+12); 21. Northside (un); 38. Lowndes (-35); 58. North Gwinnett (-18); 68. Gainesville (-13); 79. Peachtree Ridge (-13)
MaxPreps Xcellent 25
15. Grayson (+3); 18. Lowndes (-14)
ESPN Fab 50
15. Grayson (+3); 35. Northside (un); 45. North Gwinnett (-1)
National Prep Poll
10. Grayson (+8); 21. Northside (un)
USA Today
15. Grayson (+1); 25. Lowndes (-16)
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180 comments Add your comment
BulldawgBite
October 7th, 2009
2:21 pm
GHS your exactly right. grayson is built to play almost every team in ga high school football. a great team in the trenches that plays smashmouth football. Clock control and a strong defense leads to winning a high number of games. even if they dont look impressive because they are close. teams like NG and South Gwinnett match up to the weakest part of your defense which is the secondary. these are the only 2 teams in atlanta that i know can consistently pass well. I think a grayson NG matchup in the dome would be a very fun game. Both coaches are extremely good but have different philosophys. Hopefully we can see that match up theres still a lot of football left
GO UG!
October 7th, 2009
2:30 pm
Since UGA won the National Championship in 1980, I think they should be ranked higher this year, probably in the top 5!
Grayson Student
October 7th, 2009
2:33 pm
Everyone saying grayson has been exposed is correct… however like one of the comments said the state noticed and so did grayson. Best believe after brookwood this week they will start workin on it. there last 3 games are berkmar central and meadowcreek who all are winless. As to the comment saying all u need is passing that is false. First you need an o line that can hold off the strength of our defense which is the line. You also need a qb who can scramble and better be ready to take a hit… parkviews qb got his jaw broken, and your defense better be able to stay on the field all night cuz the best defense is a good offense and i think theres no doubt that grayson has one of the best ball control offenses in the state if not the best
SportsFan31313
October 7th, 2009
2:41 pm
GHS#22 Says:
SportsFan31313, N. Gwinnett is ranked higher than the schools you mentioned. (except Lowndes) Norcross,Parkview,Brookwood all have state titles. P tree ridge is always a contender, and even Collins Hill is undeated. So North GA is powerful. Even the smaller schools, Budford, Gainsvilles, Applachee could play with any South GA school.
GHS#22,
I’m speaking of Classification AAAAA.
BulldawgBite
October 7th, 2009
2:42 pm
ya thats why i said NG would be a good match up for Grayson. North has 1 oline man commited to Alabama and another who is looking at every major SEC school. Our qb is a major recruit for the jr. class. and our defense is stout as well. We are balanced while South Gwinnnett can ONLY pass. your right Grayson probably has the best ball control in the state that grinds out defenses. these matchups lead to a great game.
SportsFan31313
October 7th, 2009
2:44 pm
BullDawgfan,
Please re-Read my comments…. I did not say that Region 1-AAAAA can BEAT ALL the Metro Atlanta Teams. I said For the North Georgia Fans, In Class AAAAA you have Grayson in the North Metro Area, and then everybody else. Which means following behind Grayson. I can’t say that for South Georgia tough. You have sooo many that is neck and neck. Of course, you have Northside Warner Robbins, Lowndes County, Colquitt County, and Warner Robbins that will can “Deal” with a “lot” of those Atlanta Metro area Schools Convincingly. Where in that did I say ALL?
GHS#22
October 7th, 2009
2:45 pm
which ones other than Lowndes have state titles?
I’m asking becasue i don’t know, but my guess is none.
GHS#22
October 7th, 2009
2:48 pm
In Grayson defense……….as for as the passing game, there has been 8 attempts to go deep on Grayson……….one score, and 7 interceptions!!!!!
So if you are going to pass stick with the underneat routes!! But I’m sure Coach Conn is working that out as we speak.
BulldawgBite
October 7th, 2009
2:54 pm
sportsfan you are quoting your 1:04 comment. i was speaking of your 12:54 comment. “all of the teamsin region 1AAAAAhas the ability and talent to beat one another, too include to beatsome of the perinneal powersin north georgia” you probably mis spoke and tried to correct it on your later post.
leechampion
October 7th, 2009
3:15 pm
2AAA game of the week is in Lagrange where my mighty Carver Tigers take on an underappreciated Troup team at 7:30 at fabulous Callaway stadium. I will be on Carver side 50 yd line top row for any of you addicts that want to talk about my passion-high school football. spect Slalom will be there. This Isiah Crowell is the real deal at running back.
Brookwood Mom
October 7th, 2009
3:38 pm
RfromG: Hey! #32 Nick Tompkins is an awesome kid. He plays RB/DB. Oh and by the way, you are putting Waaaay to much somein somein in your cool-aid! You got the Brookwood/Grayson score way so wrong. It’s more like:
Brookwood – 17
Grayson – 10
GO BRONCOS!!!!
slalom1
October 7th, 2009
4:22 pm
YO, Seems that you have lost credibility with your recent prediction: Lowndes 14 NSWR 0 1st quarter. lol. But what about poor Slalom1? Predicted a final of Lowndes 41-7 over Northside. LMAO. I don’t believe my predictions are going to be taken very seriously by many as well. Having said that, here is the way I see it: Lowndes is not unaccustomed to losing a game early in the season only to roar back with a state title. i.e. 2005, embarrased by Ware County 28-7, then went on to greatness. 2007, lost to Harrison then followed up with yet another state title. I hate whipping a dead horse but here goes: “What is the common thread in the 4 most recent losses by Lowndes,(excluding 2006)? Answer: Offense was shut down. 28-7 Ware Co, 9-0 Harrison, 17-7 Grayson and 10-7 Northside WR. In other words during seasons where Lowndes had a championship caliber team and yet lost, the average offensive output was 5.25 points per game. Don’t you think that maybe it is time to re-think the overall offensive strategy? UH….Wing-T?
SportsFan31313
October 7th, 2009
4:28 pm
GHS#22,
They all have State Titles. Every one that I have named.
slalom1
October 7th, 2009
4:34 pm
leechampion, Aside from Carver’s tremendous advantage in overall size and depth, I believe that both teams share one thing in common: Neither team has yet reached their full potential. Should that happen, LaGrange and Carver are both capable of playing with any team in the state. The Grangers have once again been bitten by the injury bug. QB Jamius Gunsby (6′5 229) has been playing with an injured foot. He is a tremendous weapon for the Grangers and could be the difference in the game when he is healthy. You brought up Carver vs. Troup. I have no explanation as to what happened to Troup at “the house of pain” against WACO. But make no mistake, like Carver and LaGrange, if Troup can reach their full potential they are capable of taking on anybody. I am attempting to make the game Friday and sit on the Carver side, but work may cause interference. Should I show up I will bring the left over barbecue sandwiches from the Newnan game. LOL. By the way, I agree. Crowell is amazing.
SERIOUS GRAYSON HATER
October 7th, 2009
4:45 pm
GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON, GRAYSON,. That’s all I see on the on the Prep zone. I just want to make sure everyone is getting enough of GRAYSON!!
Grayson student:
“You also need a qb who can scramble and better be ready to take a hit… parkviews qb got his jaw broken”
I wonder which hillbillie red neck broke Parkview’s QB jaw? He must have been watching too much WWF wrestling Monday night! I will be rooting really loud for Brookwood Friday night. I hope they put a slamming on GRAYSON!
Yo
October 7th, 2009
5:42 pm
Slalom now you know better than that! Averaging out the offensive points of Lowndes 4 losses and deciding from just those 4 games they need to rethink their offense. Do you really need me to go there?
Question, should Northside who only scored 10 points in their win rethink their offensive philosophy? Second question, how many points has the Wing T averaged in Lowndes last 3 State championship games they have played in? In 2 of those games the first string was either out real early or a little early.
One note though…in case you didn’t notice Lowndes did pretty much abandon the Wing T against Northside from the latter part of the second quarter and for the rest of the game and was much more successful in doing so.
Yo
October 7th, 2009
5:45 pm
ENR where are you? There is some actual sanity on here as of late.
You haven’t been admitted have you?
drock09
October 7th, 2009
5:53 pm
Slalom Newnan line is getting better. After watching lowndes and camden last week I don’t know if we belong in the top 5
TJ
October 7th, 2009
5:55 pm
Grayson hater…your so ignorant. Demographics for Grayson is diverse as they come.
South Gwinnett does not have a defense to compete like their offense can. Too unbalanced to go deep in playoffs.
North Gwinnett is the team everyone needs to watch out for. Including Grayson. Total team that can pick you apart or run. Defense is strong and has depth.
Check out Massey rankings
http://www.highschoolsports.net/defaultcal300×250.cfm?ct=stateratings&conftodisp=Georgia&spt=4&lvl=-1&division=1&timeoffset=240
Grayson ranked 4th. Lowndes, NSWR, and North Gwinnett ranked above them. I think it is a toss up, it all depends on pairings in the playoffs.
rwdekalbfan
October 7th, 2009
6:09 pm
Enter your comments here
rwdekalbfan
October 7th, 2009
6:29 pm
Grayson can beat Lowndes because Lowndes is too one dimensional with not much of passing game. Northside exposed them last week. They play a team that plays with pride and discipline like Northside and the best they can do is 7 points? Lowndes is good but there are several teams in North Georgia that are good enough to beat them. To K-Man: I dont think Northside Warner Robins would be considered a south Georgia team. The blowouts ended when they played a team that was not intimidated by them. I am not a Lowndes hater and anybody who puts their hopes in those computer rankings, I am here to tell you that on the high school level they dont mean nearly as much as with college or professional football.
bee shabazz
October 7th, 2009
6:38 pm
Miami Northwestern vs. Miami Central tomorrow, Thurs. Oct. 8th, 2009 at 7:30pm on ESPN2. These are 2 of the fastest(SPEED,SPEED,SPEED) and most atheletic running and PASSING teams in the country.This game will be very entertaining.
you guys are dumb
October 7th, 2009
6:40 pm
Brookwood mom u are even worse than a high school student. stop ragging on coach conn and drive ur kids to soccer practice like ur supposed to. and it wont be any different this year cuz grayson’s gonna KILL brookwood.
slalom1
October 7th, 2009
6:50 pm
Alright DROCK09, Don’t start this voodoo stuff this early in the season.lol. You and I both know that the Cougars are capable of FINALLY taking it ALL THE WAY.
Newnan should have had no less than 2 previous state titles had it not been for just bad luck.(maybe 3). I can see that you are already in post season “voodoo mode”. Admittedly, I have not seen as many teams as in years past this season, But I have seen Northside. If Newnan and Northside were to play tomorrow, here is what I think the score would be: Whoops, I almost did it again. NO MORE prognosticating. But my money would be on Newnan. Hands down the best defense in the state, an offense that is more than capable of scoring on any defense and then there is Ransby. I like the chances of the 2009 Cougars. Pretty sure I have said this before, but here goes again: Only once in my life of following GHS football have I watched pre-game and was certain of the outcome before the game started. Those 2 games were: the 1983 state title game between LaGrange and Tift County and the 2009 game between Newnan and LaGrange.
This could and SHOULD be the year of THE COUGARS. Best of luck.
SERIOUS GRAYSON HATER
October 7th, 2009
6:51 pm
Sorry TJ but I am not the imbecile one here! I agree with you though, North Gwinnett IS the better team!
MHSFan
October 7th, 2009
6:53 pm
Mceachern is a state contender that is under the radar most of the points teams have gotten on them have been off huge spebreakdowns in special teams, but they are very well coached and have an amazing offense lead by one of the best rb’s in the state and their defense doesn’t give up many big plays
SanityRules
October 7th, 2009
8:17 pm
Slalom, being a young man back in 1983, I debated whether to go to LaGrange and watch them play Tift County. I didn’t but how in the world did they get beat that bad? Having watched them play that season ,it was truly amazing how they lost.
Drock09 did the voodoo last year and believe me he’s at it again. We are loaded again. Haven’t seen all the teams but I like our chances as this might be the year finally.
SanityRules
October 7th, 2009
8:23 pm
SERIOUS GRAYSON HATER: Don’t worry about Grayson. If they stay where they’re presently positioned, it will on the Newnan side of the playoff brackett. We will take care of them. Just chill ,we got this.
SanityRules
October 7th, 2009
8:39 pm
Decatur for Life: I haven’t seen P-Ridge play but they did give up 51 points to Lowdnes. I saw Gaineville play and I have no doubt there are more than 20 schools better . Remember they are a AAA school and if highly unlikely they could compete with the bigger schools.
SERIOUS GRAYSON HATER
October 7th, 2009
8:43 pm
Sanity Rules – Alright man, I will be counting on you to make it happen!!
EagleNationRising
October 7th, 2009
9:24 pm
Yo, you continue to crawl from under your rock to bash programs that a better than your beloved Vikings. Let me rephrase myself, those teams are not necessarily better from a talent standpoint. Lowndes County is the new version of the old Southwest DeKalb teams. All the talent, but never quite up to the task.
Grayson has earned their ranking. End of story. They performed well defeating Lowndes County in last year’s playoffs. They also beat Camden, although unimpressively, in the Georgia Dome at the Kell Classic. Camden was ranked nationally at the time. When you beat two nationally ranked teams twice in three games, you deserve credit.
I will echo Todd Holcomb (for once). When you are the top team in Georgia, you are one of the top teams in the nation. North Gwinnett beat a nationally ranked team, too. By the way, if Eagleforlife asks for clarification on why a team is ranked that is not hating.
It is up for debate as to whether Grayson has play a more challenging schedule than Northside. I will go on record and say that playing against Carver-Columbus, at Valdosta, and beating Lowndes County takes the cake for challenging schedule. Anyone who thinks that Carver-Columbus is not the real deal, you are fooling yourself. If Carver does not win the state championship in AAA, it is coaching. End of story.
EagleNationRising
October 7th, 2009
9:31 pm
Who in the heck is the poster “Reality” from October 6. His post calling out specific high school players is classless. It is sad to hear a poster call out players and say that they suck. I am all for teasing coaches, who are adults. However, to call out high school players is a little over the top. It is very disappointing. My guess is it is a parent of a disgruntled player who is riding the bench.
SanityRules
October 7th, 2009
9:40 pm
ENR, you 100% correct about Reality. You should never call out these kids. Talk about the coaches or schemes but never the kids .
Grayson Student
October 7th, 2009
10:31 pm
sanity rules… since you “got this” please explain what your team has proven this season. could it be one of the easiest schedules in the state? Possibly even the impressive start against a AAA school who put up 15 on that such vaunted defense and you only beat a AAA team by 11??? seriously? But o ya thats right yall have gods chosen one over there with ogletree, man he must be a game changer… only problem with that, lowndes had even more of a dynamic game changer in reid last year and what happened? we ran right at him allllll night and he couldnt stop it, i can assure you that the un tested defense of newnan will not be able to either…but hey please keep being y, get those stats nice and padded for the playoffs. with such a hard schedule left (teams combined for 12 wins) yall are assured to be ready to play the big boys
drock09
October 7th, 2009
10:50 pm
grayson student. You are right Newnan doesn’t stand a chance against grayson. Newnan defense was overmatched against Lagrange. Lagrange had a total of 78 yards of total offense and two first downs. Lagrange kicker kick 3 long field goals and they scored on an int by their linebacker. Also the ogletrees are not that good!
Pops
October 7th, 2009
11:07 pm
ENR – Right on!
I believe many of us on here, myself included, have players involved in these programs, and there is no reason to ever call out any individual palyers, unless in a positive light.
ketaboon
October 7th, 2009
11:10 pm
cairo will n ot beat peach county friday night. this time your team will get exposed by a complete team. cairo is in for a rude awakening. peach county is not just a running team like the teams cairo has already played. so reeze whats the score you predict for this game. i say peach 31 cairo 14.
Reeze
October 7th, 2009
11:52 pm
Ketaboon…………This one won’t be close..I’d say Peach 28 Cairo 7….And you are correct ,Peach County is complete as any in the State in any Class…..I will tell you the truth ,Although Northside scrimmaged Peach ,if it were a real game , Peach would have won…. Peach is AAA and they are the best team ive seen on the field this year , and ive seen Lowndes ,Westside ,Grayson ,Warner Robins ,Carver ….I don’t think would have trouble with either of these teams.
Yo
October 7th, 2009
11:54 pm
ENR go back to your meds.
First you compare Lowndes as over rated
and then you say your schedule is so tough because Lowndes is on it.
And all of this in the same run on post.
Pick a side of the fence and get on it ENR.
Reeze
October 8th, 2009
12:14 am
Slalom 1……….This is 2008 again with your Newnan Projections…..They had the best defense last season as well ,until Camden County came to Newnan and the Cougars were exposed ,and the whole State of GA saw in Live and Living color the type of team they really were . Yes 2008 Camden was a very good team , but in the previous weeks Northside and Woodstock game the Cats all that they could handle……Slalom 1 ,If Region 1 were full of Hoco like Calibre teams Northside would look to be the best defense in state….If Region 8 were full of Bermar types Grayson woulnd’t have had 27 put up on their defense ,and they are one of the best in State……….Region 4 are full of Mediocre teams , and not a single person will take any team from this region seriously until the playoffs rolls around, Not even Newnan
Reeze
October 8th, 2009
12:44 am
bee shabazz………I see Booker T Washington came up with much more “SPEED,SPEED,SPEED” against your Miami Northwestern this year………For you Florida schools …..How about ” DEFENSE , DEFENSE , DEFENSE “………..I wished that Northside could play the Hurricanecanes again this year ,but it didn’t work out.
blu eagle
October 8th, 2009
1:58 am
Lowndes you are what we thought you were overrated, untested, and suspect on the road, this ain’t your year. Saying that though NSWR better be careful the rest of the year,there are a lot of good teams
ahead in thier schedule and they better improve each game to go far in the playoffs. GO EAGLES!
SGT CHRIS
October 8th, 2009
6:38 am
I’m not a “shoulda, woulda, coulda” kinda guy, but Lowndes’ kicker missed 3 FIELD GOALS, if he makes ONE, or in my opinion, if the coach would have fed franklin the ball down the stretch, the outcome, MIGHT have been different…Northside is legit. Lowndes is legit. Even Camden is legit come playoff time.Graysons remaining schedule has 4 teams with 3 wins between them (all by brookwood) lol. I still dont buy the Camden win. I’d put more weight on the Warner Robins win that I would Camden. Like i said earlier, is there a another region in the state with THREE winless teams at this point??? This year’s playoffs are going to be very interesting with AAA shaping up to have some intriguing matchups…
SGT CHRIS
October 8th, 2009
6:47 am
GRAYSON STUDENT posts about newnan
When the reality is Graysons remaining schedule has 4 teams with 3 wins between them (all by brookwood)
As the great Rasheed Wallace quoted once: BALL DON’T LIE ga.prepcountry.com
Look in the mirror before casting stones at ugly people lol!!!! Also offering suicide watch services with my upset special Brookwood 27 Grayson 21.lol!!!
SGT CHRIS
October 8th, 2009
6:53 am
GRAYSON STUDENT posts about newnan SUCH A HARD SCHEDULE LEFT (TEAMS COMBINED FOR 12 WINS) YALL ARE ASSURED TO BE READY TO PLAY THE BIG BOYS
When the reality is Graysons remaining schedule has 4 teams with 3 wins between them (all by brookwood)
As the great Rasheed Wallace quoted once: BALL DON’T LIE ga.prepcountry.com
Look in the mirror before casting stones at ugly people lol!!!! Also offering suicide watch services with my upset special Brookwood 27 Grayson 21.lol!!!
(THIS POST CORRECTS PREVIOUS POST LOL)
SGT CHRIS
October 8th, 2009
7:02 am
I STAND CORRECT!!!!!!!! There is another region with 3 winless teams!! Region 3-AAA has three winless teams at this point in the season!!
SGT CHRIS
October 8th, 2009
7:07 am
As usual the AAA title goes through region 2-AAA..any other region put TWO teams in the semis last year?? EVEN if they both lost??
GHS#22
October 8th, 2009
7:44 am
First of all some of you guys were online way too late last night…………
Yes Grayson’s schedule is very weak from here on out, but that’s not their fault. Those kids play who they are asked to.
Let’s not forget, Grayson has beaten McEachern, WR, Lowndes, Camden Co, E. Paulding, and Brookwood. they had beaten S. gwinnett and Parkview with their spread offense. they didn’t lose alot of key players this year, they still have a 2000 yard rushing RB, 4 D-1 players on defense, allowed only 1 passing TD, 7 interceptions, and given up only 26 points in 6 games. to top it off, a coach with intergity enough not to run up the score on a defenseless team.
GHS#22
October 8th, 2009
8:09 am
Adding to Grayson resume……….
Camden Co was held to only 90 total yards, 44 rushing. their only score coming from blocked punt. WR held under 60 total yards. 3 shutouts.
Jay212033
October 8th, 2009
8:10 am
SGT CHRIS
You sound like us Valdosta fans “IF” we could have………..