Archive for September, 2010

Miller Grove High’s Tony Parker, who is one of the nation’s top college basketball prospects for 2012 with more than 40 scholarship offers, including Georgia Tech and Georgia, broke his left wrist over the weekend.

The 6-foot-9, 275-pound power forward got injured while playing against Stephenson in fall league.

“The refs kind of let it get rough out there,” Parker said. “I was going for a wide-open dunk, and someone came out of nowhere and [collided with me]. I never saw him until the last second.”

Parker busted up his lip and had to get 5 stitches.  He also broke his left wrist, and will  be out 4-6 weeks.

“I just feel like it’s a minor setback,” Parker said. “My legs are fine. I can still run and get ready for the start of basketball season.”

Said Miller Grove coach Sharman White, “It’s unfortunate that it happened. But Tony is young and he should heal quickly. We’re looking at it as a small bump in the road. He’ll be ready for the season.”

Miller Grove is the two-time …

Continue reading Georgia Tech and UGA recruiting target Tony Parker breaks left wrist »

Newton is ranked for the first time since 1995, entering the poll at No. 10 in Class AAAAA place of idle Grayson.

That was a tough call because some will say that beating Newnan (1-3) doesn’t mean what it used to, and that Newton didn’t look that great in doing it. Newton committed six turnovers, and Newnan was without its top running back.

But I try to ignore that stuff because it’s a slippery slope of subjectivity. Bottom line is that Newton is unbeaten against a similar schedule that Grayson (3-1) has faced, so in go the Rams. They’ll have to validate their ranking against East Coweta (4-0) this week.

One thing I like about ranking Newton (although it had no factor in the decision) is that it sheds light on an interesting story over in Covington. Newton fired its coach, Nick Collins, just before the season and promoted Cortez Allen to replace him. The team has persevered.

Also, there’s a running back named Akeem Hunt who has been perhaps the state’s …

Continue reading Newton (4-0) is ranked for first time since 1995 »

Tucker coach Franklin Stephens planned on spending Saturday afternoon watching college football games in his recliner.

Instead, he was directing the No. 3-ranked Tigers to a 45-0 win over Douglass in Class AAAA.

The two teams had to play at 3 p.m. Saturday because Friday night’s game was cancelled due to a power outage in the DeKalb-Adams Stadium area.

Tucker’s Norman Hayes rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns, while passing for another score. NQuan Maggett carried three times for 64 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was a lot different playing on a Saturday afternoon,” Stephens said. “We didn’t have as many of our fans there as we do on Friday nights.

“It took a little while for our team to get used to the different conditions. But once, we got going, we were just fine. We’re glad we didn’t have injuries and ready for our break.”

Admission was free for Saturday’s game because of the “inconvenience,” according to DeKalb County officials. Tucker was missing one starter on …

Continue reading Lights on! No. 3 Tucker wins 45-0 in Saturday afternoon … make-up game »

Lights, camera, action?

Only there were no lights Friday for Tucker and Douglass.

The Region 6-AAAA football game between the two teams was canceled on Friday because of a power outage in the DeKalb-Adams area.

The game will be made up at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Due to the inconvenience, no admission will be charged.

Free football!?!?

Continue reading Tucker’s football game cancelled because of power outage … FREE TICKETS!!! »

Pelham has forfeited its victories over Baconton Charter and Stewart County because of the inadvertent use of an ineligible player, Pelham coach Jim Morrell reported Thursday.

Pelham’s record now is 0-4. The win over Stewart County was a Region 1-A game.

Pelham is the fourth Georgia school to forfeit at least one game this season because of an ineligible player. The others are First Presbyterian Day, Mill Creek and Towers.

The forfeits have led to the only victories of the season for each of the opposing schools. They are Cherokee, Central of Macon, Baconton Charter, Stewart County and Strong Rock Christian.

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Continue reading Pelham becomes fourth Georgia team to forfeit games »

Continue reading Best 2-loss teams: Early W-L records can be deceiving »

Creekside LB-RB Elliott Berry is one of two younger brothers of NFL first-rounder Eric Berry (AJC)

Eric Berry, the Tennessee All-America safety who was drafted No. 5 overall by the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, has younger brothers that are twins.

One of them, Evan Berry, made national headlines last year when a recruiting website said that he was offered by Tennessee and committed to the Volunteers — while at the tender age of 13 years old, still in middle school, and playing for the local recreation department’s Fairburn Flames. It made Evan and Elliott, helped by their brother’s accomplishments, instant celebrities in recruiting circles.

Now it’s one year later, the twins (now at the old age of 14) have arrived at Creekside High and are working toward meeting the advanced hype.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Evan plays quarterback and safety — the same Creekside positions as Eric. Evan has thrown 9 TD passes in four games while running for three scores. Meanwhile, Elliott is …

Continue reading Eric Berry’s 14-year old brothers catch attention of Tennessee, UGA and UCLA »

Chat with Michael Carvell

It’s Week Five of HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL. This week, AJC high schools beat writer Michael Carvell blogs live and takes your questions about high school football and related topics.

We are here to talk football, football and more football. Going to a game? Take the cellphone or PDA and let us know what’s going on at YOUR game. Got a score update, see a killer play? Keep your comments clean, respectful, limited to FOOTBALL TALK and POST THEM HERE. Personal insults won’t be tolerated and could get you banned from the board.

VIDEO: CLICK HERE to watch Week 5 football highlights.

WEEK 5 SCOREBOARD: CLICK HERE to see the Week 5 results.

Here are the Week Five games you can find stories and photos from this weekend on ajc.com…

Carver (Atl.) vs. Marist | Photos
Kell vs. Hiram | Photos
King’s Ridge vs. Pace Academy | Photos
South Gwinnett vs. Parkview | Photos
UPDATE: Douglass-Tucker game rescheduled for Saturday. All tickets will be free. CLICK FOR …

Continue reading Weekend Forum: Talk Week Five Georgia HS Football LIVE! »

Continue reading Top 10 football games statewide this week »

Evan and Elliott Berry are two of the most conspicuous freshmen high school football players in the south.

The arrival of the twins at Creekside High in Fairburn has been heavily anticipated after the accomplishments of their older brother Eric Berry, who was an All-America safety at Tennessee and was selected No. 5 overall in this year’s NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.

“In the state of Georgia, because of what their older brother has done, they are two freshmen that everybody really knows about,” said Banneker coach Ed Gosa, whose team dropped a 25-6 decision to Creekside three weeks ago.

“Right now, I’d say they are holding their own. Eric dominated as a freshman and could change a game. The twins are not there yet, but they are going to be.”

Last year, the baby-faced brothers had a rapid rise in stardom when a recruiting website reported that Evan was offered a football scholarship by Tennessee and committed at the tender age of 13 years old and while still in middle …

Continue reading Creekside High’s Evan and Elliott Berry deal with fame from NFL-playing brother Eric Berry of NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs »

Stealing signs can happen in all sports, including high school football. Is it unethical or “part of the game?”

Greater Atlanta Christian coach Tim Cokely:

“Unethical? You know, I played college baseball. There are all kinds of tips about what the pitch or play is going to be. I think that’s just part of the game. I think what would be unethical is to listen in on somebody’s headsets or try to acquire the game plan. Now if the quarterback is out there signaling around and you can read the signals? More power to you. I wouldn’t call that unethical. If I am playing defense, and every time the quarterback puts his hand down in a fist and it’s a bomb, I think I would catch on. If I look over there and every time they do a certain thing it’s a certain play, I don’t see that as being any different than looking at tendencies based on formation.”

Wheeler coach Michael Collins:

“I personally don’t steal signals. I don’t know if ‘unethical’ is the word that I would use for this issue. I …

Continue reading VOTING DAY: Is stealing football signs unethical? Or ‘part of the game’? »

Gwinnett County’s newest football program, Lanier High, is considering playing more varsity games next year.

The Buford school opened its doors this year and opted to play a non-region schedule that had only one varsity opponent — Mountain View, which defeated Lanier 55-7 two weeks ago.

Lanier (1-3) plays the rest of its games against JV and freshmen teams, with the squad defeating Meadowcreek’s JV 42-12 for the program’s first win last weekend.

“We’ll do our evaluation at the end of the year and see what we can pull together,” Lanier coach Billy Wells said. “It’s a two-year cycle with [scheduling], so most people have committed to a ‘home-and-away’ during that cycle. Once our season is over, we’ll take a look at things and try to determine what we can do with what’s available.”

Wells said he would like to add a couple of varsity games next year, with the new opponents likely to be other new schools in the metro area or out-of-state teams.

“It would be hard to fill up a full …

Continue reading New Gwinnett high school football team celebrates first win »

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UGA is a finalist for one of the state’s top college basketball prospects, and making a run at one of his teammates.

Milton High shooting guard Dai-Jon Parker has an in-home visit this week with UGA coach Mark Fox. UGA, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest are the three finalists for Parker’s heralded teammate, power forward Julian Royal. Both are ranked among the nation’s top 100 players.

Milton's Dai-Jon Parker to meet with UGA's Mark Fox (AJC)

“Coach Fox likes [Parker's] athleticism, he likes that he can shoot it, and he likes the fact that he’s a winner … everywhere Dai-Jon goes, his teams win,” said his AAU coach, Kenny Loyd of the Georgia Netburners.

“I think Coach Fox believes he can learn from the current point guard and be a good player there. They think he can get in the rotation relatively quickly if he goes to Georgia.”

The 6-foot-4 …

Continue reading UGA chases hard after another Milton High senior basketball player, SG Dai-Jon Parker »

Gainesville linebacker A.J. Johnson, Wesleyan tackle David Andrews and Kell head coach Derek Cook are the winners of the Touchdown Club of Atlanta’s weekly awards.

Johnson, the back of the week, rushed for 192 yards on 17 carries, mostly by direct snap out of the Wildcat formation in the second half, in a 20-13 victory over North Hall. Johnson also had 19 tackles (11 solo). He has committed to Tennessee.

Andrews, the lineman of the week, is a center and three-year starter at Wesleyan, which is 29-3 in that time. Andrews has committed to Georgia.

Cook, the coach of the week, has Kell off to its first-ever 4-0 start. Kell had beaten three Class AAAAA teams (Grayson, Etowah, Woodstock) before last week, when it knocked off previously unbeaten East Paulding 20-13.

The honorees will be recognized at noon Monday at the Touchdown Club’s weekly meeting at Fox Sports Grill in Atlantic Station. The guest speaker will be Georgia Southern head coach Jeff Monken. The program, …

Continue reading TD Club of Atlanta honors Gainesville’s Johnson, Wesleyan’s Andrews, Kell’s Cook »

On GPB Sports Central this week which airs Wednesday night at 7:30 with encore presentations Friday night at 11 (with live scores) and Saturday at noon (with all final scores):

*Nike Noto checked out the biggest athlete playing football this year in Georgia, a 6-foot-10 inch, 360-pound gentle giant at Arlington Christian School

*Mark Harmon visited Sandy Creek, where the reigning Class AAAA champions will not defend their title this year but go after a new classification crown after moving down to Class AAA

*Jon Nelson does a story on coach Rick Tomberlin, who left the hot seat at Valdosta and is now the head coach in Effingham County

*We  interview Gwinnett County athletics director Mike Emery about the incredible strength from top to bottom of his football teams in Gwinnett (five teams ranked in the Top 10 in Class AAAAA), hear from Florida State great Bobby Bowden who stepped in for a chat.

On GPB Sports Central XL this week which airs Wednesday night from 8-9 on …

Continue reading Lineup for GPB Sports Central »