Class AAAAA goes topsy turvy: It’s 2006 all over again
‘’You had a bad day, you’re taking one down.
You sing a sad song just to turn it around.’’
Remember that song? Bad Day? It was No. 1 in 2006. That’s the year Roswell and Peachtree Ridge reached the Class AAAAA final, and nobody won. Georgia’s craziest season ended in a tie.
It’s 2006 all over again.
Had a bad day: Camden County, North Gwinnett, Clarke Central, Charlton County …
Let’s talk about AAAAA first. This is 2006. There are probably a dozen teams that could’ve won Class AAAAA this season. There’s no great team, but a bunch of good ones.
I witnessed one of these surprising outcomes – Grayson 23, North Gwinnett 19.
Conclusion: Grayson converted some critical third-down passes in the first half and scored 10 points while North Gwinnett proceeded to turn the ball over in those same key spots.
It was 10-0 at halftime, and it was over. Grayson is too well-coached, too good on defense, to let a team off the hook for making those mistakes.
Tangent: That #90 at Grayson is the best sophomore DL I’ve ever seen. Might be the best defensive player I’ve seen in person this year.
Now, is Grayson better than North Gwinnett? Hillgrove better than Camden? Colquitt better than MLK? Valdosta better than McEachern?
It doesn’t matter. They’re all good. The team that plays the best wins.
As we move down in classification, that cliché doesn’t apply so much. Some teams are so good in the lower classifications that they don’t have to play well every round.
Other random thoughts …
Are things setting up for a Lowndes-Valdosta final? Wouldn’t that be something. Valdosta would be home the next two rounds. Lowndes is Lowndes. I suspect something will monkey with this scenario and it won’t happen, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Re Camden: Somebody asked me if Hillgrove’s victory was the biggest upset in playoff history. Now If you spin the facts – No. 1- ranked team, two-time champion, virtually unknown Cobb County school – then it’s up there. But with Camden, you really don’t know whether this is a good or great team until the playoffs. I suspect Camden was just good this year. Camden gave up 42 points twice this season. Lots of turnover from the 2009 team. I think Northside losing to Whitewater was a bigger upset.
AAAA: Interesting to me that three of the final eight were middling AAAAA teams last season – Kell, Chattahoochee, East Paulding. This class is deeper than it has been with 18 schools dropping down from AAAAA.
AAA: Of the big four, Peach and Sandy Creek continues to look awesome. Carrollton and Cairo, not so much. Give SPX & Eastside credit, but I think it’s now Big Four A: Peach, Sandy Creek. Big Four B: Carrollton, Cairo. Great job Cedar Grove & Monroe Area, but I don’t it’s still a four-team race, with two out front.
AA: Except for the Lovett-Brooks quarter, this class has held no real surprises. Buford-Cook should be a classic this week.
A: The Clinch-ELCA, Wilcox-Wesleyan quarterfinals will be ‘’epic,’’ to borrow my 11-year-old daughter’s favorite word.
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445 comments Add your comment
BKSMITH14
November 23rd, 2010
8:55 pm
yall give it to me all you want. i will call it how i see it
BKSMITH14
November 23rd, 2010
9:00 pm
i will be bloggin after game fri nite while na ga fans will be taking a long ride home
kpurheadonaswivel...pow
November 23rd, 2010
9:09 pm
It’s on!!
kpurheadonaswivel...pow
November 23rd, 2010
9:10 pm
t-3 days!!
GwinnettDad
November 23rd, 2010
9:19 pm
I think there’s somebody that visits this blog that needs an entire team of psychiatrists. If, God forbid, his team loses, he might go postal. Definite need of a life, and to regain its mental stability. If that’s a football fan, then I feel sorry for his team, and the surrounding 25 mile radius of people.
PackerAlumni66
November 23rd, 2010
9:21 pm
two days til the HOG PEN starts rockin! The Ghost comes alive at Bazemore-Hyder stadium and the Concrete Palace starts to shakin from the Bridgemen. Dang its going to be awsome
Sideline Observer
November 23rd, 2010
10:07 pm
BLEEDRED and OTHERS – Do not fear the story about a ghost a Cleveland Field. Lowndes has defeated Valdosta the last four times they played there. And Colquitt has played quite well there also. Even Little old AA madison Florida once beat them there. No argument, there once was a ghost, some say it was old Bobby Hooks himself, the predecessor to Write Bazemore. The ghost came up many, many times and caused a visiting team to fumble late in a game, a kicker to miss an easy kick, and a punt receiver to drop a punt. Or so it has been said. But something happened to Cleveland Field a few years ago. The smart folks in charge put a plastic rug on Cleveland Field and called it artificial grass. Funny looking green stuff. But wham bam, it covered up the ghost, and he can’t get out. He has not been a factor since the turf was installed. It’s now safe to say the ghost is history.
So now you know the rest of the story.
Sideline Observer
November 23rd, 2010
10:08 pm
Wright Bazemore
BKSMITH14
November 23rd, 2010
10:08 pm
if it rains frin nite that just makes lowndes that much better and the passing game that much worser
yo
November 23rd, 2010
10:10 pm
Sideline Observer the ghost is our (Lowndes) pet now. We are going to let him out for the rest of the year but we will have him back in his cage by the time we visit Valdosta again.
Sideline Observer
November 23rd, 2010
10:25 pm
Hey Lowndes fans. Think about this. I know most of ya’ll are also pulling for Valdosta (I can’t figure out why, they have never pulled for ya’ll.) But perhaps you should be pulling for Grayson. Seriously. You beat Valdosta and pretty much shut down their all world receiver (#26) and tight end (#11) but do you really want to play them again? Yeah I know you would probably still beat them again. But think about it. Who do you really want to beat? More than anybody??! Who would the Vikings get “up” more for than any other team in the state? GRAYSON!! Think about it. A rematch with Grayson in the dome! Finally get them on artifical turf, in front of the GHSA and the whole state. The referees would be the state’s best, so that wouldn’t be a factor, whether or not it was in 2008. Lowndes and Grayson. Now I think that’s a game I would like to see.
For that to happen Grayson would have to win this Friday, and Lowndes would have to beat Collins Hill, which I think they will by something like 28 to 14, maybe 35 to 14. You should also pull for Hillgrove to beat Brookwood, so you would get them in your concrete palace next week also. Grayson would shut down Colquitt’s high flying passing game in their friendly confines in Gwinnett County next week, setting up your long dreamed for showdown with Grayson. Heck Lil ole Double A Cook beat Colquitt!
Course none of us will be playing in any of these games, and I’m fairly certain none of us can even influence the outcome of a single play, let alone a game. But it’s fun to talk about it. Lowndes vs Grayson, now that has a ring to it!
(My Cook boys might just whittle Big Bad Buford down to size, and send them straight to basketball or you know where. Then we can say “Bring on Carver Columbus!”
PackerAlumni66
November 23rd, 2010
10:30 pm
I am not a Valdosta Wildcat fan because we have been rivals since 1913 but you have to respect the history and the great coaches that have come and gone. The Pack and Cats have had some awsome games in the 97 years we have played each other. I am hoping the Pack and Cats have another one next week in the semifinals. The Ghost is still alive and his name is Nick Hyder! if anyone knew how to play the game right with class and respect it was him.
robert
November 23rd, 2010
10:36 pm
When and how will the new high school in Lowdnes Co-Hahira High affect the classifaction status of the Vikings.
AVikingFan
November 23rd, 2010
10:39 pm
Sometime rain helps the passing game more than the run. I’ve heard good coaches say a receiver knows where he’s going. He can plant his foot, fake one way and go the other way while the DB slips down. We beat a good Tifton team one year up in Tifton in a monsoon by passing it. We were backed up to our 10 yard line, trading short punts all night with a wet ball with Tifton and trying unsuccessfully to run the ball. Our QB faked a handoff to the fullback and raised up and hit CJ Lofton over the middle for a 90 yard catch and run, giving us the game. OMG that was pretty.
Passing in the rain requires good blocking though, and linemen can also slip down trying to block fast Defensive Lineman like we have. Like YO said, it might be hard for the Ketchup Man to throw a pass laying on his Heine (kee). I tend to agree with BKSmith14. Lowndes wins and lives to see another week.
The weather should be warm, even if it rains. And Martin Stadium drains rather well. It will be a good game either way. Rain or shine. I plan on setting up my tailgate tent Thursday afternoon. See ya’ll there Friday!
AVikingFan
November 23rd, 2010
10:41 pm
Robert – There are no plans at this time to build a “new” high school in Lowndes County. If we ever merge with the City school system -they will have to give up their charter and the right to operate public schools – we probably would consider building a third one then, and pull from both high schools.
AVikingFan
November 23rd, 2010
10:48 pm
PackerAlumni66 – You’re just saying that because the Packers beat Valdosta 9 out of 10 years when Hyder was their coach. Yeah he was a good coach. But he was also a hypocrit. He once called time out with the Cat’s on the Viking 10 yard line, up 35 to 7, with less than a minute to play, to set up another score. His first string offense was of course still in the game. His team did score again. It happened on the west end of Cleveland Field. I was there.
Fight for the Crimson & White
November 23rd, 2010
10:52 pm
A Viking Fan– there are plans for a 2nd high school in the county. It will go along with the new Pine Grove complex. I’m not sure the dates for building etc. but it will be happening soon. I’m nit sure how it will affect the classifications of county schools.
Wing_T_Fan
November 23rd, 2010
11:03 pm
@robert
@avikingfan
I thought the were making pinegrove highschool. but the students of pinegrove would have to do sports at lowndes high school. have you heard about this?
robert
November 23rd, 2010
11:13 pm
How can you have another high school in the same county but play sports at only one? What does GHSA say about that set up. Seems against the rules of the High School Association.
Shun23
November 23rd, 2010
11:15 pm
@avikingfan what 9 out of 10 years did the Packers beat the cats during Nick’s years
Wing_T_Fan
November 23rd, 2010
11:27 pm
@robert
thats what i asked too
Blake
November 23rd, 2010
11:45 pm
If Brookwood gets by Hillgrove then Lowndes has to come to Brookwood If they get by Collins Hill.I don’t think Lowndes has ever played at Brookwood.It would be a throwdown!
Fight for the Crimson & White
November 23rd, 2010
11:56 pm
@ Blake– there would be a coin toss to determine the location of a Lowndes & Brookwood match
yo
November 24th, 2010
12:10 am
Sideline Observer I think it’s the nostalgia (and maybe bragging rights) of playing Valdosta in a state championship that some how just feels right. A Valdosta/Lowndes matchup makes me wonder how many people in and out of this state might show up in little old Atlanta for that one.
Having said that I was thinking along the same lines as you how much it would be nice to settle the score from 2008 and put Grayson’s claim to fame to rest once and for all.
Like they say, “it don’t rain in the Dome”.
Viking Ale
November 24th, 2010
12:55 am
Ive heard of a new high school.I believe it will be AAA.Supposed to be built around moody a.f.b area.
BKSMITH14
November 24th, 2010
1:26 am
lowndes has to get by collins hill first. this team is no joke and qb is for real. i just got through watching 2 games on internet. if he has time to throw he has a strong and accurate arm. lowndes will have to score some tds bc as good as lowndes defense is this guy is still going to make some throws. i take lowndes but this is not newnan. we will have to play mistake free again .
Trojan94
November 24th, 2010
2:19 am
hey MIKE MIKE AND DSGB i always sit on the vistors side evey home game anyway. I sit on the side closest to the vistors locker room. I’ll be the one with the bright yellow with black strips shirt and black pants. hope to see you there.
Shun23
November 24th, 2010
4:23 am
Yo i have been telling everyone how much a state championship game in Valdosta with the Cats and Vikes would mean to this area! If by chance they meet in the Dome, do you think it would be as exciting, being in ATL. Just think of that week in Valdosta, Lowndes County that week; as the youngstas say” WOULD BE OFF THE CHAIN”!
ibleedblack&silver
November 24th, 2010
5:03 am
There is a 3rd high school in Lowndes county… did y’all forget about Valwood lol???
]-[illgrove ]-[awks
November 24th, 2010
7:03 am
@ GwinettDad: Pretty sure I know who you’re talking about, and I agree.
Touchdown T
November 24th, 2010
7:16 am
AViking Fan, you got your facts a little screwed. Hyder’s last year was in ‘95 and during his tenure he did not lose 9 out of 10 games to the Packers. Did the Cats lose 9 out 10 games to the Pack in the 90s, yes, but it was a combination of Hyder and OB, with the majority of the loses falling under OB.
Vike69
November 24th, 2010
7:17 am
Sure, Lowndes would like to have a rematch against Grayson but that’s small potatoes to folks in Val compared to a state championship between the Cats & Vikings. That’s a game people in Lowndes County have been waiting to see happen for 40 years. I think half the population of the county would be in the Dome just to be able to say they were there. But….. both teams still have some pretty stiff competition to get through to see that. I don’t even want to risk jinksing it by talking about it anymore. The trick this Friday will be how to have two games streaming and keep track with the blog on the other two in close to real-time.
Rufus S. DeMann
November 24th, 2010
7:49 am
To my newest bestest friend…JIMB:
Amigo, my poor, tiny, little, undersized Hawgs do the best they can with what they got. Our O-Line averages about 180 across the front. Our biggest back weighs about 125. Our best receiver only has 8 fingers. And our FG kicker plays 3rd chair for the chess team.
Oh Woe Is Us !!!!
But…I reckon we’ll line up anyays Friday night. We’ll take our beatin and won’t complain. Hopefully, you guys will let us score. We’d appreciate it. Yep, them Mill Creek boys are the new Monsters of the Midway. The best of Gwinnett County. Just makes ya wanna sigh. There is one last little morsel of info I can give ya…it ain’t much…BUT…
We’re On A Mission From Rush.
So tighten up the chin straps and give your jocks a good tug. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
(Smile)…..
Rufus>>
Mike
November 24th, 2010
9:00 am
Tift County didn’t make the playoffs in a five team region. THey under performed & there was discord on the team all season. TIme for a coaching change I day.
AVikingFan
November 24th, 2010
9:20 am
lowndes County’s 2nd high school, next to Pine Grove Middle School, has defintely been put on the back burner,where it will sit for at least another five years before anything will start “again.” And even then it would take a couple of years to build.
YO you and Vike69 are correct about most of us wanting to meet the Cats in the dome for the Title. It IS something we have dreamed about for years. Grayson is insignificant when compared to something like that. And like I said on Michael’s blog, I honestly expect the Cats to send Grayson home with a sad face Friday night. I just hope we play well in the rain against a great QB from Collins Hill.
AVikingFan
November 24th, 2010
9:30 am
Wing _T_Fan When Lowndes builds a second high school 7 or 8 years from now it will be a separate high school from Lowndes High, and students would not cross over to Lowndes to participate in Sports.
Some people are also kinda waiting the see whether or not the Lady Editor of the Valdosta Daily Times who is hell bent on consolidation gets her way. Valdosta, which was granted the right to operate public schools in the early 1900’s, would have to give up that right (charter) in order for the two systems to consolidate. Lowndes County Schools would then take over the Valdosta City Schools, and re-district. It would perhaps be a good time to consider a third high school, drawing from both of the current ones. It is very prudent for us to sit back and wait a few years to see if that will happen. We certainly don’t need 4 high schools. Five counting Valwood, which to you folks around the state, is a local private school.
HillgroveMike
November 24th, 2010
9:43 am
It’s amazing…Hillgrove beat Stephenson at Stephenson then traveled to Camden and beat them on the road too. By all the comments above, Hillgrove has already been written off by the masses and Brookwood will be playing Lowndes next week. I kinda like teams that overlook and focus on the next game…It has worked well for Hillgrove so far. So Brookwood/Gwinnett/South-Georgia fans, keep looking forward and take Hillgrove and this Fridays game for granted. We like it that way!!!
topper
November 24th, 2010
9:45 am
HillgroveMike – I can tell you as a Camden fan anyone who overlooks your team is foolish!
Eagle homer
November 24th, 2010
9:54 am
Hillgrove Mike-Where is Hillgrove HS? Cobb?
HillgroveMike
November 24th, 2010
9:55 am
Thanks Topper! I must say I have complete respect for your players (who never quit and play hard until the last second of the game), your amazing coaches, students, parents, fans and school administration! Your program is what High School football should be about, sportsmanship and respect! The hospitality your community showed us when we played you was top notch and should be the standard for everyone in the state! Kudos to you and yours!!!
HillgroveMike
November 24th, 2010
9:56 am
Eagle,
Yes, West Cobb about 2.5 miles from McEachern.
JIMB
November 24th, 2010
9:56 am
What 5A area is Cook I’m new but did they beat Colquitt?
Eagle homer
November 24th, 2010
9:59 am
Enter your comments here
Eagle homer
November 24th, 2010
10:01 am
Hillgrove Mike, how long have they been playing football? They seem like a “miracle team” with the 2 unbelieveable road wins.
JIMB
November 24th, 2010
10:08 am
Hillgrove Mike, Brookwood isn”t a fun place to play. They aren’t nice and the staduim is old,concrete is cold. Offense is weak,defense is great.
HillgroveMike
November 24th, 2010
10:12 am
This is their fifth year. First in 5A. Solid program that due to redistricting the attendence lines when the school was built now has players that would have gone to McEachern and Harrison. They should only have one loss this year (to McEachern) but lost to S-Cobb when three offensive starters didn’t play due to injury…Including QB Gage Henry (broken bones in face from PE class).
Hillgroves road to the Dome is the toughest of all the 5A teams…and…They are taking each game at a time, not like some of the “power house” teams that overlook Hillgrove and start making plans for their next opponent. Heck, Stephenson fans had made hotel reservations in Kingsland the week before playing us.
HillgroveMike
November 24th, 2010
10:16 am
Thanks JIMB…I’ve heard exactly that! Their defense is one of the top in the state. One key to Hillgroves offense is the balanced attack. 2531 rushing and 2124 passing. When we’ve faced a team that can stop the run…We’ve thrown that game for huge yardage. When a team can stop the pass, we’ve had huge rushing stats that game. Should be fun!
JIMB
November 24th, 2010
10:32 am
still looking for 5A cook can’t find them in any area? The only cook I find is 2aa team can”t be the same?
yo
November 24th, 2010
10:40 am
JIMB Cook did beat Colquit. Colquit dominated the offensive yardage 2-1 but a lot of turnovers and Cooks determination pulled Cook through in a squeaker. Colquit lost their first 3 games this season. Cook, S. Panola, and Thomasville Central. They should have won 2 of those 3 games. Cook is a very dangerous team though. #1 seed from 1AA says enough.
grayram
November 24th, 2010
10:41 am
AJC Sunday Nov 28,2010
Valdosta Ga:
This South Georgia town that only a few days ago was populated by over 200,000 citizens is now a ghost town. A mass exodus took place on Saturday as over half the citizens packed up and left following Friday nights losses by Valdosta and Lowndes to teams from Gwinnett county.
The few citizens who were willing to comment said they were heading North.