AAAAAA blog: #1 Camden falls … Grayson wins region after all … South Gwinnett denies Parkiew … Check out the playoff draw
Four newsworthy happenings from Friday –
- No. 1 Camden County goes down – Camden had clinched a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs, but don’t think the Wildcats didn’t want to beat Colquitt County to run the table in their first season in vaunted Region 1. Instead, it was 10th-ranked Colquitt pulling the upset, 13-12. John Boatright’s 3-yard run in the fourth quarter and the ensuing extra point gave Colquitt the final margin in the final minute. Camden missed an extra point and later a two-point conversion and then a desperate 55-yard field goal in the final seconds. Camden County was ranked in the top five of four national polls with a high of No. 2 in the CNN/SI rankings. The seedings for the state playoffs in Region 1 remained the same. Camden is No. 1 and will play at home against Hillgrove, and Colquitt is No. 4 and will play on the road at McEachern.
- South Gwinnett denies Parkview’s Region 8 title – South Gwinnett upset No. 9 Parkview 16-14 on a field goal in the final seconds. Parkview (7-3) could’ve clinched its first region title since 2004. Parkview drove for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, but South Gwinnett (8-2) had the final say and wound up with the No. 2 seed in Region 8 and a home playoff game next week. Parkview fell to No. 3 in the region standings and must travel in the first round.
- Grayson wins Region 8 after all – Grayson, the 2011 champion of AAAAA and the preseason No. 1 in AAAAAA, fell out of the Top 10 briefly after a 22-7 loss to Parkview on Sept. 7. Since then, the Rams have taken it out on seven straight opponents, winning by average of 48-7. They gave Brookwood a taste o it 42-13 on Friday. But Grayson still needed Parkview to lose twice to claim the region title. Parkview slipped to Central Gwinnett 30-27 on Oct. 26, then to South Gwinnett. The drama of Robert Nkemdiche’s de-commit from Clemson wasn’t a factor Friday night. The Grayson defensive end and running back rushed for 74 yards and had two sacks.
- Playoff teams nearly set – Except for Region 5, the four state-playoff teams from each region are set. Valdosta eliminated Coffee in Region 1 with an impressive 44-8 victory. … Rockdale County took Region 2’s fourth playoff berth with an 18-14 victory over Druid Hills. … Tri-Cities took the final playoff berth in Region 3 with a victory over Douglas County. … Wheeler apparently made it in Region 5 despite talk of mini-games. … South Cobb has a small chance of slipping in from Region 4, but Hillgrove got the fourth seed despite losing to region champ McEachern 33-30. Hillgrove will travel to angry Camden County in the first round. Make that doubly angry Camden. Hillgrove stunned No. 1-ranked Camden on the road in the second round in 2010.
DRAW (unofficial)
(R3 #4) Tri-Cities at (R2 #1) Lovejoy
(R4 #3) Marietta at (R1 #2) Lowndes
(R5 #4) TBA at (R8 #1) Grayson
(R6 #3) Johns Creek at (R7 #2) North Gwinnett
(R2 #4) Rockdale County at (R3 #1) Hughes
(R1 #3) Valdosta at (R4 #2) North Cobb
(R8 #4) Brookwood at (R5 #1) Lassiter
(R7 #3) Mill Creek at (R6 #2) Alpharetta
(R4 #4) Hillgrove at (R1 #1) Camden County
(R3 #3) East Coweta at (R2 #2) Newton
(R6 #4) Chattahoochee at (R7 #1) Norcross
(R5 #3) Milton at (R8 #2) South Gwinnett
(R1 #4) Colquitt County at (R4 #1) McEachern
(R2 #3) Alcovy at (R3 #2) Newnan
(R7 #4) Collins Hill at (R6 #1) West Forsyth
(R8 #3) Parkview at (R5 #2) Walton
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323 comments Add your comment
border dweller
November 12th, 2012
11:49 am
PackerBacker…nice punctuation ! Colquitt High attendee, no doubt? I think I agree with some of that “sentence”, but I missed the part about how many State Championships ya’ll had. Please remind me.
Camden74
November 12th, 2012
12:00 pm
Packer Backer……The point some of us have been trying to make is, we know Colquitt has seen the Wing-T enough to be able to stop it more times than not. So, why not try something different, not change the entire offense, but open it up a bit. I don’t believe Colquitt’s DBs can cover Camden’s receivers. I don’t believe Colquitt’s LBs can cover Camden’s backs coming out of the back field. But if you don’t try those plays enough to see if they work, then you leave yourself opened to getting your running plays stuffed at the line of scrimmage, more times than not. And yes, I have much confidence in the Camden Team and as I’ve stated before, I expect them to win every time they take the field. That doesn’t mean they will win all the time, but if you don’t have that type of confidence in your team then, why call yourself a fan/supporter? I thought Colquitt played a great game on last Friday night, but I still believe Camden could have and should have won the game. But that’s life, you win some, you lose some. I just hope Camden and Colquitt make to the semis and do it all over again!
grayram
November 12th, 2012
12:56 pm
This was in the AJC preview,
- Lowndes is 13th in scoring offense (34.2) and fifth in scoring defense (11.9) in Class AAAAAA against a schedule that ranks 49th. Marietta is eighth in scoring offense (37.6) and 28th in scoring defense (23) against a schedule that ranks 47th
Does Lowndes schedul ereally rank 49?
grayram
November 12th, 2012
1:28 pm
Here is my brackett
lovejoy
lowndes
Grayson
North GW
Hughes
North Cobb
Lassiter
Mill Creek
Camden
East Coweta
Norcross
South GW
Mceachern
Newnan
Collins Hill
Walton
Next Round
Lowndes
Grayson
North Cobb
Lassiter
Camden
Norcross
Mceachern
Collins Hill
next round
Grayson
Lassiter
Norcross
Mceachern
Next
Lassiter over Norcross in the final
Tommydawg22
November 12th, 2012
1:33 pm
Somebody was talking about strength of schedule earlier…Colquitt played N. Gwinnett #4 AAAAAA, Lovejoy #7 AAAAAA, Carver-Columbus #2 AAA, Lowndes #6 AAAAAA, Camden #5 and previous #1, and Thomas Co and Valdosta previously ranked…Good luck with that schedule…7-3 record 3 losses combined 7 points
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
1:34 pm
grayram….quit puffing on that reefer man……..norcross will not beat camden …nor colquitt
the only north team that has a shot to be in the dome is grayson…….reg 1 will most likely dominate the playoffs
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
1:35 pm
Lovejoy ranks No. 1 in scoring offense (44.0) and scoring defense (6.0) in Class AAAAAA against a schedule that ranks 61st out of 63 teams
sportsnut……please stop bragging about your d and offense considering you did it against the weakest schedule of all time
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
1:37 pm
i know colquitt beat camden…..but this is the time of year wher you will have to have a god running game at some time to win a game and colquitt county in my opinion will lose bc of that. cole is not going to be able to win each game by breaking of a 70 something yd td run…..lucky that happened against camden, very lucky.
Tommydawg22
November 12th, 2012
1:50 pm
@BK…Lowndes isnt gonna run a punt back for a TD every games and Valdosta isnt gonna get 5 turnovers in the 1st half every game
Tommydawg22
November 12th, 2012
1:52 pm
To me the only 2 teams that Colquitt should have lost to on the night the game was played was maybe Lowndes and Camden… but we won one and lost one…The Valdosta game..5 TO’s 1st half and down 31-7 only to lose 38-36 and NG in the dome..more TO’s and 100 yds in penalties and lose 16-14 on last 2nd FG
grayram
November 12th, 2012
2:04 pm
bk..We hear that every year. Reg 1 will dominate..It will be all reg 1…Reg 1 could compete with the Green Bay Packers…etc….etc…
You mention above that Lovejoy schedule ranked 61out of 63..
What do you think about the next paragraph where it said Lowndes was 49 out of 63?
I find that a little hard to believe
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
2:24 pm
grayram……….lowndes is better this year, now reg 1 has camden…valdosta and colquitt are both very good right now and playing at a high level. i like our chances. grayson is the only team in the north that has a shot to win it all in my opinion and they have a very good shot at it. considering the we only have 4 teams our of the 32…….are resume is more impressive…..just my opinion
graysons defense is all seniors i believe…….if not its at least 10 of 11 seniors……they will finaly take a step back next year and the other north teams (n gwinnett, norcross, brookwood, etc will be back on level with them maybe)……
say all you want to…….lowndes used to have defenses loaded like grayson…..when you lose those guys you dont take a step forward……..lowndes defense is top 5 for sure and i say top 3 in state in my opinion. we held colquitt to one offensive td……and valdosta to 14. thats 21 points combined allowed to those 2 teams offensively……camden allowed 19 . our d is very very good. marietta is going to find our fri night
sportsnut
November 12th, 2012
2:31 pm
@ 74 == What I read is a situation where someone says that after we lose, I will come back under another name. I am not afraid to let my voice be heard and proudly stand behind my words. You will never be rid of me. As long as you are here, I too will be.
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
2:32 pm
grayson has not played in my opinion a grea team this year. miami central….lets not even include them in on this convo………they looked bad. lowndes…camden..and po valdosta and colquitt would beat them.
mceachern……close game until late .grayson wins 31-12
parkview….best defensive team grayson played all year…….grayson lost 22-7
brookwood….weak this year..no defense
shiloh………gave up 28…..a lot was on 2nd stringers i would imagine but still…shiloh?
south gwinnet……..7-0 at half……grayson d took over in 2nd half………south gwinnett was 3 and out rest of game mostly.
my point is …………graysons resume is pretty good……but there are not any great teams on your schedule…….0. Grayson will have to play and beat some great teams to get back to dome….some teams that can make them go 3 and out a few times as well. going to very interesting. grayson is not going to run the ball all over lowndes…if they play……or even loevjoy whom i believe is very good on d also. graysons qb is goin to have to make some throws and i like the sound of that. he may make me eat crow….but he to me is not as good at throwing as last years qb for grayson
sportsnut
November 12th, 2012
2:42 pm
@ Grayram == I have been trying to tell everyone about their schedule but I am Sportsnut and my word is good for nothing.
@ Bk == This is what I am talking about.. This is why I asked how many teams are on your schedule that will be in the playoffs. We played a soft region schedule but you played a soft non-region schedule. All the teams on our non-region schedule will be in the playoffs. One of yours will and they come from our region. Facts are Facts. The only other teams on your slate to make the 2nd. season are the ones in your region.
grayram
November 12th, 2012
4:42 pm
bK. I didn’t come up with the numbers. The AJC says Lowndes schedule ranked 49th. Grayson’s schedule ranked 25th. My question was what do you think of that ranking? I don’t see how the staff can write all year that they consider 1AAAAAA the toughest region then list Lowndes as playing the 49th toughest schedule? It doesn’t seem right.
As for all the other useless comparisons you make, like team A can’t beat team B because Team C once scored a touchdown against team A while the coach from Team B was playing two sophmores on a cloudy night. None of that means anything.
grayram
November 12th, 2012
4:47 pm
They have Valdosta’s schedule as 51st and Camden as 30th and Colquitts as #1
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
4:57 pm
Grayram – Valdosta’s schedule was 13th; North Cobb’s was 51st.
Cobb fan
November 12th, 2012
4:59 pm
Looking forward to seeing how Lowndes D plays when they cant load up the line of scrimmage because the team they are playing runs 95% of the time. Marietta will score and score they are very balanced with playmakers at all offensive positions and Jennings is a beast! Just have to hope the D can slow down Lowndes, that has been Marietta’s issue all year. Also excited to see stadium and fans down there.
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
5:04 pm
The strength of the teams in Region 1 is not based on the strengths of the teams they played, rather the strength of each team’s schedule is based on the strengths of the team each plays. There is a difference. (Though I may not have delineated it clearly.)
Camden74
November 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
sportsnut……One more time, that’s not what I wrote. Let me explain it to you. I said that you would come back saying, SOMEONE ELSE WAS USING “YOUR” NAME and not the other way around. You’ve got to learn how to UNDERSTAND what you’re reading before you respond. Now, do you want to talk football or continue this petty bickering?
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
How is the parking situation at North Cobb? Do visitors have a separate lot from the home team? Is there an easy way to get to the stadium from I-75? Appreciate any help any North Cobb fan can give me. Thanks.
grayram
November 12th, 2012
5:12 pm
57cat
Thanks, i read that backwards..But thats what i mean. How can Lowndes be ranked 49 and Camden 30 they all play each other and I know Valdosta had at least 1 game against a 1 A team right?
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
5:19 pm
No, grayram, again you’re a little bit off. We played Brooks County which is a strong #2 ranked AA school. They would give a lot of larger school fits.
The Cross
November 12th, 2012
5:43 pm
Norcross is 5-0 vs. playoff teams and 3-0 vs. top ten teams. I believe that we are the only ones to play 5 AAAAAA playoff teams.
The Cross
grayram
November 12th, 2012
6:13 pm
57CAT
Still 1A or 2AA would not help the strength of schedule.
Do you think the Schedule Valdosta played is 36 positions tougher than Lowndes?
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
6:13 pm
Grayram – I did want to mention a couple more things about our schedule. We did have a couple of weak non-region games, Crisp and Newton. Our other non-region game was North Augusta (SC) who is now 9-2. It was our first game of the season, their third. We won 27-7.
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
6:15 pm
Yes, I think our schedule was that much stronger. Reason being, they play 4 non-region patsies. I believe if they had played a tougher non-region schedule, they would have handled Colquitt better. They had not been tested.
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
6:19 pm
Gotta go to TD Club meeting. Check in when I return. That will give “bk” and “WildHawg” time to respond to my last post.
sportsnut
November 12th, 2012
6:27 pm
@ Grayram == You can’t imagine how I feel. I have been saying this all year.Evidently, it does not matter if their favorite has a soft schedule. Just think, they are nationally ranked by some with that for a schedule. The say we play a weak region yet they play two of our region mates and it qualifies as a tough schedule. Luella 2-8, Newton 5-5, Windsor Forest 2-8, Hardaway 1-9, Brunswick 4-6, Tift 2-8 Coffee 5-5, Colquit and Valdosta 7-3 and Camden 9-1.
yo
November 12th, 2012
7:30 pm
grayram that is probably about right for Lowndes strength of schedule. The first 4 games were cupcakes. This year though I think that has turned out well for Lowndes as we have a young team and that gave them some time to mature prior to Region 1 play.
Region 1 play we came out okay as our only loss was to Camden. We have a much better team at this point than I thought we would have after the first 3 1/2 games. We seemed to finally start hitting our stride in the second half of the 4th game.
5-Time
November 12th, 2012
7:30 pm
AVikingFan….Hey, I appreciate the comment man!! I enjoy reading your posts as well. You seem to know alot about the old days of Lowndes and Lowndes Co. for that matter. I think we will show “Maretta” what Lowndes Football is all about!! They never been to the Concrete Palace. Especially during a playoff game. So we’re gonna show “Maretta” what a playoff atmosphere in Lowndes Co. is suppose to look and feel like!!
That guy you’re referring to, would his name be Wes James??
yo
November 12th, 2012
7:33 pm
Sportsnut if you really want to get a feel of the teams on our schedule now go back and see how your region and our region did prior to region play. What was their records prior to region play?
Almost all of Brunswick, Tift, and Coffee losses came against it’s own region. Prior to region play Region 1 was kicking tail. Your region was having a hard time coming up with a win. Including Lovejoy who made the mistake of coming down to Region 1 on one of those weeks.
yo
November 12th, 2012
7:36 pm
sportsnut there is no doubt in my mind but that Coffee and Brunswick would have been second and third in your region in that order. Tift would have made a run for #4 but no guarantee.
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
7:41 pm
grayram………..the Ajc is full of sh……is what i think when it comes to a lot their rankings. i know whos good and who isnt. south g is average and so is parkview…..yall didnt play a good/great team all year,,,,we played 3 for sure,,,,colquitt…camden…valdosta…and coffee is good also..they were not this past fri though.
you will see come playoff time what i am talking about this year…
sportsnut…….chew on this please your schedule is 61 out of 63…….all of the teams in your region are terrible…..thats right ALL of them……so guess what…..4 has to go in the playoffs…..so 3 terrible teams are in……you have no leg to stand on…..next!!!
Tommydawg22
November 12th, 2012
7:41 pm
The cross is wrong again…colquitt played 5 AAAAAA teams that are in the playoffs…the only 3like that arent in the playoffs are the other 3parlay from the region that didnt make it
Tommydawg22
November 12th, 2012
7:50 pm
Damn auto correct..not sure where like and parlay came from
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
7:51 pm
excuse my french…..but the ajc is not always right with their polls………..grayson…camden….lowndes….colquitt…these are the 4 best teams in the state….it will all shake out over the next few weeks….
valdosta is playing well also….and is much much improved since losing to brooks early on……
brooks county would spank all of the region foes in lovejoys region…..
brooks county would prob make it to the qtrs in 6aaaaaa if they played in it
real defense is played here in the south…..the only team in the north that can truly say that is grayson….lovejoy is not far behind
bksmith14
November 12th, 2012
7:52 pm
the offenses may be more appealing up north…..but this time of year i will take a strong running game and a great defense over a sexy offense anyday
packer fan
November 12th, 2012
7:53 pm
Friday night lights. cant wait. Go Region 1-AAAAAA.
yo
November 12th, 2012
7:54 pm
Region 1-AAAAAA Records prior to Region play (1st four weeks)
Camden County
4-0
Lowndes
4-0
Brunswick
3-1
Coffee
3-1
Colquitt County
3-1
Valdosta
3-1
Tift County
2-2
Region 2 AAAAAA after first 4 weeks
Lovejoy
3-1 (Only loss was to Region 1)
Druid Hills
2-1
Alcovy
1-3
Morrow
1-3
Newton
0-3
Luella
0-4
Rockdale County
0-4
TItletown USA
November 12th, 2012
8:03 pm
I love these blogs this time of year…..everyone is a little hesitant to talk too much smack and time of reckoning is right around the corner….I like Valdosta’s chances to make to the final 4
LTrojan Fan
November 12th, 2012
8:11 pm
Hey bk…get out of your parents basement and get a job.
5-Time
November 12th, 2012
8:38 pm
AVikingFan….Assuming we survive the first round and have to travel to Lovejoy in the second round, how big is Lovejoy’s stadium?? I believe just our band only would be more than their home side. And you already know Lowndes travels very, very well. Don’t know about Lovejoy’s fanbase but I’m willing to bet we will have the same amount if not more fans than Lovejoy…
57Cat
November 12th, 2012
8:50 pm
I’m not liking what I’m hearing about North Cobb’s stadium. First, I hear the parking is bad, and now I hear it only seats some 5,000, with maybe an additional 750 temp seats. Are most of the seats on one side of the field? How many are on the visitors side?
The Cross
November 12th, 2012
8:52 pm
Tommydawg-You are correct, I meant to type played 5 AAAAAA playoff teams and beat them all. Now that’s correct. Right?!?
The Cross
yo
November 12th, 2012
9:00 pm
sportsnut what concerns me once we have beaten Marietta and Lovejoy in the playoffs is we still won’t have any respect. Every one will be saying “but outside Region 1 play you haven’t played any one”. LOL
Marietta fan
November 12th, 2012
9:01 pm
@57cat North Cobb’s visitor section is very small. Just be glad you’re not going to Hillgrove where you have to bring your own chairs and sit on a dusty hill
Tommydawg22
November 12th, 2012
9:05 pm
The cross..you are now correct…and i was there for the scrimmage and you guys do have a good team..gl this week
The Cross
November 12th, 2012
9:11 pm
Thanks Tommydawg…these next 5 weeks are going to be awesome!