Archive for the ‘6ABlog’ Category

Five questions for Class AAAAAA this week:

Can Parkview close the deal? The Panthers’ return to prominence has been one of the best stories of the season in Georgia. Parkview can clinch Region 8 and win its first region title since 2004 with a victory over South Gwinnett. Both teams are 7-2, so it won’t be easy. The game is at South Gwinnett. The Comets can’t win the region unless Brookwood upsets Grayson but will finish no worse than second and host a state playoff game with a victory.

Will Druid Hills break a drought? The winner of the Druid Hills-Rockdale County game will make the playoffs out of Region 2. Granted, it’s a pretty weak league when teams that are 4-5 (Druid Hills) and 2-7 (Rockdale) are getting a chance to make the post-season, but that won’t stop the celebrating if Druid Hills makes it. The Red Devils have not had a winning season since 1993. (And that might not change since Druid Hills would be 5-6 if it won this game and lost in the first round to …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Can Parkview close the deal? … Druid Hills make history? … Valdosta, Coffee, Wheeler stay alive? »

Region 1

Camden County clinched the region title with its 24-7 victory over Lowndes on Friday, and the Wildcats will be the No. 1 seed regardless of the outcome of their game against Colquitt County this week. Lowndes will be the No. 2 seed. A Valdosta victory over Coffee would make Valdosta the No. 3 seed and Colquitt County No. 4. Coffee still has a shot, but the Trojans must beat Valdosta.

Region 2

Lovejoy and Newton have clinched the top two positions, and Alcovy has clinched a playoff berth. The winner of the Rockdale County-Druid Hills game will be the other playoff team. If Rockdale County wins, the Bulldogs would be the No. 4 seed and Alcovy would be No. 3. If Druid Hills wins, the Red Devils would be the No. 3 seed and Alcovy No. 4 (unless Alcovy upsets Lovejoy, which would then give Alcovy third place).

Region 3

Hughes clinched the first region title and No. 1 seed in the program’s short history with its 17-13 victory over Tri-Cities on Friday. The winner of this …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Region-by-region rundown of playoff scenarios »

Five things we noted from Class AAAAAA on Friday –

- No. 1-ranked Camden County is the champion of Region 1 after traveling to No. 4 Lowndes and winning 24-7. Lowndes scored on its opening drive, but Camden controlled the game from there. Camden (9-0) plays No. 10 Colquitt County (6-3) next week in an attempt to finish unbeaten in region play, but the No. 1 seed is secured.

- Hughes, Lassiter and McEachern joined Camden in clinching region titles. Hughes (8-1, 4-0) won its first in history, in Region 2, with a 17-13 victory over Tri-Cities. This is a 4-year-old south Fulton County school that had finished 2-7, 2-8 and 3-7 in its previous three seasons. McEachern (7-2, 6-0) won Region 4 with a 62-21 victory over Harrison. It’s McEachern’s third title in four seasons. Lassiter (9-0, 6-0) won Region 5 with a 28-14 victory over Roswell. It is Lassiter’s second region title, first since 20009.

- South Gwinnett remained in contention for the title in Region 8 with a 42-38 victory …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Camden defends No. 1 ranking … Four teams clinch region titles »

Five Class AAAAAA teams can clinch region titles Friday. Here are some the things to watch for this weekend in the highest class:

- No. 1 Camden County (8-0, 4-0) plays at No. 4 Lowndes (9-0, 5-0) in a game televised by ESPNU. This is the first time that these state powers have been in the same region. They’ve played in the playoffs four times since 2003, and the winner of their game has gone on to win the state title. Camden has been criticized for its easy region. Camden is 86-0 in region play since 2000, which until this year was old, weak Region 3-AAAAA. Region 1 fans have felt Camden got an easier draw in the state playoffs that greased the way to three state championships. With a chip on its shoulder, Camden has won its four Region 1 games by an average score of 43-7. But now Camden travels to Lowndes and No. 10 Colquitt County to finish the regular season.

- Perhaps a more life-or-death game in Region 1 is the one between Coffee and Colquitt County in Moultrie. Both …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Five teams can clinch region titles Friday; ESPNU to televise Camden-Lowndes »

Basketball practice began this week for a season that starts Nov. 10. Who will replace Milton as boys champion in the highest classification?

As you know, Milton is ineligible for the post-season in the aftermath of allegations of undue influence of coach David Boyd to persuade student-athletes to transfer into the Milton district. Boyd is out as head coach. Soon after, Milton’s only returning starter, Jalyn Patterson, transferred to a school in Florida. Milton should still be pretty good, but obviously won’t win the title.

Milton came under scrutiny for transfers, and transfers will remain in the news this basketball season.

Let’s see if I’ve got this straight …

Brannen Green, the Kansas-bound forward that many consider to be the top recruit in Georgia, has transferred to Tift County and will play with another blue-chip player, three-year starter Tadric Jackson.

Another reported transfer is Kejuan Johnson, one of the elite sopohomores in the state. He went from Wheeler to …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Let’s talk basketball – Who will replace Milton at the top? Probably somebody with a key transfer »

Five interesting things that happened Friday in Class AAAAAA

No. 5 West Forsyth falls from the unbeaten – Dreams of a first-ever unbeaten season for West Forsyth crashed in a 29-28 loss to Chattahoochee. Travis Marshall scored on an 8-yard scramble and hit a diving Collin Lisa for a winning conversion with 38 seconds to play. That’s got to give Chattahoochee some confidence, but it might prove meaningless in the Region 6 standings. West Forsyth (7-1, 4-1) still will win the title with victories over South Forsyth (3-5, 0-5) and Lambert (5-3, 3-4) because the Wolverines have wins over the other first-place teams – Alpharetta (5-3, 4-1) and Johns Creek (7-1, 4-1). Chattahoochee, which has lost to those two teams, probably still needs to win its final two games against Lambert (5-3, 2-3) and Centennial (3-5, 3-2) just to get the No. 4 seed.

No. 6 Parkview suffers upset in Region 8 – Central Gwinnett defeated Parkview 30-27 in two overtimes. That brought about a four-way tie for …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Benign losses for West Forsyth, Parkview? Prognosis is more guarded for Colquitt »

Five things to watch in Class AAAAAA this week …

- Is it a must-win game for Archer and South Gwinnett? – The deepest AAAAAA region north of Region 1 is Region 8. There’s probably not enough room for Archer (6-2, 4-2) and South Gwinnett (5-2, 4-1) in the playoffs. They play each other Friday at Archer.

According to the Maxwell Ratings, both are top-20 teams, better than at last a dozen teams that are going to make the playoffs. But Archer needs to beat South Gwinnett this week or seventh-ranked Grayson next week to make it. The Tigers have lost heartbreakers to Brookwood (20-19) and Parkview (20-18).

South Gwinnett’s only losses are to No. 3 Norcross and No. 7 Grayson. They’ll need to beat Archer, Brookwood or Parkview to make the playoffs.

- Milton-Walton gets national (ESPNU) attention – The Milton-Walton game will be televised by ESPNU at 9 p.m. Friday. Some would argue that these teams have the best running backs in Class AAAAAA (although Alvin Kamara at Norcross and …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Archer (6-2) vs. South Gwinnett (5-2) might be must-win situation »

Five things learned from this week’s games (Oct. 19):

Lassiter can get off the deck – The second-ranked Trojans trailed 23-6 in the second quarter but beat Milton 47-30 as Eddie Printz threw four second-half touchdowns. He had 409 yards passing overall. The go-ahead score was a 66-yard pass to Juwan Dickey, who made a dazzling run after the catch to make it 34-30. Both of Milton’s star running backs – Peyton Barber (114) and Treyvon Paulk (122) – went over 100 yards rushing. Lassiter (7-0, 4-0) is now alone in first place of Region 5. Milton fell to 5-2, 3-1.

Langston Hughes is the team to beat in Region 2 – Langston Hughes beat Newnan 34-14 to move to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in Region 3. The only other unbeaten team in region play is East Coweta (3-4, 2-0). Hughes opened in 2009 and can become the first south Fulton school to win a region title since Creekside in 2006. No south Fulton team has won a region title in the highest classification.

0-2 start wasn’t fatal to McEachern – …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: McEachern, Lassiter, Grayson prove resilient; Hughes moves in on region title »

Here are five games that will help decide region races in Class AAAAAA this week:

Lassiter at Milton – The winner of this game will take over sole possession of first place in Region 5. Both are 3-0 in region play. Lassiter’s only region title came in 2009, when it finished 12-1 with Hutson Mason at quarterback. Milton’s only region championship was a Class B title in 1952. It’s a classic matchup between spread and power teams. Lassiter QB Eddie Printz is 106-of-167 passing for 1,442 yards and 13 touchdowns. Milton’s Peyton Barber (committed to Mississippi) and junior Treyvon Paulk are the best pair of running backs in the region. Each had three TDs and more than 150 yards rushing in a 59-27 victory over Etowah two weeks ago.

Hughes at Newnan — Hughes and Newnan are the only two teams in lowly regarded Region 3 with more than two victories, and the winner will emerge as the favorite to win the region. A victory would give Hughes, a fourth-year program in Fairburn, its first …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Five games that will shape region races this week »

Five bits of news from this week in Class AAAAAA –

- The Valdosta-Lowndes series continues to be entertaining, 51 games on. Lowndes, ranked No. 4, improved to 7-0 with a 17-14 victory. The Vikings trailed 14-6 in the fourth quarter before getting a winning field goal in the final seconds. Tijuan Lang had a key pick late in the game and returned to the Valdosta 32 in the final two minutes, setting up the FG heroics. Rance Gillespie almost became the first Valdosta coach to beat Lowndes in back-to-back seasons since Nick Hyder in 1994-95. Valdosta leads the series 34-17.

- West Forsyth is a step closer to 10-0 and a first region title. The Wolverines defeated Johns Creek 37-16 in a game between 5-0 teams from Region 6. West Forsyth trailed 16-3. A 52-yard TD run by QB A.J. Erdely tied it 16-16 early in the third, and a 79-yard pass to TE Ty Anderson set up the go-ahead TD. Jake Wieczorek rushed for 168 yards. West Forsyth, ranked No. 5, appears on its way to a first-ever region …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Valdosta-Lowndes, West Forsyth, Centennial stunner highlight Week 8 »

Five things (games?) to watch this week in Class AAAAAA:

Lowndes at Valdosta – It’s Georgia’s best-known high school rivalry. Valdosta has won 34 of the 50 meetings, but Lowndes has won seven of the past eight. Shelby Wilkes, a senior, threw two TD passes in the final 50 seconds in a 21-17 Valdosta win that broke the skid in 2011. A Valdosta victory this year would be just as unexpected. Valdosta has lost to Class AA Brooks County and been blown out by No. 1 Camden County (43-6). Lowndes, meanwhile, is 6-0 and ranked No. 4, its only defining win a 17-14 victory over Colquitt County when the Lowndes defense was dominant. Lowndes is pretty simple – run the ball (the Vikings average 285 yards rushing per game) and play defense (they have 16 sacks and 10 interceptions).

Johns Creek at West Forsyth – Both are 5-0. Both opened in the past six years. Neither has won a region title. They are in Region 6. Watch the quarterbacks in this one. Johns Creek QB Skye Overton is 49-of-82 …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Something old (Valdosta-Lowndes), something new (Johns Creek-West Forsyth) highlight schedule »

South Cobb is AAAAAA’s newest Cinderella.

The Eagles (5-0, 3-0) defeated sixth-ranked North Cobb 27-26 in overtime Friday and moved into a tie for first place in Region 4 with McEachern (3-2, 3-0).

Why call the Eagles a Cinderalla? South Cobb is 5-0 for the first time since 1999. South Cobb has won three region titles dating to the 1950s, the last one in 2005.

As far as the region goes, it’s far from over. McEachern plays at South Cobb on Friday, in fact.

But follow this trail of scores:

Walton 37, McEachern 35
North Cobb 49, Walton 17
South Cobb 27, North Cobb 26

Also note that South Cobb unofficially outgained North Cobb in total yards 431-189. This was no fluke of a missed extra point, which ultimately cost North Cobb the game in overtime. It was South Cobb that committed four turnovers and had to come back from a 14-0 deficit. Carlos Saldana made a 39-yard field goal to send it to the extra period, when South Cobb made its extra point, and North Cobb didn’t.

Congrats to …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: South Cobb emerges as Region 4 favorite with upset of No. 6 North Cobb »

Five things to watch for this week …

Which end of Cobb is better? It’s North Cobb (4-0) vs. South Cobb (4-0) in a game between Region 4’s remaining unbeaten teams. McEachern (3-2, 3-0) also is unbeaten in the region, but not overall. North Cobb is heavily favored despite those records, as the Maxwell Ratings are projecting a 15-point spread. North Cobb has routed everyone it has played, including Walton (49-17), while South Cobb has struggled against not-so-good Kennesaw Mountain (28-26) and Campbell (42-39).

Which part of East Cobb is better? This should be fun. Two of Georgia’s state player-of-the-year candidates are going head to head on Friday when second-ranked Lassiter (5-0) plays at home against Walton (4-1). Lassiter is led by Printz, who is 91-of-134 passing (67.9 percent) for 1,334 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions this season. Walton has running back Tyren Jones, who has rushed for 1,120 yards and 13 touchdowns on 164 carries (6.8 ypc) on the season. At …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Two Cobb showdowns head list of games to watch »

Five things we learned this week –

- Parkview is the front-runner in Region 8 – Beating reigning state champion Grayson on Sept. 14 was the season’s biggest upset. Beating Archer on Sept. 21 avenged a 40-16 loss from last season. But beating arch-rival Brookwood 21-14 on Sept. 28 officially stamped Parkview as ‘’back’’ and the team to beat in Region 8. Chris Carson rushed for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Parkview – state champion in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2002 – has not won a region title since 2004. Until Parkview beat Brookwood on Friday, many felt Grayson would still win Region 8 by winning its remaining games. Now, Parkview would need to lose twice. Not likely now.

- Camden County is a worthy No. 1 team – If anyone thought Camden was ranked No. 1 by default after 2011 champion Grayson was upended by Parkview, the Wildcats showed otherwise Friday, routing Valdosta 43-6. It was Valdosta’s most lopsided in its historic Bazemore-Hyder Stadium since 1974, when Thomasville, led …

Continue reading What we learned from Week 6 in AAAAAA: Camden is a worthy No. 1 … Parkview is back … Lowndes is legit »

Five things to watch this week in Class AAAAAA –

Brookwood-Parkview, the rivalry is back! – A decade ago, this was Georgia’s hottest rivalry. The two played for a state title, and Parkview won, making it 45 straight wins and three consecutive state titles. But Parkview has not won a region title since 2004 and has gone 1-6 against Brookwood since then. Parkview’s upset of previous No. 1-ranked Grayson changed things. A victory over Brookwood would put Parkview in the driver’s seat in 8-AAAAAA at 3-0 in region play, with all of the victories coming against playoff teams from last season.

Region 1 skirmishes begin – There three Region 1 games on the docket, each with special intrigue. Camden County goes to Valdosta. Camden has won 86 straight games that count in region standings, but this is Camden’s first game in R1 – the toughest in the state – after years in embarrassingly weak Region 3-AAAAA. Lowndes plays at Colquitt County in a game between Top 10 teams. Tift County plays …

Continue reading AAAAAA blog: Let’s talk Brookwood-Parkview, Camden-Valdosta, Norcross-Mill Creek, Skye Overton, Tyler Queen »