Archive for the ‘Take 10: Bests, Worsts & Top 10s’ Category

M.L. King wide receiver DeMarco Robinson has broken the state record for receiving yards in a season.

In a 48-47 loss to Colquitt County that was the final game of his career, Robinson had 10 receptions for 246 yards and five touchdowns.  Robinson’s season totals are 73 receptions for 1,655 yards and 27 touchdowns. 

Robinson’s yardage total breaks the mark of 1,647 set in 2009 by Calhoun’s Da’Rick Rogers. Now at Tennessee, Rogers compiled his yards in 15 games. Robinson played 12.

M.L. King quarterback Jonquel Dawson was 27-of-43 passing for 522 yards and six touchdowns in the game. His season totals are 3,606 yards passing (fourth in state history) and 41 touchdowns (tied for third in state history).

Both are DeKalb County records.

Other top individual performances in Georgia last week:

Brookwood DB Nick Moore had two interceptions and a 59-yard punt return in a 34-24 victory over Norcross.

Calhoun junior LB Gabe Freeman had two sacks and two other tackles for loss …

Continue reading M.L. King’s Robinson sets state record for receiving yards in season »

‘’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: …

Continue reading Class AAAAA goes topsy turvy: It’s 2006 all over again »

Griffin at Statesboro

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Womack Field, Statesboro

Records, rankings: Griffin is 10-1, the No. 2 seed from Region 3-AAAA and ranked No. 10; Statesboro is 9-2, the No. 1 seed from 2-AAAA and unranked.

Last meeting: Statesboro won 7-0 in the 2005 Class AAAA semifinals.

Three things to know: 1. These are traditionally the best programs from regions 2 and 3, which were a combined 8-0 in the first round. Both schools have won 11 GHSA region titles. 2. Griffin’s go-to back is Wontavious Washington (1,381 yards, 15 TDs). DE Xzavier Dickson has 17 sacks. 3. Statesboro came from 21-7 down to beat Tri-Cities 24-21 in the first round. Statesboro tied the game on a touchdown with 2:48 left, recovered a fumble and got a 27-yard field goal from Caleb Brown with 7 seconds left to win.

Winner plays: Flowery Branch/Kell winner

Flowery Branch at Kell

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, C.J. Kell Stadium, Marietta

Records, rankings: Flowery Branch is 10-1, the No. 2 …

Continue reading AAAA second-round capsules: Kell faces big test vs. Flowery Branch »

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Hallford Stadium, Clarkston

Records, rankings: Colquitt County is 6-5, the No. 3 seed from Region 1-AAAAA and unranked; M.L. King is 8-3, the No. 1 seed from 2-AAAAA and ranked No. 8.

Last meeting: This is the teams’ first meeting.

Three things to know: 1. Colquitt County school records have been set this season by QB Tyler Brown (2,514 yards passing), RB Tevin King (28 touchdowns) and WR Tommy Hudson (71 receptions). 2. DeKalb County records have been set by M.L. King QB Jonquel Dawson (3,085 yards passing, 34 touchdowns) and WR Demarco Robinson (1,409 yards, 21 touchdowns). 3. Colquitt County came to Hallford Stadium as a No. 3 seed in the second round last season and upset a region champion, Stephenson, 22-21 and eventually reached the semifinals.

Winner plays: Mill Creek/South Gwinnett winner

Mill Creek at South Gwinnett

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, South Gwinnett Community Stadium, Snellville

Records, …

Continue reading AAAAA second-round capsules: Valdosta visits McEachern in game between 10-1 teams »

Continue reading Class A second-round matchups: Defending champ faces 11-0 JoCo »

Continue reading AA second-round capsules: Westminster takes aim at Calhoun »

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Anderson Stadium, Fort Valley

Records, rankings: Thomson is 9-2, the No. 2 seed from Region 3-AAA and unranked; Peach County is 11-0, the No. 1 seed from 2-AAA and ranked No. 1.

Last meeting: Peach County won 21-7 in the first round of the 1997 Class AAA playoffs.

Three things to know: 1. Peach County RB Travis Richmond is averaging more than 10 yards per carry (1,421 yards rushing, 122 carries, 21 touchdowns), and QB Brett Montgomery is averaging a touchdown every 6.4 passing attempts (104-for-148, 1,898 yards, 23 TDs). 2. Thomson runs a Wing-T offense, and no player is averaging more than 10 rushing attempts per game. The leading rusher is FB Chris Jordan (577 yards, 87 carries), who scored two touchdowns last week in the victory over Worth County. 3. Thomson head coach Luther Welsh, 78, is retiring after this season. He has led Thomson to state titles in 1984, 1985 and 2002 and has 333 victories.

Winner …

Continue reading Class AAA capsules: Big four of Cairo, Carrollton, Sandy Creek, Peach expected to roll »

The News

Continue reading Coaching changes: LaGrange’s Pardue among seven to resign in recent days »

Here are six outstanding accomplishments by place-kickers this season.

Do you know of others?

lDutchtown’s Ryan Kay scored all of his team’s points last week in the 15-0 first-round victory over Thomas County Central. He made field goals of 24, 30, 42, 51 and 56 yards.

lLaGrange’s E. Smith made a 56-yard field goal and barely missed on a 57-yard attempt in a 22-7 victory over Spalding on Sept. 3. He tried and barely missed a 63-yard attempt the next week.

lMarist’s Austin Hardin kicked a 59-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in a 17-14 victory over Southwest DeKalb on Sept. 17.

lMcEachern’s Nicholas St. Germain kicked two field goals of more than 50 yards (54 and 52) in the Indians’ 64-48 victory against Hillgrove on Oct. 8 in the game that essentially decided the Region 4-AAAAA championship.

lRoswell’s Ty Long kicked a 52-yard field goal on the final play of the game last week to give the Hornets a 29-27 victory against Parkview.

lWare County’s …

Continue reading Top kicking performances: Kay makes five FGs in one game, two from 50+ yards »

Each day this week, we’ve been looking at the playoff draw for one of the five classifications, concluding today with Class A. Here are five interesting facts about each of the 16 games, with an emphasis on playoff history. Which school puts its 28-game home winning streak on the line Friday night? Find out below.

Favorite: Clinch County

Best draw: Wilkinson County

Worst draw: Johnson County

Sleeper: Emanuel County Institute

Best first-round matchup: Charlton County at Hawkinsville

Greenville (8-2) at Clinch Co. (10-0)

- Greenville, which won Region 4-A last season, defeated Brookstone 14-10 in a must-win game last week to get the No. 4 seed.

- Greenville coach Jeremy Williams has gained national recognition for his battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. While fighting the illness, Williams has led Greenville to its best back-to-back seasons (19-3 record) since 1985-86.

- Clinch County is ranked No. 1 in Class A and bidding to become the third school to win …

Continue reading Class A matchups: Clinch County emerges as favorite »

Here are the projected margins of victory for this week’s first round of the playoffs, according to the Maxwell Ratings. The team is the left is the projected winner. The number on the right is the projected margin of victory.

AAAAA

Brookwood vs. Alpharetta 24

Camden County vs. Coffee 15

Collins Hill vs. Woodstock 7

Colquitt County at Jenkins 26

Etowah vs. Mill Creek 12

Grayson at North Forsyth 15

Lowndes vs. Groves 44

McEachern vs. East Coweta 11

M.L. King vs. Harrison 17

Newnan at South Cobb 5

Norcross at Walton 10

North Gwinnett vs. Lassiter 30

Parkview at Roswell 0

South Gwinnett vs. West Forsyth 11

Stephenson vs. Hillgrove 8

Valdosta vs. Windsor Forest 42

AAAA

Brunswick vs. Creekside 6

Chattahoochee vs. Pope 9

Clarke Central vs. Mays 25

East Paulding vs. Rome 22

Flowery Branch vs. Southwest DeKalb 10

Griffin vs. Lee County 1

Hiram at Lambert 16

Kell vs. South Forsyth 38

Lovejoy vs. Glynn Academy 16

Marist vs. Heritage 8

North Clayton vs. Ware County 2

Northside vs. …

Continue reading Computer says: Norcross by 10, Parkview-Roswell tossup, Stephenson by 8, Flowery Branch by 10, Thomasville by 4, Lovett by 3 … »

Lee County quarterback Justin Walker set the Georgia single-game record for passing yards last week in a 48-35 loss to Warner Robins.

Walker completed 42 of 70 passes for 591 yards and five touchdowns. The previous record was set by Hutson Mason of Lassiter in a 2009 playoff game against South Gwinnett. Mason is now a freshman at the University of Georgia.

Here are some of the top individual performances from last week:

*Alcovy RB Tre Sorrells rushed for 201 yards and made 10 tackles in a 14-6 loss to Fayette County.

*Bremen WR/LB Austin Warren had three catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, 17 total tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in a 18-13 victory over Trion.

*Calhoun RB Dustin Christian rushed for 273 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in a 35-8 victory over Rockmart.

*Calvary Day RB Steve Williams rushed for 166 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-13 victory over Wheeler County. Williams has 1,630 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.

*Cedar Shoals …

Continue reading Top performances: Lee County QB sets state record with 591 yards passing »

Each day this week, we’ll look at the playoff draw for one of the five classifications, continuing today with Class AAA. Here are five interesting facts about each of the 16 games, with an emphasis on playoff history. Which legendary 78-year-old coach is entering his final playoff run? Find out below.

Favorite: Peach County

Best draw: Peach County

Worst draw: Allatoona

Sleeper: Burke County

Best first-round matchup: St. Pius at Allatoona

Stockbridge (6-4) at Peach County (10-0)

- Peach County’s 25-game winning streak is the longest active one in Georgia.

- Peach County coach Chad Campbell is the brother of Dodge County head coach Lee Campbell, who won state titles with Hawkinsville in 2003 and 2004. They are the only brothers who have won state titles in Georgia.

- Stockbridge, a Henry County school that started football in 1964, is in the state playoffs for the first time. Stockbridge made the region playoffs (now the equivalent of the first round) …

Continue reading AAA previews: Road is paved for Peach County »

Favorite: Northside (Warner Robins)

Best draw: Clarke Central

Worst draw: Flowery Branch

Sleeper: Starr’s Mill

Best first-round matchup: Southwest DeKalb at Flowery Branch

Tri-Cities (7-3) at Statesboro (8-2)

- Statesboro is a region champion for the first time since 2005, when the southeast Georgia school won a state title.

- Statesboro’s head coach, Steve Pennington, is one of four in the AAAA draw that has won a Georgia state title. The others are Tucker’s Franklin Stephens, Marist’s Alan Chadwick and Southwest DeKalb’s Buck Godfrey.

- Tri-Cities, located in East Point, has improved its record each of the past three seasons under coach …

Continue reading Class AAAA matchups: SWD vs. Flowery Branch heads list »

Each day this week, we’ll look at the playoff draw for one of the five classifications, starting today with Class AAAAA. Here are five interesting facts about each of the 16 games, with an emphasis on playoff history. Which school has the longest streak of making the state playoffs in the highest classification? Find out below.

Favorite: Camden County

Best draw: North Gwinnett

Worst draw: McEachern

Sleeper: Newnan

Best first-round matchup: East Coweta at McEachern

Harrison (5-5) at M.L. King (7-3)

- M.L. King, a DeKalb County school, defeated Stephenson 26-24 last week to claim its second region title in history. The other came in 2007.

- M.L. King opened in 2002 and has made the playoffs each season since 2003 and is 10-7 all-time in the state playoffs. M.L. King reached the Class AAA semifinals in 2004.

- Harrison, a Cobb County school, has made the playoffs 14 of the past 16 seasons, missing in 2006 and 2009, and reached the Class AAAAA final in 2000, losing …

Continue reading Class AAAAA matchups: North Gwinnett has nice draw »