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Georgia High School Wrestling: Pound For Pound reviews out-of-state action
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every year around this time, the Pound for Pound staff awakens from holiday slumber and begins to sift through the out-of-state high school wrestling. Following last season’s breakout campaign nationally, Peach State wrestlers hit mats across the country and put up some impressive finishes once again.
No. 1 Collins Hill visited the Midwest Wrestling Classic in Kansas City and picked up the third-place trophy and in the process climbing to No. 26 in Amateur Wrestling News Prep 40 poll. The Eagles top three wrestlers-119 pound T.J. Mitchell; Joel Smith (140); and 152-pounder Taylor Knapp-were all runners-up, each losing to nationally-ranked wrestlers. Four others placed in the top 6.
No. 2 Union Grove placed third in the ultra-competitive Brecksville Invitational in Ohio. Joey Lazor continued his torrid senior campaign, winning a second consecutive Brecksville title, while heavyweight Wesley Mena picked up his second straight runner-up medal.
No. 3 Jefferson won the Smoky Mountain Duals in Pigeon Forge (TN), clipping tournament runner-up Lafayette on the way. The No. 4 Ramblers had a good couple of weeks otherwise, finishing 5th at the McCallie Invitational in Tennessee and handling Murray County with ease in a Tuesday dual.
“Those guys are good,” Lafayette coach Sam Forester said of Jefferson in the understatement of the decade. “They’ve got a great squad.”
Individually, it was another great out-of-state holiday season for Georgia wrestlers. McEachern’s Brandon Westerman (130) won Most Outstanding Wrestler at the McCallie Invitational (TN) and Centennial blue-chipper Brian St. James was MOW at 112 pounds at the Spencerport (NY) Teike-Bernabi Tournament, helping the No. 7 Knights finish third.
AJC Top 10 All-Class Rankings
1. Collins Hill (1)
2. Union Grove (2)
3. Jefferson (3)
4. Lafayette (5)
5. Pope (3)
6. Kennesaw Mountain (7)
7. Centennial (9)
8. Henry County (8)
9. Camden County (NR)
10. Eastside (NR)
Note: The Coaches Poll will return January 14.
Quick Takedowns
No. 9 Camden County ended Oviedo High School’s (FL) 84-match win streak, winning 41-22 over the Lions in the Camden Holiday Duals. Stephen Spradlin (Wrestling USA’s No. 22 junior at 112 pounds) was one of five Wildcats who scored six-point victories, and of the six Camden losses, five were minor decisions…..Deja vu? Loganville nipped Lowndes by a single point, 186-185 at the Fayette Christmas Classic, a year after Red Devils’ coach Don Williams’ former team, Stockbridge, split the Fayette tournament title with Wesleyan…..Welcome back: Apalachee duo Austin Sheppard and Zak Moore each made his first big splash of 2008, winning titles at 125 and 130 pounds, respectively, at the George Thompson Memorial at Winder Barrow. No. 10 Eastside ran away with the team title, getting seven individual titles out of 11 finalists.
Pin it down and rank the rankings: Let us know who YOUR Top 10 are and how they stack up against Kurt’s picks.
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Georgia High School Football: The All State teams — Did we get it right?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is the first season that I’ve coordinated the selection of the AJC’s All State teams, and while I enjoyed it, it’s probably the most difficult and worrisome job I’ve done here in awhile.
What I’ve learned is that there’s no way to get it right. That’s unlike the team rankings, where I’ve become infallible. (Kidding, of course.)
For All State, there are just too many players, too many opinions, not enough time. There are 375 teams, most of which our staff never got to see in person. But on the other hand, countless hours went into it, reaching out to the coaches and to the media throughout the state and collecting as many statistics and good opinions and witnesses as we could find.
I’d like to hear what you liked and didn’t like about this year’s All State teams. The Associated Press also did a team, and the GACA (Georgia Athletic Coaches Association) will do one in a couple of months. The good news is that among the three of them, hopefully anyone who is All State-caliber will get some recognition.
• 2008 Class AAAAA All-State football team
• 2008 Class AAAA All-State football team
• 2008 Class AAA All-State football team
• 2008 Class AA All-State football team
• 2008 Class A All-State football team
Make your point: Share your opinions on our 2008 All State teams. What did we get right? What did we get wrong? What did we miss completely?
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Final rankings: AP likes Coffee over East Paulding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The final rankings in the Associated Press are out. They don’t differ too much from the AJC’s rankings, but the AP chose Clinch County over Athens Academy (Class A), Jefferson and Toombs County over Callaway and Thomasville (AA), Burke County over Stephens County (AAA), SW DeKalb and Mount Zion over Sequoyah and North Clayton (AAAA), and Coffee over East Paulding (AAAAA).
Here are our rankings if you want to compare:
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/prepsports/entries/2008/12/14/finalrankings1.html
Class A
Wesleyan (9) 13-2 90
Emanuel County Institute 14-1 81 1
Lincoln County 12-2 72 3
Wilkinson County 10-4 60
Wilcox County 12-1 51 2
Bremen 11-2 44 5
Turner County 10-3 40
Miller County 11-2 25 10
Brookstone 11-1 11 4
Clinch County 9-3 7 9
Others receiving votes: Athens Academy 6, Whitefield Academy 2, Holy Innocents’ 3, Eagle’s Landing Christian 2.<
Class AA
Buford (9) 15-0 90 1
Calhoun 12-3 81 10
Brooks County 12-2 72 3
Fitzgerald 11-3 64
Dublin 11-2 46 2
Pepperell 11-2 44 6
Lovett 9-4 43
Toombs County 9-4 17
Westminster 9-3 13
Jefferson 11-1 11 4
Others receiving votes: Thomasville 5, Henry County 4, Callaway
- <
Class AAA
Cairo (9) 15-0 90 1
Flowery Branch 12-3 81
Carver-Columbus 11-3 70 5
LaGrange 11-3 60 8
Baldwin 12-1 51 2
Gainesville 12-1 45 4
Dunwoody 12-1 38 3
Eastside 11-2 32 9
Ridgeland 9-3 14
Burke Co. 7-4 5
Others receiving votes: North Hall 2, Cartersville 2, Carrollton 2, Stephens County 2.
Class AAAA
Record Pts Prv1. Tucker (9) 14-1 90 4
Marist 13-2 80 3
Rome 11-3 68
Westside-Macon 12-1 58 1
Griffin 10-4 55
Statesboro 11-2 40 7
Southwest Dekalb 9-4 26
Mount Zion 8-5 23
Sandy Creek 11-1 22 2
Brunswick 9-3 13 10
Others receiving votes: Sequoyah 9, North Clayton 8.
Class 5A
Class AAAAA
Record Pts Prv1. Camden County (9) 15-0 90 2
Peachtree Ridge 12-3 81 9
Grayson 13-1 71 5
Newnan 13-1 56 3
Lowndes 12-1 50 1
Woodstock 8-5 42
Northside-Warner Robins 10-2 36 4
North Gwinnett 10-3 33 10
Coffee County 9-4 15
Harrison 9-3 10
Others receiving votes: East Paulding 6, Tift County 4.<
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Leaderboard: State’s top passers, rushers, receivers in ‘08
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
High school football statistics are not kept officially, but here are the leading rushers, passers and receivers that have been reported to us this season. It’s most everybody, but let us know if you think someone is missing. If I have time, I’ll see if I can compile a list of players with the most touchdowns.:
Rushing (minimum 1,500 yards)
2,828, Washaun Ealey, ECI
2,165, Adrian Alexander, SW Macon
2,161, Justin Beasley, Banks County
2,072, Brandon Whitaker, Pepperell
2,010, William Pratcher, Cedar Grove
2,004, Toney Williams, Milton
1,949, Ean Pemberton, Grayson
1,902, Kyle Karempelis, Wesleyan
1,878, A.J. Cornelius, Northeast Macon
1,859, Michael Boydston, Walton
1,780, Demond Dennis, Carver-Atlanta
1,737, Ryan Boykin, Etowah
1,729, Julian Suber, Riverside Military
1,692, Reginald Bryant, Cairo
1,690, Martez Christopher, Brooks County
1,677, Xavier Bacon, Northside-Warner Robins
1,665, P.J. Greene, Rome
1,660, Mack Brown, M.L. King
1,621, Martez Eastland, Ringgold
1,620, Jonathan Finch, Evans
1,585, Allen McKay, Marion County
1,577, Brandon Jacobs, Parkview
1,563, Ben Souther, Chestatee
1,558, Chris Hunter, Westside-Augusta
1,555, Sam Burkhalter, Blessed Trinity
1,551, Harold Small, Brunswick
Passing (minimum 2,000 yards)
3,705, Hutson Mason, Lassiter
3,024, Drew Little, Henry County
2,836, Caleb Horvath, Chattahoochee County
2,753, Kevion Newberry, Turner County
2,559, Michael Johnson, Calhoun
2,556, Shunquez Stephens, West Hall
2,453, Blake Sims, Gainesville
2,266, Russ Powell, Newnan
2,254, Cain Campbell, North Paulding
2,226, Nick Marshall, Wilcox County
2,208, Mike Polascik, South Gwinnett
2,198, Mike Tamburo, North Gwinnett
2,178, Jordan Carkhuff, Lovett
2,177, Dre Prather, Gordon Central
2,183, Jake Durham, Long County
2,146, Connor Shaw, Flowery Branch
2,106, Zach Mettenberger, Oconee County
2,034, Josh Morgan, LaFayette
Receptions (minimum 50 catches)
81, Tai-Ler Jones, Gainesville
77, Blake Gowder, Union County
73, Price Garrett, Walton
72 Philip Lutzenkirchen, Lassiter
70, Christian Conley, North Paulding
69, Ricky Rivera, Long County
62, Dimitri Holmes, Clarke Central
62, Jonathan Krause, South Gwinnett
61, Drexel Copeland, Mount Zion-Jonesboro
61, Rodney Gibson, West Hall
61, Darqueze Dennard, Twiggs County
60, Eldridge Cooper, North Atlanta
59, Kevin Martin, Chattahoochee
57, Dedric Shipman, Meadowcreek
56, Jamal Patterson, Henry County
54, Alan Bonner, Newnan
54, Jordan Afman, Gordon Lee
53, Tyler Jarry, North Gwinnett
53, Hiawatha Parker, Turner County
53, Kevin Steed, Lithia Springs
52, Teddy Gibson, Chattahoochee County
52, Quan Jones, Henry County
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High School Football — Ranking the regions: 5-AAAAA finishes on top
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You don’t think of Cobb and Cherokee counties as the hotbeds of Georgia high school football. There have been no state titles there in 40 years.
But if you ask me which was Georgia’s toughest region in 2008, I’m going to say CheroCobb. Or is it CobbOkee? OK, let’s just call it Region 5-AAAAA.
According to the computer rankings of Loren Maxwell, Kennesaw Mountain was better than 2-AAAAA champ Stephenson this year. McEachern was better than 6-AAAAA champ Walton. And Kennesaw Mountain and McEachern didn’t make the state playoffs.
And look at the third- and fourth-place teams: Harrison had a victory over Peachtree Ridge, and Woodstock lost to Camden County only 18-17 in Kingsland.
Here’s how I rank the regions today. Compare them to how I ranked them in September. Looks like I and much of the state underestimated North Georgia places where you might find Calhoun, Rome and Flowery Branch.
Class AAAAA
5 - State’s best non-playoff team: Kennesaw Mountain
1 - Lowndes, Coffee, Tift met shocking ends
7 - Peachtree Ridge led the way
6 - No. 4 seed Lassiter upset Etowah
8 - Grayson upheld region tradition in playoffs
4 - Newnan is region’s only top-25 team in AAAAA
2 - Stephenson’s region 0-for-4 in state playoffs
3 - Home of the four worst teams in AAAAA
How I ranked them in September: 1, 5, 7, 8, 6, 4, 2, 3
Class AAAA
6 - Tucker, Marist, SWD made the quarters
7 - Dalton was best AAAA team not to make the playoffs
5 - 7-3 Mays was No. 2 in state at one point
4 - Semifinalist Griffin was runner-up in this region
2 - Might’ve been No. 1 if Ware had represented
1 - TCC & Bainbridge were disappointments
8 - One and done for region champ Loganville
3 - Evans wins worst region above Class A
In September: 6, 1, 5, 2, 7, 4, 8, 3
Class AAA
1 - Cairo, and seven average-to-good teams
7 - Flowery Branch wasn’t even the region champ
2 - Carver, LaGrange great, but no other winning records
3 - Baldwin leads good quartet, but no depth
8 - Eastside only team to win a round
5 - Dunwoody only team to win a round
6 - Despite Ridgeland, Carrollton, Cartersville advancing
4 - 10-0 Jackson lost in first round
In September: 2, 1, 5, 3, 7, 8, 6, 4
Class AA
6 - Buford’s toughest game: 5th-place Blessed Trinity
1 - Fitzgerald was third in region, fourth in state
3 - Dublin won it. I underrated this region all season
7 - Calhoun, Pepperell a powerful 1-2 bunch
2 - Charlton’s region was a playoff disaster: 0-for-4
4 - Decent playoff teams led by Henry Co.; soft underneath
5 - Callaway was the best of a weak lot
8 - Jefferson met no resistance to 10-0
In September: 6, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8
Class A
2 - Wilcox was champion of only region without a bad team
7 - Lincoln County, Wilkinson County make semis
8 - This region’s stock rose in playoffs with Wesleyan
5 - 3-1 in first round, but wretched below that
6 - Bremen only team to win in first round
1 - Clinch, Miller lost early, but this region was deep
3 - ECI’s region had more poor teams than any other
4 - Brookstone runs table on state’s weakest region
In September: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
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Latest comments
Love the high school wrestling updates, just wish there was more of them.... read the full comment by Tim T | Comment on Georgia High School Wrestling: Pound For Pound reviews out-of-state action Read Georgia High School Wrestling: Pound For Pound reviews out-of-state action
Happy New Year Todd Holcomb and all of the Bloggers, WOW!!!!! This is a great blog this week. Todd, you may get some heat behind this as far as some players not making the 1st team out of Class AAAAA. But there are a lot of them out there from various... read the full comment by SportsFan31313 | Comment on Georgia High School Football: The All State teams -- Did we get it right? Read Georgia High School Football: The All State teams -- Did we get it right?
Well Jusahfan, Georgia is a Football Power. Basketball is 2nd to football in the State Of Georgia. Thats why. But you will have your time soon to blog about basketball. But in this blog, we are talking about football.... read the full comment by SportsFan31313 | Comment on Final rankings: AP likes Coffee over East Paulding Read Final rankings: AP likes Coffee over East Paulding
Greetings Todd, I agree with you at some point. You do have Woodstock whom took it to Camden County in the 2nd Round of th playoffs. I just don’t understand how did these assessment by the coaches and the computer rankings access that?... read the full comment by SportsFan31313 | Comment on High School Football -- Ranking the regions: 5-AAAAA finishes on top Read High School Football -- Ranking the regions: 5-AAAAA finishes on top