AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 09 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USFor the 30-11th time, take Cedar Shoals
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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If I ask my nephew Jalen what number follows 29, he successfully whispers to himself all the numbers that lead up to it before he answers. And then he says, “Twenty-ten.”
When I nod to signal wrong answer, he throws out any nearby number that comes to mind. “Twenty-seven?” “Twenty-three?”
He has an excuse. He is 5. But I understand the process.
See, if you ask me who’s going to win the Cedar Shoals-Clarke Central game tonight, I run through all the games that have led up to it. And when I say, “Cedar Shoals,” some fans will nod in disagreement and say, “The mind of a 5-year-old!”
Or something like that.
“Twenty-ten” could be the Jalen-esque score. Or 20-7. Or 20-3. Makes no difference really. The point is that, in a week that otherwise probably won’t stray too far from the status quo, this is the game that sticks out.
This Region 8-AAAA game is one of several tonight that determines a playoff berth. There will be plenty of time for upsets, but as far as the teams who should get to the playoffs getting there, I see nobody getting lost on the way.
Before they played two months ago, I ran through all the numbers that led up to Clarke Central-Cedar Shoals. Though it had lost five in a row in the series, its worst run in the Athens rivalry, I said, “Clarke Central.”
I was right. Coach Leroy Ryals found a game plan that interrupted a five-game Cedar Shoals winning streak. Now, he’s got to find one that chops an eight-game winning streak to size, using the same faces that the Jaguars have now set in their crosshairs.
So much more rides on this game. Lose-and-go-home time already has begun in the Classic City. Cedar Shoals is better than it was the first time. The breaks that went Clarke Central’s way the first time, and against Hart County, have fled into the opposition’s huddle, starting when Heritage rallied from 21 down to stun the Gladiators.
And, in keeping with football coach wisdom, it’s hard for me to see Cedar Shoals players fading into the offseason, knowing that not one, but two losses to Clarke Central put them there.
Hence, their thirty-eleventh meeting goes Cedar Shoals’ way.
• Short shrift: I have Mays beating Lakeside-DeKalb, just to disprove the Mays fan notion that I somehow “jinxed” the Raiders by picking them to beat Marist last week. I’m also picking Marist over St. Pius. If Marist gets jinxed, Mays could get top seed in Region 6-AAAA. Of course, if Mays really believes in jinxes, it’ll lose to Lakeside and the whole point will be moot. … Never thought Parkview-Brookwood would be an afterthought. But I just thought of it. The words of Brookwood coach Mark Crews ring true after his team defied last week’s boldly errant pick against Central Gwinnett: “Same old order.” Silly me. … When Appling County upsets Brantley County, there will be a three-way tie for the last Region 2-AA berth. Pierce County, with one extra Class AA win, will get it.
FRIDAY
Winner / Loser
Adairsville / Dade County
Alpharetta / Northview
Americus-Sumter / Lee County
Apalachee / Oconee County
Appling County / Brantley County
Aquinas / Monticello
Athens Academy / Jefferson
Atkinson County / Bacon County
Avondale / Cross Keys
Baldwin / North Clayton
Beach / Jenkins
Bremen / Bowdon
Brookstone / Pacelli Catholic
Brookwood / Parkview
Bryan County / Calvary Day
Buford / Lovett
Cairo / Crisp County
Calhoun / LaFayette
Camden County / Bradwell Institute
Campbell / Harrison
Carrollton / Villa Rica
Cartersville / Central-Carroll
Carver-Atlanta / Therrell
Cass / Haralson County
Cedar Shoals / Clarke Central
Central Gwinnett / Shiloh
Chapel Hill / Woodland
Charlton County / McIntosh Co. Ac.
Chattahoochee / Milton
Cherokee / Osborne
Clinch County / Terrell County
Collins Hill / South Forsyth
Cook / Mitchell-Baker
Coosa / Model
Creekview / Armuchee
Dacula / Rockdale County
Dalton / Ridgeland
Darlington / Rockmart
Dawson County / Oglethorpe Co.
Douglas County / Alexander
Dublin / Dodge County
Dunwoody / Druid Hills
Early County / Thomasville
East Hall / Gilmer
East Paulding / Lithia Springs
ECI / Sav. Country Day
Effingham County / Brunswick
ELCA / Mt. Pisgah Christ.
Etowah / McEachern
Evans / Wayne County
Fellowship Christ. / Whitefield Acad.
Fitzgerald / Brooks County
Flowery Branch / Pickens
Forsyth Central / North Forsyth
Franklin County / Monroe Area
Glynn Academy / Richmond Acad.
Gordon Lee / Trion
Grady / Blessed Trinity
Grayson / Berkmar
Greene County / Banks County
Greenville / Central-Talbotton
Griffin / Upson-Lee
Habersham Cent. / Eastside
Hancock Central / Warren County
Harlem / Cross Creek
Hart County / Winder-Barrow
Hawkinsville / Telfair County
Heard County / Lamar County
Hephzibah / Richmond Hill
Jackson / Central-Macon
Jefferson County / Westside-Augusta
Johnson County / Irwin County
Kendrick / Harris County
LaGrange / Troup
Laney / Josey
Landmark Christ. / Our Lady of Mercy
Lanier County / Miller County
Lassiter / Kell
Liberty County / South Effingham
Lincoln County / Ga. Military Coll.
Lovejoy / Jones County
Lowndes / Warner Robins
Manchester / Rutland
Marist / St. Pius
Mays / Lakeside-DeKalb
McNair / Clarkston
Monroe / Dougherty
Morrow / Mundy’s Mill
Newnan / East Coweta
North Cobb / Marietta
Northeast-Macon / Mary Persons
North Gwinnett / Norcross
North Hall / Chestatee
Northside-W.R. / Mt. Zion-Jones.
Ola / Southwest-Macon
Peach County / Henry County
Peachtree Ridge / Duluth
Pepperell / Temple
Perry / Spalding
Pickens / Johnson-Gaines.
Pierce County / Long County
Portal / Jenkins County
Rabun County / Morgan County
Redan / Luella
Ringgold / Gordon Central
Rome / N.W. Whitfield
Roswell / Centennial
Salem / Madison County
Savannah Christ. / Jeff Davis
Schley County / Chattahoochee Co.
Screven County / S.E. Bulloch
Sequoyah / Pebblebrook
Southwest DeKalb / Miller Grove
Shaw / Northside-Col.
Social Circle / Prince Av. Christ.
South Cobb / Kennesaw Mtn.
South Paulding / Hillgrove
Sprayberry / Pope
Starr’s Mill / Fayette County
Statesboro / Ware County
Stephens County / Elbert County
Stockbridge / Jonesboro
Tattnall County / Vidalia
Thomas Co. Cent. / Bainbridge
Thomson / Washington Co.
Tift County / Colquitt County
Toombs County / East Laurens
Towers / Southside
Tucker / Cedar Grove
Turner County / Wheeler County
Union Grove / Newton
Walton / Wheeler
Washington / Stone Mountain
Wash.-Wilkes / Fannin County
Wesleyan / Walker
Westlake / Banneker
West Laurens / Eagle’s Landing
Westminster / Riverwood
Westside-Macon / Riverdale
Whitewater / Northgate
Wilcox County / Treutlen
Wilkinson County / Twiggs County
Windsor Forest / Savannah
Worth County / Westover
SATURDAY
Winner / Loser
Burke County / Benedictine
Chamblee / North Atlanta
GAC / Holy Innocents’
Houston County / Coffee
M.L. King / Lithonia
Stephenson / Douglass
Permalink | Comments (28) | Categories: 2006, Darryl Maxie
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By charlie #64
November 9, 2006 12:58 PM | Link to this
yea it is about we get picked for somethin. when we drag lee county friday we win the 2nd seed and host a playoff game. look for 3 uspsets in a row now that we are a healthy team.
By Hornet Mom's 2
November 9, 2006 1:47 PM | Link to this
What no prediction for the Hiram/Paulding Co rival game? I know we had an upset last week with Newnan but come on! GO HORNETS!!!
By Drago
November 9, 2006 2:39 PM | Link to this
Hiram was upset?
By Homet
November 9, 2006 4:48 PM | Link to this
No Hiram prediction…TYPICAL for the AJC…NO respect for anything PAULDING!!!…They don’t even have the 8-1 East Paulding Raiders ranked in the top 10 and they THUMPED the # 5 team in the state Sequoyah last week!!!…GO RAIDERS!!!
By Parkview Fan
November 9, 2006 7:00 PM | Link to this
Parkview is going to beat Brookwood on Brookwood Linebacker (Rennie Curran’s) 18th Birthday!!!
By Bobby F.
November 10, 2006 12:59 AM | Link to this
hey, I’ll give you a Hiram prediction:
Hiram 148 Paulding County 13
By Marcus
November 10, 2006 1:42 AM | Link to this
Mr. Maxie….Thanks for Picking Marist over Pius, however, Pius “ain’t” gonna lose!
By tj
November 10, 2006 8:30 AM | Link to this
Wow you actually picked Tift County.
By azcat225
November 10, 2006 8:44 AM | Link to this
Amazing how quickly you jump on and off the bandwagon. Wheeler over Walton in a hard-fought rivalry game, the kind of game that makes high school and college sports infinitely superior to the lame world of professional sports.
By Marietta Dawg
November 10, 2006 9:24 AM | Link to this
Greats calls with East Paulding and Wheeler. I agree that the AJC gives no respect to Paulding county football. I was suprised that EPHS was not ranked. Go Raiders & Wildcats!
By FootballTruth
November 10, 2006 9:30 AM | Link to this
Maxie - good job on that Mays over Marist pick last week - no, seriously - great pick. A jinx? Please, prior to that game Marist had been under-rated, with reason, but nonetheless under-rated. Regardless of the outcome tonights game should be a great one. See ya at the Fish-Bowl !!!
By Swatguy
November 10, 2006 10:26 AM | Link to this
I am utterly speechless. You are a mean man. Regardless, Southwest Atlanta
By Swatguy
November 10, 2006 10:29 AM | Link to this
Maxie, I don’t believe in jinx but if I see you in the street I will look up for a falling piano.
By jeff
November 10, 2006 12:04 PM | Link to this
Team to beat next year in AAAAA will be Woodstock
By leelee
November 10, 2006 12:48 PM | Link to this
Stephenson High Rocks!!!
By Something's Phishy
November 10, 2006 12:53 PM | Link to this
Avondale is predicted to WIN??!! Cross Keys must be SUPER, SUPER sorry because the DeKalb Senior Citizens recreation team could beat Avondale!!!
And Poor Lithonia! Earlier in the season the princpal was proudly proclaiming, “0- 10 — never again!!” Well, to their credit, they will likely finish 1-10. Wahoo! The Lithonia band — “The Business” — has it going on, though!
By Brookwood Dad
November 10, 2006 1:11 PM | Link to this
Rennie Curran’s tackles will speak for themselves, as will the actions of the rest of a very talented and focused Brookwood team. Here’s hoping Rennie gets 18 tackles for each of his years. Go Brookwood!
By Adam
November 10, 2006 2:10 PM | Link to this
Why is Norcross/N. Gwinnett not really discussed? Let me guess, not your demographics.
By jeff
November 10, 2006 2:51 PM | Link to this
why don’t they have a decent high school football team in smyrna..because then the folks in marietta would want one
By jeff
November 10, 2006 2:59 PM | Link to this
why do they have artificial turf at Milton High School. So the cheerleaders don’t graze at halftime
By WheelerDad
November 10, 2006 3:05 PM | Link to this
Maxie good call on three keys to watch for on Walton-Wheeler tonight - Wheeler defense should shut down the Walton offense.
By EP Raiders 07
November 10, 2006 4:13 PM | Link to this
What? No comments from Sequoyah about how East Paulding doesn’t deserve to be on the same field as them. I wonder why? Anyways thanks for actually having some faith in us last week Maxie! GO RAIDERS!!!
East Paulding 77 Lithia Springs 0 -that’s if we let up!
By bronco 4 life
November 10, 2006 4:22 PM | Link to this
Parkview lost to the J.V. Squad in a scrimmage and your trying to tell me that there gonna beat brookwood!!! Nice try Parkview fan but maybe next year!!!!
By Jollymon
November 11, 2006 12:29 AM | Link to this
You missed the Ware v Statesboro game. Ware put the hammer down on Statesboro 20-0. GO!! GATORS!!!!!!
By azcat225
November 11, 2006 9:53 AM | Link to this
As I said yesterday, Wheeler over Walton in a hard-fought rivalry game. Ten years of frustration and mediocrity have been ended by a new head coach, new staff, and by a new attitude. GO CATS!!!!
By Alex
November 11, 2006 12:26 PM | Link to this
Can Norcross be ranked number one now. Or are you going to continue your hatred for this school?
By WILL SMITH
November 13, 2006 11:58 AM | Link to this
HEY MAXIE WE GRIFFIN BEARS HOST BAINBRIDGE NOT LEE COUNTY.NORTHSIDE,WR GOT THE #1 SEED
By Blake Giles
November 13, 2006 4:24 PM | Link to this
Query: High school playoff coverage, NE Georgia.
Do you need someone to file any stories from Friday’s playoff games? I would prefer to stay in NE Ga. if you do.