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Thursday, November 16, 2006
Logic? These upsets defy all that
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Upsets are the hardest games to pick. It just doesn’t feel right when you go against the team that you know should win the game, that if form holds will win the game, the better team.
But they are just as inevitable in the Georgia High School Association postseason as they are in the NCAA Tournament.
There are 40 fourth-seeded teams in the playoffs. Last year, nine upset region champions in the first round.
That was an aberration — the usual number is three. There were three in 2004, including a 4-6 Westover beating 9-1 Cairo, and three each in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
With the crazy way that Class AAAAA has unfolded, the number of first-round upsets — if in such a topsy-turvy year they can even be termed such a thing — will be elevated, though the largest class should contribute only one.
I see five, spanning four classes, and will even be foolish enough to specify them:
1. Houston County, winning at Newnan: Fourth seeds from Region 1-AAAAA are seldom typical fourth-seed caliber. The Bears are no exception. After emerging from a bruising region dogfight that went down to the final weekend, they can hammer you with Eric O’Neal. They’re part of the reason why a certain two-time defending champion isn’t around for the proceedings.
2. Clarke Central, winning at Pebblebrook: The Gladiators aren’t as good as Pebblebrook, which is part of the requirement for an upset. I didn’t think they would be as good as Cedar Shoals the second time around, but even an archrival, bent on revenge and playing at home, didn’t stop the Glads from sweeping the Jaguars. So they are as good a candidate as any to defy the odds and stick around for at least the second round.
3. Brantley County, winning at Jefferson County: Before explaining this one, allow me to go off on a tangent. Cook went into Dublin last year as a second seed in a season where the Fighting Irish were looking nigh-invincible. They had allowed fewer points (10) than games played (11). And then the Hornets stung them for a 20-14 victory. Cook revisits the scene of the crime, with the evidence fresh in the Irish’s minds. The chances of lightning striking even more forcefully — from the fourth seed position instead of the second — have to be considered even more remote. That’s the only reason I don’t venture out on that twig and call for a second upset. As for the other top seeds in Class AA who aren’t Jefferson County — Charlton County, Buford, Washington-Wilkes, Fitzgerald, Calhoun and Heard County — they all look less likely to be knocked off so early. I’m tempted to say it can’t happen, but why so blantantly fly in the face of my original premise? Jefferson County losing is sufficiently shocking.
4. Cass, winning at North Hall: Ask Carrollton and Cartersville — two of the best teams in Class AAA — what they think of the Colonels. Cass gave each as much as they could handle before falling short. The Caskos make Cass go — that’s son Ricky and coach Rick. The Colonels come from a traditionally strong region — it wasn’t that long ago that LaGrange was part of that equation.
5. Southwest DeKalb, winning at Rome: Buck Godfrey is hardly a stranger to the playoffs. The Panthers have missed the postseason only once in his 24 years at the school, and you don’t last that long without weathering a few storms and squirreling away a few tricks up your sleeve. Many of the players on Southwest DeKalb’s roster were around the last time they went in as a fourth seed and lasted longer than the brackets suggested they should. That was last year, when the Panthers shut down an unbeaten Tucker.
Only Class A, where the disparities between haves and have nots are magnified, is spared a first-round major upset. The picks look crazy. But that’s the point: Upsets always do.
Winner / Loser
Class AAAAA
Brookwood / South Cobb
Camden County / Redan
Campbell / Central Gwinnett
Coffee / Hiram
Collins Hill / Roswell
Grayson / North Cobb
Houston County / Newnan
M.L. King / Bradwell Institute
Norcross / Walton
North Gwinnett / Chattahoochee
Parkview / Etowah
Peachtree Ridge / Wheeler
Stephenson / Groves
Tift County / East Coweta
Warner Robins / Mundy’s Mill
Windsor Forest / Union Grove
Class AAAA
Baldwin / Americus-Sumter
Brunswick / Whitewater
Clarke Central / Pebblebrook
Creekside / Glynn Academy
Dacula / Sequoyah
East Paulding / Madison County
Griffin / Bainbridge
Habersham Cent. / Cherokee
Marist / Ridgeland
Mays / N.W. Whitfield
Northside-W.R. / Lee County
Southwest DeKalb / Rome
Statesboro / Westlake
St. Pius / Dalton
Thomas Co. Cent. / Westside-Macon
Ware County / Starr’s Mill
Class AAA
Cairo / Perry
Carrollton / Gainesville
Cartersville / Chestatee
Cass / North Hall
Flowery Branch / Sandy Creek
Grady / Apalachee
Hart County / Dunwoody
Jackson / Worth County
LaGrange / Liberty County
McNair / Franklin County
Monroe / Northeast-Macon
Peach County/ Crisp County
Shaw / South Effingham
Stephens County / Carver-Atlanta
Thomson / Carver-Columbus
Washington Co. / Troup
Class AA
Buford / Rockmart
Calhoun / Wesleyan
Charlton County / Screven County
Dublin / Cook
Early County / Toombs County
Fitzgerald / Bleckley County
GAC / Chattooga
Greene County / Macon County
Heard County / Morgan County
Jefferson County / Brantley County
Laney / McIntosh Co. Acad.
Lovett / Pepperell
Manchester / Fannin County
Swainsboro / Sav. Christian
Dodge County / Thomasville
Wash.-Wilkes / Callaway
Class A
Athens Academy / Fellowship Christ.
Bremen / Wilkinson County
Brookstone / Atkinson County
Clinch County / Taylor County
Commerce / Whitefield Acad.
ECI / Hawkinsville
ELCA / Jefferson
Gordon Lee / Hancock Central
Johnson County / Portal
Landmark Christ. / Social Circle
Lincoln County / Trion
Pacelli Catholic / Terrell County
Sav. Country Day / Wilcox County
Seminole County / Chattahoochee Co.
Turner County / Bryan County
Warren County / Bowdon
Permalink | Comments (46) | Categories: 2006, Darryl Maxie
No complaints from Boddie, but…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Justin Boddie’s season and career are over - North Atlanta did not make the playoffs - but the Warriors quarterback left a mark as a star player with too little acknowledgment.
While North Atlanta was going 5-5, Boddie was throwing 23 touchdown passes and running for nine. He presented a double threat when he dropped back, virtues of many of the top quarterbacks in the state.
Not much recognition came his way, but he still attracted the eyes of a dozen colleges who have offered scholarships.
In December and January, Boddie will make his five visits and make a decision. He’ll travel to Central Florida, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Tulane and Indiana.
He’ll choose among them, although Middle Tennessee, Army, Navy and the Air Force also want him.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Boddie is excited about his future, but he does wonder what might have been had he received the exposure of, say, Eric Berry of Creekside.
“Every week I would do something big, but no one would notice,” he said. “What I do just didn’t get out.”
A starter since the 10th grade, Boddie was “explosive” as a quarterback with an arm to make all the throws and legs to elude the rush. He actually enjoys running more than passing, he said.
Even with that, Boddie likely will play defensive back in college, a testament to his athleticism. He played sparingly on defense this year and had two interceptions and a number of bone-jarring hits.
“I like the contact on defense,” he said. “I like to hit.”
He tries not to struggle playing the “what if” game.
“It’s not frustrating, but I do feel if I had gotten more publicity during the season I would have gotten more offers from bigger programs,” he said.
He made clear that was not a complaint.
“No, I’m not complaining,” he said, “because I’m grateful for the schools that want me. I had a great career and it didn’t go completely unnoticed. High school football was fun. Now I’m going on.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Curtis Bunn
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