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Wednesday, August 15, 2007
No ESPN for Georgia high school football; Druid Hills update
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clearly, ESPN doesn’t realize how good high school football is down here. ESPN’s family of networks is slated to cover games in the vaunted states of New Mexico and Missouri this season, but not a single game in Georgia.
Peachtree Ridge at Norcross sure seems like it would be a good one to cover. Here’s ESPN’s current schedule:
Noon, Aug 25 — Booker T. Washington (Miami) at Summerville (S.C.) Noon, ESPN
4 p.m., Aug. 25 —First Coast (Jacksonville) at Berkeley (Moncks Corner, S.C.) ESPNU
8 p.m., Sept. 7 —Wichita East at Dodge City (Kan.), ESPNU
8 p.m., Sept. 14 — Yough (Herminie, Pa.) at Jeannette (Pa.), ESPNU
7 p.m., Sept. 15 — Northwestern (Miami) at Southlake (Texas) Carroll, ESPNU
11 p.m., Sept. 20 — Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) at Birmingham (Van Nuys, Calif.) ESPN2
8 p.m., Sept. 21 — McDonogh #35 (New Orleans) at St. Augustine (New Orleans) ESPNU
8 p.m., Sept. 28 — North Bergen (N.J.) at Saint Peter’s Prep (Jersey City) ESPNU
9 p.m., Oct. 4— Daphne (Ala.) at Foley (Ala.), ESPN2
8 p.m., Oct. 5 — Parkway North (St. Louis) at Parkway West (Ballwin, Mo.), ESPNU
TBD, Oct. 12 — Cherry Creek (Englewood, Colo.) at Grandview (Aurora, Colo.), ESPNU
7 p.m., Oct. 18 — Cy-Fair (Houston) at Cypress Falls (Houston), ESPN2
10 p.m., Oct. 19 — Clovis (N.M.) at Artesia (N.M.), ESPNU
Times a-changin’ at Druid Hills?
Druid Hills second-year coach Kip Hall believes he has all the ingredients of a potent ground attack.
Senior fullback Leon Williams (6-1, 225) rushed for approximately 1,500 yards as a sophomore, but saw his numbers dwindle last year as the offensive line struggled.
Sophomore tailback Desmond Towns (5-8, 190) is a speedy scat back that possesses good vision. Towns’ shiftiness should be a nice compliment to the power of Williams.
Hall says the addition of Leroy Williams, a 6-8, 250-pound junior, should help solidify the offensive line this year. Williams is a first-year player, who had concentrated on basketball in the past.
Freshman Joseph Ray (5-11, 200) is making a serious bid to start on the O-line as well.
Hall is also excited about his wide receivers, led by Byron Dickerson (6-3, 185), John Foster (6-3, 185) and the speedy Taluwtt Lee (5-11, 160).
Junior QB Jay Cromwell saw limited time last season, but played well down the stretch.
Defensively, the Red Devils have switched from a 4-3 look to a more versatile 3-5-3 set. Hall will get a good look at how his defense has progressed, when the Red Devils scrimmage AAAAA’s Central Gwinnett next week.
I don’t recommend jumping on the Druid Hills bandwagon just yet. The Red Devils haven’t experienced a winning season since 1993 and have won only one game in each of the past two seasons.
Turnarounds always make the best stories, though, so hopefully Hall can get things headed in the right direction.
Off to Norcross practice to check on the QB situation … will post findings tomorrow as well as hopefully something on South Forsyth.
Keep cool … DP
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