Prep Zone

By michael

September 17, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

man im just saying here comes winder barrow starting 3-0 and gaining on the other teams in 8-AAAA so my question is can winder barrow beat habersham central and sneak into the playoffs and the only reason i ask is because i watched winder this weekend and there defense is second to none no joke todd this team can play but can we shut down habersham and mr.king??

By Anthony Sessions

September 17, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this

Why do you have Northside #11? I really don’t think any of the 5A teams that are ranked in the Top 10, want to see Northside. Plus, Northside has the longest active winning streak in the State.

By black24us

September 17, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this

Why did you guys move Balwin up to number 5 when they sisn’t even beat laney down here in augusta ga.Laney was beating baldwin when the game was called and you guys don’t even have laney ranked in the top ten in 2a you guys are bias!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By black24us

September 17, 2007 2:34 PM | Link to this

Why did you guys move Balwin up to number 5 when they sisn’t even beat laney down here in augusta ga.Laney was beating baldwin when the game was called and you guys don’t even have laney ranked in the top ten in 2a you guys are bias!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By black24us

September 17, 2007 2:35 PM | Link to this

Why did you guys move Balwin up to number 5 when they didn’t even beat laney down here in augusta ga.Laney was beating baldwin when the game was called and you guys don’t even have laney ranked in the top ten in 2a you guys are bias!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!baldwin is in 4a!!

By breed

September 17, 2007 2:43 PM | Link to this

Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another North-South thing!!!!!!!!!!!!! True STUDENT ATHLETES who have experienced the south know what it’s all about!!! A couple of good years does not make you a “Power House” GEEEEZ!!! By the way, VIKING TILL I DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Michael T. Kilowatt

September 17, 2007 2:50 PM | Link to this

ECI’s mighty overhyped team lost to a #4 seed last year at home in the first round. Why should Clinch drop when every team in single A would have lost to AAAAA Coffee and AA defending back-to-back state champ Charlton? Clinch has lost 5 class A games in 5 years! They lose to Chalton every year, but somehow, by the Grace of God, they are either playing in the dome and/or the state championship. What has Pacelli ever done except be overhyped?

By Yo

September 17, 2007 2:53 PM | Link to this

“Are metro teams going to win the big class 75-80 percent of the time from here on out?” NO! Last I checked metro has won one title in the last 4 years. It happened to be last year. I do think what you say about Valdosta may be correct in that their school census has possibly kept them from ever owning a state title in the biggest classification of AAAAA. Lowndes unless the school should split will pretty much always be in the mix as they are big enough census wise to compete. The other counties of 1AAAAA are also slowly growing and will be competitive. By the end of the year I am quite confidant that Lowndes, Tift, and Coffee will have a say in who the state champion turns out to be. Reminder: Do not be fooled by Lowndes loss the first game of the year to Harrison. Lowndes first game they put the ball on the ground 9 times (plus 2 int). Lowndes second game on the ground (if I remember right) 4 times. This last game I believe 3 times. They are coming around and once they solve this problem they’ll be ready for anybody. This week against Central Gwinnett will begin to tell us a lot. Also it may not be long if Houston County keeps growing before 1AAAAA adds Northside Warner Robins to the mix. All I could say then of 1AAAAA would be WOW!

By devil lover

September 17, 2007 3:05 PM | Link to this

Hey Todd.

What was the point difference between Roswell and Norcross for no.1?

Don’t forget that while roswell lost to wheeler last yr and tied peachtree ridge norcross beat peachtree ridge and only lost to warner robbins in the third round of the state tournament after being undefeated in the regular season . furthermore, norcross has scored more pts that roswell and just beat the no. 8 grayson 24-3.

What must norcross do to be no. 1?

By trojan 93

September 17, 2007 3:39 PM | Link to this

When there is a team from 1AAAAA that is ranked I don’t think they are overhyped. We play tough football every week in the region and the records really don’t matter. Everyone in the region gets up for each other.Especially when you are the team to beat. Coffee and Tift not only have to play, they also have the remainder of the region schedule to play as well. Coffee is for real and I assume Tift is also. Let’s see what happens,it will be some old fashioned football going on in South Georgia this fall. South and Middle GA. football is where it is and that’s the bottom line.Todd, can we please get more coverage on the teams from South and Middle GA. at least in the state report in the AJC ?

By Dostahawk

September 17, 2007 3:42 PM | Link to this

I wouldnt jump to any firm conclusions yet regarding South Georgia football. You certainly ask some valid questions. Lets wait until the playoffs roll around…then we can do some “analyzing”.

PS: Mr. Todd, keep up the good writing/coverage of high school football. I enjoy your “work”.

By Eaglefan

September 17, 2007 4:19 PM | Link to this

Todd,i think it’s a little early to count teams out already.Warner Robins and Houston county are young teams with that will eventually come around.

By Sonny Lofton

September 17, 2007 4:30 PM | Link to this

There has been a change coming in Georgia High School football for a long time. Being a sportswriter and broadcaster for almost 40 years in Albany the shift appears heading north. As much as I love south Georgia schools, an objective fan would have to look at the trend around the metro Atlanta area. Gwinnett, Cobb,North Fulton, etc. Those programs are far exceeding the rate of improvement down here. The point about Brookwood having 3400 students and Valdosta having 1900 students is the obvious story. Only Lowndes (2600) has enrollment comparable with Gwinnett schools. My God! Look at those Gwinnett schools…i.e. enrollment, facilities,and fan support! I hate to say it but, South Georgia’s “Days of Glory” may be getting a little toward the sundown part of the day, while Atlanta metro schools are basking in the sunrise. There are still great teams down here, but they are spread all over south Georgia in all classifications. In AAAAA and AAAA classes there is little doubt that North Georgia is the new king and south Georgia is the former king. Sad, but true.

By bob jones

September 17, 2007 4:31 PM | Link to this

i wil be glad when you people up there learn to play football remember the big boys from brookwood and 49 to 7 lowndes.last year south ga was just rebuilding. don’t run and hide when ya’ll get beat for state.

By Todd Holcomb

September 17, 2007 4:59 PM | Link to this

man im just saying here comes winder barrow starting 3-0 and gaining on the other teams in 8-AAAA so my question is can winder barrow beat habersham central and sneak into the playoffs

Great start for Winder-Barrow, and I didn’t see that coming, but as for the playoffs and beating Habersham Central? No and no.

Why do you have Northside #11? I really don’t think any of the 5A teams that are ranked in the Top 10, want to see Northside. Plus, Northside has the longest active winning streak in the State.

Northside is No. 1 in AAAA. I don’t have an all-class poll. I said three weeks ago that I thought Roswell was better, but I won’t to save that argument for another day. More games need to be played first.

*Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another North-South thing!!!!!!!!!!!!! True STUDENT ATHLETES who have experienced the south know what it’s all about!!! A couple of good years does not make you a “Power House” GEEEEZ!!! By the way, VIKING TILL I DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!8

The issue isn’t the quality of teams in South Georgia. South and middle Georgia still dominate the lower classes, from Northside to Peach County to Charlton to Lincoln. But in the highest class, how can South Georgia continue to keep up with 80 percent of the largest schools are in metro Atlanta?

What was the point difference between Roswell and Norcross for no.1?

The AJC’s rankings isn’t a poll, but just me ranking the teams after studying the results and getting input from others on our staff. Norcross has been a little more impressive in the three games, but that’s not enough in my opinion to unseat the team that I felt was No. 1 at the start of the season. And beating Brookwood 10-7 isn’t a terrible result. If Roswell struggles to win in its mediocre region, then I would consider promoting Norcross.

Todd, can we please get more coverage on the teams from South and Middle GA. at least in the state report in the AJC?

Beginning Wednesday online, we’re going to start having a state report each week.

In AAAAA and AAAA classes there is little doubt that North Georgia is the new king and south Georgia is the former king. Sad, but true.

Probably just AAAAA because the only metro Atlanta school to win in the second-highest class has been Marist since 1991, if not mistaken.

South and Middle Georgia will continue to win the most state titles overall, but just not in the highest class. The prestige of being the best among the biggest may be a thing of the past in South Georgia mainly because the schools in Atlanta are just bigger. And they’re also playing better football than they did 20 years ago.

By mikefresh

September 17, 2007 5:58 PM | Link to this

todd dont mean to bring up 8-AAAA but what do you think about cedar shoals this year we did beat loganville pretty soundly and we took out clarke central so what are cedar shoals chances this year?? and one more question i’ve been hearing alot about winder barrow and them being a very good team is ther a chance they beat out clarke central and get in the playoffs?

By Puddin

September 17, 2007 6:03 PM | Link to this

I’m the one who has Coffee ranked No. 3 and Tift County No. 4, but I’m still looking for a sign. Coffee and Tift haven’t played a team that could validate that they’re a threat to win state. How in the world is Tift ranked over Berkmar? Tift barely beat Brooks, a 2A school and has 2 4A schools on their schedule. Gimme a break. I’m a NG BULLDOG. But, the polls need to reflect better football! GO DAWGS

By black24us

September 17, 2007 6:34 PM | Link to this

WHEN CAN LANEY GET SOME RESPECT WE GO DEEP IN THE PLAYOFFS EVERY YEAR WHAT IS IT WITH YOU GUYS UP THERE IN ATLANTA!!!

By mikefresh

September 17, 2007 6:40 PM | Link to this

HEY TODD ANY THOUGHTS ON CEDAR SHOALS THIS YEAR SO FAR WERE 3-0 AND BEAT A GOOD LOGANVILLE TEAM LAST WEEK? AND ALSO I’VE BEEN HEARING ALOT ABOUT WINDER BARROW THISS YEAR SINCE IM FROM ATHENS THERE ALWAYS IN THE ATHENS BANNER HERALD SO JUST WONDERING IF THERE FOR REAL THIS YEAR I SAW THEM ONCE AND THEY PUT O A DEFFENESVIE SHOW SO ARE THEY A NUMBER 4 SEED IN THE PLAYOFFS?

By A little reason

September 17, 2007 6:41 PM | Link to this

South Georgia teams dominated in high school football before the population of metro Atlanta exploded, and the wealth of that population skyrocketed along with it.

My South Georgia home county has lost population in the nearly 30 years since I graduated from high school. Poverty and dropout rates are higher than the powerhouse suburban Atlanta schools. Those programs have advantages in student population, facilities and life that give them an edge on the field. That’s the hard reality of it today.

By trojan 93

September 17, 2007 7:06 PM | Link to this

Todd will you be present at the Coffee/Lowndes game next weekend? Should be a good one…

By trojansouth

September 17, 2007 7:22 PM | Link to this

I think 1aaaaa is down this year but it don’t mean u want see one in the dome this year. Every team in 1aaaaa will lose at lease 1 game or 2. U might still see one or 2 in the dome Only time will tell.

By Pius Fan

September 17, 2007 7:33 PM | Link to this

Hey, Pius vs. Tucker War Friday who you have and why, Pius Fan

By David P.

September 17, 2007 7:49 PM | Link to this

Todd … If you could have any coach in the state coach your team in one game, who would you take?

By grady

September 17, 2007 8:07 PM | Link to this

Just too early! Quality teams get better as season prgresses, pretenders get worse. The top 10 will look very dirrerent in about 3 weeks.

By ryan

September 17, 2007 8:30 PM | Link to this

this is ludicrous. NO the south is not going down they are facing stiffer competition! For God’s sake Valdosta played a team from UTAH! and came out on top. You say that Valdosta and Lowndes are not doing well? they have each lost ONE game. Cook played Early county last friday and lost. So are they having a down year too? NO they are still in the top 10. You know why? Because the competition is much stiffer now in the South. However, since Valdosta and Lowndes are in 5a just like the metro ATL teams they are for some reason disrespected. The fact is ANYTHING can happen on a friday night.

peace

By X FACTOR

September 17, 2007 8:36 PM | Link to this

Todd, the people from south and middle ga. wants more coverage on their games. Roswell, the #1 team in 5A hasn’t had a write-up in the AJC the past two games.I guess they have to play a Gwinnett team or get beat to get any coverage????

By Michael

September 17, 2007 9:24 PM | Link to this

Todd:

I agree with you that North Georgia Teams are dominate over South Georgia teams this year overall in AAAAA. However, I do not agree that it will be like that from here on in AAAAA. I think that North Georgia teams have been the benefit of better (bigger, stronger and great football sense which feeds into execution)atheletes in recent times and graduation will change that then the shift will be back to South Georgia in AAAAA.

By Michael

September 17, 2007 9:26 PM | Link to this

Todd:

I agree with you that North Georgia Teams are dominate over South Georgia teams this year overall in AAAAA. However, I do not agree that it will be like that from here on in AAAAA. I think that North Georgia teams have been the benefit of better (bigger, stronger and great football sense which feeds into execution)atheletes in recent times and graduation will change that then the shift will be back to South Georgia in AAAAA.

By Yo

September 17, 2007 9:46 PM | Link to this

I think the one thing all are overlooking is the fact that as the Metro schools grow they also split into new schools. I believe that helps keep the playing field a little bit even. No doubt the North has overall caught up given the amount of schools that are in the biggest classification. Yet, I still don’t see the North taking 3 out of 4 in AAAAA on a regular basis any time soon.

By Ed NSHS Fan

September 17, 2007 10:45 PM | Link to this

I got cut off: What I was about to say was in south/middle Georgia size frightens us. When our student body gets to around 1,800, the demand to build a new high school starts. I am suprise Lowndes and Camdem Cty student population exceed 2,000. Therefore, metro Atlanta being smart, build power houses through building schools with a student body between in the 3,000-3,500 range.

By jag count

September 17, 2007 10:48 PM | Link to this

What about Stephenson new offense same super defense i think we will go a long way. what about it Todd

By tracman

September 17, 2007 11:49 PM | Link to this

Metro schools are playing much better football than in years past. Region 1-AAAAA is certainly struggling against the Metro schools this year. For Valdosta, the winningest program in the nation, to get blown out by Brookwood or anyone else speaks volumes. Warner Robins losing to Central Gwinnett in OT, now 0-3, unbelievable.

Thank goodness for Northside-Warner Robins. Just because they are in AAAA, not AAAAA, doesn’t mean they aren’t as good as Roswell. I agree, hold that Roswell-Northside argument for later Todd. Both teams are ranked highly in the national polls as well, with Northside seen as the better team by most of the national rankings. It would be a great game, too bad they won’t be playing each other. I’d love to see that matchup.

By STUNTDAWG

September 18, 2007 1:54 AM | Link to this

I GUARANTEE NO TEAM IN THE STATE CAN BEAT THE MIGTHY WAR EAGLES FROM NORTHSIDE -WARNER ROBINS

By Joseph

September 18, 2007 5:16 AM | Link to this

Well this is an interesting topic. And my response will probably be long, so apologies. For starters as a Lowndes Viking for life i have to say that south Georgia football isn’t on the way out. The tradition, history and pride within these programs will not allow it. Valdosta hiring an old Lowndes coach who built an amazing program and Washington County, enough said. The enrollment issue is one thing. Of course a school of 3000 will have a deeper pool of talent to pull from than a school of 1900, thats just simple math. But Valdosta High has always been a smaller school in the largest classifications(AAAA and AAAAA). And yet they still dominated. The thing that has hurt Valdosta was the forming of a second middle school to feed into the high school. Until then one middle into one high school produced a team of boys that had played together since 6th grade. Thats experience that no one can touch. Gwinnett schools have a similar thing with the Parks and Rec department leagues and teams. When boys grow up playing together for 6 years you will have Parkviews and Brookwoods turning into Valdostas and Thomas County Centrals. But this has also only happened within the past 10 or so years. And the Metro programs have all looked to south Georgia teams as a model for how to do things right. South Georgia is strong and will be strong, Lowndes, Camden Co., Coffee Co., Tift Co and maybe even Valdosta(never count out the Wildcats) will be in the thick of things come playoffs. Go Vikes!

By thomas

September 18, 2007 6:21 AM | Link to this

how about after usual weekly rating have a top 15 all class one i’m sure there will be several AAAA in it

By bluelion

September 18, 2007 8:02 AM | Link to this

Class 4A keep your eyes on WESTLAKE. THE PAW.

By JOhn

September 18, 2007 8:06 AM | Link to this

It is simple. The old 1AAA at one time was huge Valdosta once the largest school in the state, Colquitt, Thomasville, All Albany Schools, Tift, Crisp, Bainbridge, Lowndes,

Population loss and demographics has made a huge difference. When you have as many large schools as you have in a 25 mile radius in N. Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Cherokee, Cobb, The same has happened to the A, AA, and present AAA teams. Look at AAA and AAAA now and see how many were once in a larger division.

All Regions 1-4 use to be middle ga and south. Not so today. HOw many newly established HS’s south of Henry Co., Fayette, and Coweta have been opened in the last 25 years.

By bholder

September 18, 2007 8:23 AM | Link to this

You can’t ride teams out in South Georgia just yet. Teams go though up and down years. You will not be a powerhouse every year unless you recruit like these private schools in metro Atlanta (like Buford). By the way Dublin is not in your top 10 for AA when coaches poll have them 8. Many teams are rebuilding and Rome wasn’t build in a week.

By dwalker07

September 18, 2007 8:44 AM | Link to this

for black24us the game was in the 2nd quarter and it was 8-7 that can’t possibly justify ranking laney! Baldwin was already ranked and judging by past performances baldwin would have come back a whooped laney like ummmm last year!!!!! Remember that????? LOL

By tj

September 18, 2007 9:01 AM | Link to this

All I have to say is we will see in the play-off’s Go Big Blue. By the way or Offence has improved since last year so I don’t think Tift County or 1-AAAAA futures is looking bleak. It is true that there are a lot of teams that lost a lot of seniors and are struggling but almost every great team has an off year, don’t believe me ask your beloved Parkview about last year, I’m sure the AJC has a crew there for every practice. How many game tapes have you watched on Tift and Coffee?

By southernpride

September 18, 2007 9:05 AM | Link to this

as bad as i hate it todd, ur right. but only for this year, maybe two years or so but only because region 1-AAAAA is so incredibly young. i’m from coffee county i played from 2000-2003 i know all the players/coaches and i can say that yes they should be top 10, they’ll go anywhere from 10-0 to 8-2. they are stout but very young just like the rest of the region. but i have to give coach odum some high praise, as u know he had to let our best def. player go in the form of C.J. Mizell which would have made us championship material but he had to do it. so i respect him for that but i’ll be honest and say that a south GA team wont win it this year but just wait till next year. but i would like to ask YOU, who wins 1-AAAAA this year? tift or coffee?GO TROJANS!!!

By Jerry

September 18, 2007 9:56 AM | Link to this

Why do you leave the powerful Bruins of NorthWest Whitfield county out of the top ten? Don’t you know they have beaten three formidable opponents by a collective score of 100 to 20???

By DOC

September 18, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this

Are we laying South Ga football to rest after just the first 2 weeks? By the way Chattahoochee,was coached by a former Camden High Coach. Anyway I think that we are too early in the season to put anyone out in the cold. Some of the metro and northern schools have yet to play competitive teams either. Either way the South will be in the mix come the end of the season.

By Bradley

September 18, 2007 1:22 PM | Link to this

Why is it that any time the perennial South and Middle GA powerhouses have bad seasons, the Atlanta journalists start writing about how the Metro-Atlanta schools are going to take over and dominate the state? The same thing is being said this year because Colquitt County and Warner Robins are down and the same thing was said last year because Valdosta was down. I’m sure it couldn’t be parody, could it? I mean those schools couldn’t possible be on a down year, right? All I know is that we all heard the same garbage last season and 5 schools from south and middle GA were playing for the state championship.

By Blue Devil

September 18, 2007 5:23 PM | Link to this

I don’t believe the size of a school really determines how good the football team is. Your beloved metro-Atlanta teams may have their high powered offenses but ever since I was a boy playing football I’ve always heard defense wins championships and not many teams from your area Todd have not shown anyone down here much to talk about on that side of the ball. Yes the metro teams are good and deserve all the respect this newspaper gives them, just don’t count out the south in the fourth week of the season, let the class AAAAA state playoffs decide who is the KING.

By Demetrius Waters

September 18, 2007 5:32 PM | Link to this

I think you people including Lowndes are hoping Valdosta does not bounce back, but let me put my say in it. Valdosta plays a quality schedule and has won two out of the three. There are few teams in the state with the guts to play a schedule similar to theirs. Brookwood just had a good night that night and should not let that win go to there heads. Valdosta’s defensive scheme helped Brookwood more than anything that night, and Valdosta failed to adjust. Valdosta is definitely successfully rebuilding and things are looking great for the future, and i believe the day will come when we stick our middle fingers up at North Georgia. The South is here to stay and will get better and beat many North teams from here on out. So AJC kiss where the sun don’t shine and lets play ball who ever wins on that nigt wins, but that doesn’t make them some supper team.

By CAMDEN BOY

September 18, 2007 7:45 PM | Link to this

ANYONE, AND I MEAN ANYONE WHO ATTENDED THE CHATTAHOCHIE/CAMDEN GAME CAN TESTIFY THAT WE PLAYED AN HONEST FIVE MINUETS OF TRUE FOOTBALL.. WE SCREWED AROUND UNTIL THE LAST FIVE MINUETS OF THE 4TH QUARTER, CAME BACK AND WENT INTO OVERTIME WITH THEM. WE LOST IN OVERTIME BY ONE POINT. TELL ME ONE TEAM IN THE STATE THAT CAN SAY THEY WENT AND PLAYED AN HONEST TO GOD FIVE MINUETS OF FOOTBALL AGAINST A 5A OPPONENT, (ONE THAT WENT TO THE THIRD ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS LAST YEAR MIGHT I ADD) AND LOST BY ONE POINT IN OVERTIME ON A FOURTH AND GOAL PLAY. I ALSO WANT TO NOTE THAT THERE LAST EXTRA POINT WAS TIPPED BY ONE OF OUR OUTSIDE RUSHERS, UNFORTUNATELY IT STILL WENT THROUGH.. MAKE NO MISTAKE, CAMDEN IS HERE TO WIN STATE, ANYTHING LESS WILL BE A DISAPOINTMENT. IM NOT BEING CONCIETED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT WE HAVE A DIFFERENT TEAM THIS YEAR. TODD HOLCOMB, COME ON DOWN TO CAMDEN AND SEE FOR Y0URSELF. TAKE I-95 SOUTH LIKE YOUR GOING TO JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, BUT GET OFF ON EXIT 6, AND I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN.

By trojanboy

September 18, 2007 7:53 PM | Link to this

well i agree the southern part of the states has alot of powerhouses but a bunch of the powerhouses are young i think that region 1-aaaaa will be decided between either coffee or tift but do not i repeat do not count lowndes and valdosta out and the other teams as in houston and warner robins and colquitt never count them out and todd are you going to come watch coffee play and or any 1-aaaaa team for that matter well anyways go trojans

By Clinton Range

September 18, 2007 9:37 PM | Link to this

I think that the metro teams are much improved over the past 20 years and the size of the counties has had a direct impact on them. The main reason is that a player can move to any school probably fairly easy within that county so when you move in top talent to the school of choice then sure you will be very competitive, I would love to look in year books of middle schools to see how many of the players actually came from the feeder school of the school that they are currently playing HS football or basketball for.

The sad thing in the matter is that no one cares how they win just as long as they win, we talk about the use of performance enhancing drugs when this is just as bad. South teams keep your heads up and continue to use players from your county and your feeder system and win fair and square and it will mean something in your life one day. GO BIG BLUE! Proud to be from Tift Co.

By davil

September 18, 2007 11:11 PM | Link to this

Be careful saying AAAAA is the ‘highest’ class because they have more ‘A’s. That only means they have more students. That doesn’t equal execution on the football field. There are many vaiables (injuries, suspensions, ability, coaching) that determines what happens between the endzones.

By Toughest Schedule

September 19, 2007 12:13 AM | Link to this

Year in and year out, Brookwood plays the toughest schedule. All three of this year’s opponents were ranked in the top 10. Good chance there will be two other top 10 opponents before the regular season is over. Check the facts-check their opponent’s ranking-check the play-off teams. To be the best you have to play the best. No brag, just the facts.

By Camden fan

September 19, 2007 6:29 AM | Link to this

Wishful thinking South GA. Football not competive with Metro. Chattahochie has a good team caught us on a bad night. By the way who are the coaches at Chattahochie? That’s right, former Camden Coaches. Camden will suprise a lot of folks this year and you should count the number of underclassmen that are playing. LOOK OUT !!! Maybe we can play one of the Metro schools in The Corky Kell Classic next year. Oh, I forgot we’ve already beaten all the Metro schools that we gonna beat us. Heck find us another Metro school to start next year with in The Dome.See ya in the playoffs!!! By the way good game Chattahochie..

By Toby Cash

September 19, 2007 8:23 AM | Link to this

I checked your list of rankings and saw quiet a few rural schools in the rankings. Not all of Georgia can live in Atlanta or in the area nor can every high school in the state be comprised of 3000 plus students. Many rural schools just do not have the money that the Parkviews and Brookwoods have to spend on athletics.

By tj

September 19, 2007 8:28 AM | Link to this

Puddin, are you still bitter about last year? If you look at our schedule we played a 1-AAAA school that was undefeated and beat them 41-7 with 473 total offence. Case and Point, not to mention when we played brooks it was like playing in a swamp. GO BIG BLUE!!

By Excuses

September 19, 2007 9:12 AM | Link to this

One consistent thing I notice in the north vs south discussions is that when a south Georgia team beats a north Georgia team it’s always because they were better. But when a north Georgia team beats a south Georgia team it was because ‘we had a bad night’, or the ‘field was to wet’, ‘they have more students’, or ‘they just got lucky’. Face it, south Georgia has beat their chests over the years and now they can’t back it up. It’s just like the Big 10 conference telling folks for years they are the best but then lose almost every bowl game. Only folks in south Georgia believe the teams in the south are dominant.

By tj

September 19, 2007 10:28 AM | Link to this

Put Thomas County Central on your schedule and then crow, Puddin, TCC is a Quality football program that happens to be in region 1-AAAA. How many AAAAA teams do we have to choose from down here? What is TCC ranked in AAAA That would be #2 and what is Tift County ranked #4 at least in the AJC so this should really help everybody see exactly were our teams stand. By the way Region 7-AAAAA really looks like an invincible region why doesn’t the AJC talk about them: Collins hill, N. Forsyth winless. S. Forsyth, Mill Creek, Forsyth Central, and Duluth with only 1 win that’s 6 out of 9 teams. Lets talk region by region, not a north south thing.

By 1-AAAAA Fan

September 19, 2007 11:21 AM | Link to this

You people up north have your head so far up your own northern arses that you don’t have a clue of what goes on down south!! All of the media is up north therefore there are going to be more reports and opinions from those northern reporters about those northern schools. I am so sick and tired of you people talking about the south and how bleak our competition is. You add the BIG dollars, the fancy facilities, and i guarantee you the north will never ever win another football title! Keep on talking about how good the northern schools are and how sorry the southern schools are and we’ll just keep on showing up during the playoffs and keep proving you all wrong when the trophies keep coming down south!!!

By breed

September 19, 2007 12:05 PM | Link to this

you cannot guage a classification by the number of A’s!!!! i think a lot of individuals up north are thinking that’s were the measuring stick comes in!!!! sorry to say it but, it’s not done that way in the south!!! it’s decided by an obvious who can whoop who’s @$$!!! another factor is a lot of the population in rural schools cannot afford the process of moving from school to school based on how well they did in the previous season and how much P.T. they think they will get at another school(Brookwood, Parkview, GAC, Buford, Marist) just to name a few. Cmon, this is not building tradition!!! one thing we hold dear in the south is our tradition!!!! TRADITION IS MAKING A PROGRAM WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, NOT WHO YOU RECRUIT!!!! overall, it’s up to people like us, responsible folks from north and south to keep the rivalry healthy and fun for the kids!!! with that being said, *VIKING TILL I DIE!!!

By Todd Holcomb

September 19, 2007 1:08 PM | Link to this

Todd … If you could have any coach in the state coach your team in one game, who would you take?

Maybe Rich McWhorter. If you can win three straight at Buford, you can’t be too shabby. Plus, he’s won with various styles of offense, so no matter what kind of team I give him, he’d know a little something about it.

How in the world is Tift ranked over Berkmar? Tift barely beat Brooks, a 2A school and has 2 4A schools on their schedule. Gimme a break. I’m a NG BULLDOG. But, the polls need to reflect better football! GO DAWGS

Good point, but Tift is the defending 1-AAAAA champ and a returning Final Four team. If you’re 3-0 w/ that on your resume, I’m probably going to rank you over a team that’s not won a playoff game in 43 years. Having said that, I hope Berkmar shakes up the normal order of Gwinnett this season. Change is good.

todd dont mean to bring up 8-AAAA but what do you think about cedar shoals this year we did beat loganville pretty soundly and we took out clarke central so what are cedar shoals chances this year?? and one more question i’ve been hearing alot about winder barrow and them being a very good team is ther a chance they beat out clarke central and get in the playoffs?

I see Cedar Shoals going 10-0. But not sure if the Jags are better than Hab Central and Dacula. Not enough games have been played to get a feel for that. Winder-Barrow is no factor in the playoff race, in my opinion.

WHEN CAN LANEY GET SOME RESPECT WE GO DEEP IN THE PLAYOFFS EVERY YEAR WHAT IS IT WITH YOU GUYS UP THERE IN ATLANTA!!!

I wish the Baldwin-Laney game had played out. That would’ve shed more light on Laney. Laney is certainly on the radar for being ranked in AAA.

Todd will you be present at the Coffee/Lowndes game next weekend? Should be a good one.

I doubt it, but I’m very intrigued by that game. I spoke this week w/ Coffee’s long-time radio announcer. It seems the fans are pretty optimistic that this is the best Coffee team they’ve had in some time. And I also suspect that Lowndes is still one of the best 7-8 teams, but I can’t rank Lowndes due to the loss to Harrison.

Todd, the people from south and middle ga. wants more coverage on their games. Roswell, the #1 team in 5A hasn’t had a write-up in the AJC the past two games.I guess they have to play a Gwinnett team or get beat to get any coverage????

I wrote a story about Roswell for the Lassiter game. Wasn’t a game story, but a feature about success has energized the school and community. Appeared Sept. 8. We also covered the Brookwood-Roswell game. That’s two out of three times we’ve had a reporter at the Roswell game. I don’t think Roswell will be short-changed by media coverage this year!

Why do you leave the powerful Bruins of NorthWest Whitfield county out of the top ten? Don’t you know they have beaten three formidable opponents by a collective score of 100 to 20???

NW Whitfield was 6-0 last season and didn’t get out of the first round. Looks like the Bruins are better this time around, but let’s face it: The teams they’ve beaten this season are crummy.

What about Stephenson new offense same super defense i think we will go a long way. what about it Todd

I haven’t seen Stephenson play. I hear the defense is lights out, but the offense is a question. I wish the Jags would play bigger and better schools leading into region play. That would help me know where to rank them. I know they’re not playing an easy schedule, but I’d love to see them play Harrison or McEachern or Marietta. That would be fun.

*ECI’s mighty overhyped team lost to a #4 seed last year at home in the first round. Why should Clinch drop when every team in single A would have lost to AAAAA Coffee and AA defending back-to-back state champ Charlton? Clinch has lost 5 class A games in 5 years! They lose to Chalton every year, but somehow, by the Grace of God, they are either playing in the dome and/or the state championship. What has Pacelli ever done except be overhyped? *

I agree about Clinch. I took heat a year ago for having them ranked at 0-2. I think ECI is ranked appropriately. They learned their lesson last season. ECI is loaded. Pacelli? Yep, they’ve been overhyped in the past, but this team returned virtually all its starters from a team that made the QF last year. Plus, they’ve had a couple of decent wins so far. Too early to tell on them.

I think the one thing all are overlooking is the fact that as the Metro schools grow they also split into new schools. I believe that helps keep the playing field a little bit even. No doubt the North has overall caught up given the amount of schools that are in the biggest classification. Yet, I still don’t see the North taking 3 out of 4 in AAAAA on a regular basis any time soon.

Good point, Yo. But keep in mind that Peachtree Ridge, Grayson and MLK are all the result of school splittings that created new state contenders. And HoCo and Warner Robins are about to lose some students to a new school in Houston County. But the fact that Colquitt and Tift and Lowndes and Camden are one school, one school system, is an advantage.

how about after usual weekly rating have a top 15 all class one i’m sure there will be several AAAA in it.

I might try that next week.

this is ludicrous. NO the south is not going down they are facing stiffer competition! For God’s sake Valdosta played a team from UTAH! and came out on top. You say that Valdosta and Lowndes are not doing well? they have each lost ONE game.

You are right, but those are cyclical things. What’s not cyclical and can’t be stopped is the mega schools in metro Atlanta. There are fewer South Georgia schools playing in the big class, and in general, they’re out-numbered in students. That will continue.

Why is it that any time the perennial South and Middle GA powerhouses have bad seasons, the Atlanta journalists start writing about how the Metro-Atlanta schools are going to take over and dominate the state?

Not sure that we are writing that it’s going to happen, but rather asking IF it will happen. But in the past, it’s been based simply on how the metro teams were doing at the time — Parkview and Buford winning 45 straight games, etc…

But this time, we’re asking whether the fact that metro Atlanta simply has non-Metro outnumbered will be the deciding factor. The average 1-AAAAA team is better than the average 7-AAAAA team, but there are only two non-metro regions, and one is full of AAA/AAAAA teams playing up. It’s just math.

How many game tapes have you watched on Tift and Coffee?

None. But I couldn’t rank them much higher than 3-4! … But I rank teams mostly on final scores, not what teams look like on film. I’m eager to see Tift and Coffee player tougher teams.

ANYONE, AND I MEAN ANYONE WHO ATTENDED THE CHATTAHOCHIE/CAMDEN GAME CAN TESTIFY THAT WE PLAYED AN HONEST FIVE MINUETS OF TRUE FOOTBALL.

I realize that Camden didn’t play well. In fact, I’ll say that it was an upset. Camden remains a state contender. But the point is that if Chattahoochee can come to Camden and win on a given day, then there are probably 20 metro Atlanta schools that could win at Camden on a given day. Upset or not, there are just lots of pretty good teams like Chattahoochee in metro Atlanta now because ATL is just so doggone big. It hasn’t always been like that. That’s what Camden and South Georgia is up against.

I think that the metro teams are much improved over the past 20 years and the size of the counties has had a direct impact on them. The main reason is that a player can move to any school probably fairly easy within that county so when you move in top talent to the school of choice then sure you will be very competitive.

All true.

By Eaglefan

September 19, 2007 4:06 PM | Link to this

Wow! some of you sportswriters and football fans have short memories.Wasn’t it just last December that a Middle Ga and South Ga teams were playing in the AAAAA semi;s.Granted they were beaten,in Warner Robins case out coached.The first three weeks of the 07 season in no way should be a view of the future.Power outage?.A power shift to the North?.Correction a power shift to Gwinette county schools reading AJC.You’e got probably you’re two best football teams in the Atl area about to clash this weekend, probably for the 6-AAAA crown and all we can talk about is AAAAA teams.And to the AJC if you really serious about covering.real exciting football.Keep an eye on the 4B-AAAA region games for the next few weeks Starting this friday with Upson-Lee vs and Westside Macon .We’re talking four or five teams with kids clocking 4.2 thru 4.5”s on both sides of the ball.AJC show us some love and give us some decent coverage.If not for us ,do it for you’re Atl area readers.That way you’re Atl area teams won;t Leave Mac-Talbert Dazed and confused like Marist and N.Clayton did.Oh i almost forgot, Power outage, we’ll see next season when Northside-WR.becomes a member of the 1-AAAAA family.

By Eaglefan

September 19, 2007 4:06 PM | Link to this

Wow! some of you sportswriters and football fans have short memories.Wasn’t it just last December that a Middle Ga and South Ga teams were playing in the AAAAA semi;s.Granted they were beaten,in Warner Robins case out coached.The first three weeks of the 07 season in no way should be a view of the future.Power outage?.A power shift to the North?.Correction a power shift to Gwinette county schools reading AJC.You’e got probably you’re two best football teams in the Atl area about to clash this weekend, probably for the 6-AAAA crown and all we can talk about is AAAAA teams.And to the AJC if you really serious about covering.real exciting football.Keep an eye on the 4B-AAAA region games for the next few weeks Starting this friday with Upson-Lee vs and Westside Macon .We’re talking four or five teams with kids clocking 4.2 thru 4.5”s on both sides of the ball.AJC show us some love and give us some decent coverage.If not for us ,do it for you’re Atl area readers.That way you’re Atl area teams won;t Leave Mac-Talbert Dazed and confused like Marist and N.Clayton did.Oh i almost forgot, Power outage, we’ll see next season when Northside-WR.becomes a member of the 1-AAAAA family.

By DemonFan

September 19, 2007 8:30 PM | Link to this

I never thought I’d say this but…I think NHS-WR is the best in the state. I’ve seen Roswell play, and I was a witness to NHS handing it to WRHS on a platter.

WRHS doesn’t have such a bad team, but the coaching staff needs to change the game plan. They started 1-2 last year. The Demons won the games they needed to win, and made it to the playoffs.

By Toby Cash

September 20, 2007 8:21 AM | Link to this

I agree, Coffee has played an extremely easy schedule so far. Valdosta has played very talented teams as have many other teams in the state. Perhaps Coffee cannot schedule these difficult teams. Coffee played a AA team, an A team and two Savannah schools.

By joel crosby

September 20, 2007 8:49 AM | Link to this

valdosta made 4 trips deep into brookwood territory only to have way too many penalties and turnovers.they have an entirely new o line.brookwood played as well as they could and valdosta played no where near their capability.i wouldnt write valdosta off and tomberlin has them going in the right direction.as an aside valdosta was never the largest school in aaa.they have always played up.football comes down to coaching and players making plays.valdosta plays by far the toughest schedule not only in georgia but one of the hardest in the country.they have max preps ranking their schedule as one of the top schedules in the country and they are the only georgia school that made their list.they are the only georgia school who will play lincoln out of tallahassee and the lincoln head coach(at the time coach wilson)told me at a game he called brookwood,parkview and all the 1aaaa schools down through the years for games and he would play all of them on the road.he said valdosta was the only georgia school that would play them.i think its time the orky kell started making natl match-ups instaed in state since most of the schools that play could wind up facing each other in the play offs anyway.now i feel better.

By Anthony Sessions

September 20, 2007 6:08 PM | Link to this

The best thing about this entire thread is the fact that we are debating what part of GA plays the best football. You know GA has it good when you can compare the North/Middle/South. As it stands right now I would have to go with Middle. I think MGA brought home about 6 titles last year. I also would like to point out that when you go around the country people always know the name “VALDOSTA”.

By coffeeman05

September 21, 2007 12:35 AM | Link to this

Madison, Fl. was a very good football team when Coffee played them and won and they had also played a game when Coffee beat them. I’m not one of those saying Coffee is the best in the state or even our region, but I sincerely believe we have a very good team that is only going to get better as they get more experience.

By EagleNationRising

September 21, 2007 7:35 AM | Link to this

More than 80% of the teams in the 5A classification are from north of Middle GA. This is a strange conversation. The 5A classification is overwhelmingly made up of teams from outside of Middle and South Georgia. Therefore, those teams are going to win.

At the end of the day, we all know the Northside-Warner Robins will hammer he likes of Roswell. It is that simple.

By Eric Turner

September 21, 2007 10:07 AM | Link to this

How about those Carver Tigers of Columbus Ga.

By CAMDEN BOY

September 21, 2007 3:30 PM | Link to this

GOOD POINT TODD.. I SEE WHERE YOUR COMING FROM.. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CAMDEN, BUT TO TUCKER AND NORTHSIDE W.R. PLAY EACH OTHER IN THE REGULAR SEASON? REGAURDLESS OF CLASSIFICATION, THAT WILL BE A CLASH OF THE TITANS!!

By Roderick Williams

September 21, 2007 4:38 PM | Link to this

Northside, Warner Robins is the only team from this state ranked in the nation. They have been the best team in the state the past ten years. Ask SW Dekalb and alot of other schools from this area about Norhtside. Remember the state title game last year. They would’ve did the same thing to Roswell and Peachtree Ridge. Put either one of them on the same field or any other team in the state.

By Roderick Williams

September 21, 2007 5:26 PM | Link to this

Norhtside is the best in this state. They are the only team in this state ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Who is Roswell? Norhtside is speed and talent. If it wasn’t for bad coaching they would have at least 8 titles in the past 10 years, they were AAAAA. They won between 12,13 games a season. Ask SW Dekalb and all the other Metro teams what happen when they played the real CHAMPS. You saw what happen to Marist.

By BWBFan

September 21, 2007 5:54 PM | Link to this

I know Brookwood is 1-2 and it is hard to justify a 1-2 team in the top 10 with all those 3-0 teams. However, shouldn’t strength of schedule and closeness of score play into the rankings. Brookwood’s 1-2 record is against 3 top 10 ranked teams. The two games they lost were by a total of 4 points, both losses due to two missed kicks. Against #1 ranked Roswell the score was 10-7, Brookwood missed the easy last minute field goal to tie the game. Against #6 North Gwinnett the score was 22-21, again due to a missed extra point. These were two very close games against great ranked teams. Brookwood embarresed Valdosta 37-6. Brookwood has outscored it’s 3 oponents 65-38. Should a team be penalized this bad for being willing to play a tough schedule?

By devil lover

September 22, 2007 6:57 PM | Link to this

Okay Todd, you sound like a man of your word. Here is your comments when I asked what it would take for Norcross to be moved up to no. 1.

“Norcross has been a little more impressive in the three games, but that’s not enough in my opinion to unseat the team that I felt was No. 1 at the start of the season. And beating Brookwood 10-7 isn’t a terrible result. If Roswell struggles to win in its mediocre region, then I would consider promoting Norcross.”

I will check back tomorrow night to see that you did what you said you would do since Norcorss did and roswell didn’t.