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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Take 10: Best surprise games
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At Take Ten, we love a good surprise. Even as kids, we didn’t go snooping through the closets looking for our Christmas presents because we’d rather tear off the shiny paper and find out Christmas morning. (“Ooooo … an Ewok Village!”) So, naturally, we enjoy it when games turn out how we didn’t expect. This year, like pretty much every year before it, has given us its share of surprises: Chattahoochee over Camden County, Avondale over Greater Atlanta Christian, Sandy Creek over Carrollton. Who’da thunk it?
As the playoffs creep up on us, we decided to put together our list of the top 10 Biggest Surprise Games of the past 10 years. Did any of those games from this year make the cut? Keep reading to find out.
10: 2003 regular season — St. Pius 20, Marist 17
It had been 21 years since the Lions had taken down their rivals, and this didn’t look like a likely candidate for their streak-breaking victim. The Eagles were undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the state when they made the short trip over to St. Pius for the regular-season finale. And when Marist dominated the first half, taking a 17-6 lead, it only added to the shocking nature of the result.
9: 2003 quarterfinals — Newnan 20, Parkview 14
The biggest surprise here came in what it meant and how it ended. The Panthers were the three-time defending state champs and had only lost one game since 1999. Newnan was a top-10 team, but finally slaying the Parkview dragon was going to take a Herculean effort. The Cougars got that effort from Santez Mays, who ran a fumble back for a touchdown with 7 seconds left for the win.
8: 1999 semifinals — Lincoln County 35, Commerce 21
Commerce had been No. 1 the entire year, entering the game 13-0 and was the solid favorite to win it all. Lincoln County was only 7-3 during the regular season, but this was one of the games that helped build the Larry Campbell legend in the postseason.
7: 2005 first round — Southwest DeKalb 17, Tucker 2
For all of Tucker’s regular-season success, the Tigers have only been to the Dome once for the semifinals, in 2003. After three straight trips to at least the quarterfinals, though, this looked like it might be the team that would turn the corner. Instead, the Panthers shut down a Tucker offense that was averaging 38.6 points per game and did just enough offensively to claim the upset.
6: 1999 semifinals — Lowndes 31, Northside 28
Before the game, Lowndes looked like it might have a chance if the Vikings could play a flawless game against the undefeated, No. 1 Eagles. That chance was gone once Lowndes fell behind by 25 at halftime against a team that had dominated its opponents all year. Somehow, the Vikings charged back to win and shut out Brunswick the following week to win the school’s first state title in 19 years.
5: 2002 quarterfinals — East Coweta 35, Harrison 28
East Coweta’s was one of the most improbable playoff runs in recent memory. The Indians started the year 0-3 and only went 5-5 in the regular season but got hot in the postseason. This was the culmination, taking advantage of some Hoya injuries to take down undefeated Harrison. No previous opponent had scored more than 17 on the Hoyas, as the Indians got in the way of a much-anticipated Harrison-Parkview showdown.
4: 2005 first round — Douglas County 24, Warner Robins 20
The Demons were the defending state champions just starting another run. Douglas was a solid but unranked team that looked like it might be overmatched going into the game and definitely looked overmatched as Warner Robins jumped out to a 17-point lead. But the Tigers charged back, and then-coach Phil Williams called it “The greatest win in the history of our school.”
3: 2006 quarterfinals — Warner Robins 14, Norcross 3
If the Demons’ win over No. 2 Camden County the previous week was surprising, this one was downright eye-popping. A Warner Robins team that only went 6-4 in the regular season, losing two of its last three, was a giant killer all of a sudden. The Blue Devils were unbeaten, No. 1 in the state and No. 15 in the country before the loss in a game Warner Robins dominated without a single complete pass.
2: 2005 regular season — Ware County 28, Lowndes 7
Ware simply wasn’t in the same class as Lowndes - literally. Ware was a good AAAA team, but the Gators weren’t supposed to be anything more than a warmup for region play for the AAAAA No. 1 Vikings. In retrospect, it’s even more shocking than it was at the time. Lowndes didn’t really come close to losing the rest of the year, not giving up more than 18 points to any opponent on the way to the state title.
1: 2005 second round — Cook 20, Dublin 14
The Fighting Irish dominated their first 11 opponents, giving up 10 total points while scoring at least 45 points in each game while ascending to No. 1 in AA. Cook was a solid but seemingly unspectacular team on the road. Surprising doesn’t begin to describe it. The Hornets scored double the number of points Dublin had surrendered all season while holding the Irish to just 14 points. Cook then got beaten soundly the following week, 27-6 by Greene County.
Go on. Take Ten. Which ones did we leave out? And what do you remember about these games? Surprise us with your insights. Give us YOUR take.
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