AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 08
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Locals top off successful season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s to the winners! We go into the final week of the pre-state playoff season (regular season for most, region playoffs this week for 4-AAAA and 4-AAA) with local teams looking to finish off what is likely the most successful season in county history.
Ola and Henry County are still alive in 4-AAA, where they play region playoff games Friday. Luella takes on Redan with a state playoff spot and a winning season at stake (both teams are 5-4), ELCA has clinched a playoff spot, and Stockbridge looks to finish strong in a 4-AAAA consolation game with a chance to finish 6-4 after demolishing Jones County last week.
Ola gets defending state champion Peach County, and the Mustangs don’t figure to unseat the Trojans, who are averaging 26 points per game and have held seven of nine opponents to 14 points or less. This county has long been a football doormat, but could this season be a precursor to future grid success? Or is this season a harmonic convergance of athletes for the local teams? You guys tell me …
GAME OF THE WEEK
Cent.-Macon at Henry Co. — Reg. 4-AAA Playoff: 7:30 p.m. Fri.
RECORDS: Central-Macon, 4-5; Henry County 8-1.
COACHES: Central-Macon, Anthony Hines (24-35); Henry County, Mike Rozier (19-50).
PLAYERS TO WATCH: WR/DB Chris Jackson (Sr., 6-1, 195), WR Jamal Patterson (Jr., 6-3, 205), QB Drew Little (Jr., 6-4, 240), CB Tony Dopson (Sr., 5-6, 180), LB Benson Gyang (Sr., 5-10, 210).
LAST MEETING: Henry won 33-28 on Sept. 14.
LAST WEEK: Henry County beat Ola 26-7; Central beat West Laurens 26-21.
THE SKINNY: Henry County’s MO has been to score in great enough quantities to overcome its shortcomings in special teams. Nowhere was that more evident than in their win over Central in the regular season, when the Chargers got three returns for touchdowns but had no answer for Little and company. If the Warhawks can force Central to beat them from scrimmage - if that means kicking the ball out of bounds, then so be it — this one probably won’t be close. Says here, Central still won’t have an answer for Henry’s passing game, and the Warhawks will walk away with their first region championship.
PREDICTION: Henry County, 34-17.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Henry
Pats next into playoff pool
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fayette County has its region championship. Sandy Creek is looking to make it two, though the Patriots will need some help. They need a win over Cedartown along with a Cass win over Haralson County and a Villa Rica win over Carrollton. It could happen, though the other two games look much more iffy than Sandy Creek’s own game, which figures to be close. Says here, Patriots win to get into the playoffs, but they won’t get the required help.
MOVING ON …
Our Lady of Mercy seems to have turned a corner, though beating Landmark to finish 5-5 is a longshot. Still, Bryan Pinabel’s club might very well challenge for a playoff spot in 2008, the third year in his three-year plan. And if the Bobcats can pull off the upset Friday night, it sets up what could be a watershed weekend at the Fairburn private school, which likely will challenge for state titles in boys and girls cross country Saturday at the state meet in Carrollton …
GAME OF THE WEEK
Fayette County at Starr’s Mill — 7:30 p.m. Friday
RECORDS: Fayette County, 9-0, 7-0 Region 2-AAAA; Starr’s Mill 5-4, 4-3.
COACHES: Fayette County, Tommy Webb (40-50); Starr’s Mill, Mike Earwood (173-73-1)
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Fayette County — QB/DB Brandon Boykin (Sr., 5-10, 175); FB/DB Matt Daniels (Sr., 6-1, 195); HB Cuincy Carruthers (Sr., 6-11, 175); Starr’s Mill — QB Matt Sweat (Sr., 6-0, 185), LB Parker duPont (Sr., 6-0, 210), CB Santrez Collier (Sr., 6-10, 165).
LAST YEAR: Starr’s Mill won, 42-14.
LAST WEEK: Fayette beat McIntosh 41-3; Starr’s Mill beat Northgate 37-0.
THE SKINNY: Oh. And. Seven. That’s Fayette County’s all-time record against Starr’s Mill. So even though the Tigers have turned in their best season ever and they’re adorned with their first-ever region championship, they’ve got some business to finish. Four of those seven Starr’s Mill wins in the series have been by four touchdowns or more. In a season where Fayette has flipped the script on virtually everyone, erasing this particular bagel is particularly important to the Tigers. For its part, Starr’s Mill needs a win to keep its faint playoff hopes alive, and the Panthers find themselves in the unique position of rooting for crosstown rival McIntosh; they need the Chiefs to beat Creekside to open the playoff door. Says here, though, that game won’t matter, because Fayette will exorcise another demon.
PREDICTION: Fayette County, 24-21.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Fayette
MTZ won’t snap NWR win streak
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jarrett Laws has done his best to connect his Mt. Zion team with the school’s better teams from the past and the Bulldogs, by virtue of their blowout win over Jonesboro last week, get a chance to sneak into the state playoffs. But here’s what they’re connected with now: Defending state champion Northside-Warner Robins, owner of a 24-game winning streak and perhaps the state’s best player in Tijuan Green, the touchdown machine. Green has found the end zone 24 times (22 rushing, two receiving).
Northside is that rare team that does everything right, and thus when North Clayton coach Don Shockley popped in the Houston County school’s game tapes his first response was, “Oh, snap.” Or something to that effect. This is the last chance for Martin Ward to enhance his reputation as a big-time player, but says here the Bulldogs won’t have enough to snap that Northside winning streak.
MOVING ON …
North Clayton hits the road to Baldwin to play a 4-AAAA playoff game for the second straight year, and if the Eagles can square away their special teams play, they’ll keep the came close and perhaps have a chance to win. Says here, it won’t be the three-touchdown romp the Braves enjoyed in 2006, but North Clayton still comes away empty … Mundy’s Mill needs a win against Morrow to secure the third seed in 4-AAAAA and a trip to Stephenson in the first round. Though the Mustangs are looking to salvage some pride — they’re 1-8 — the Tigers will take care of business.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Westside-Macon at Lovejoy — 7:30 p.m. Fri., Twelve Oaks Stadium
RECORDS: Westside, 7-2; Lovejoy, 4-5.
COACHES: Westside - Robert Davis (341-71-1); Lovejoy - Al Hughes (64-63).
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Lovejoy — OL Andre’ Harris (Sr., 6-4, 320), QB Kyle Lacy (Sr., 6-1, 190), WR T.J. Brown (Sr., 6-2, 190). Westside - QB Orrin McFadden, WR Danny Madison, RB Marcus Wilson.
LAST MEETING: Westside won 41-35 in 2003.
LAST WEEK: Westside lost to Northside-Warner Robins 22-12; Lovejoy beat North Clayton 24-13.
THE SKINNY: The Wildcats appear to be surging. After starting 0-4, they’ve won four of five and secured the second-place spot in Region 4-AAAA, Division A, which is why the have a losing record and are playing at home. Westside narrowly lost to top-ranked Northside last week, which could go one of two ways. Lovejoy could benefit from the Seminoles being hung over from that game, but Westside could be bolstered by playing one of the nation’s top teams close. Says here, the Wildcats, despite playing at home, won’t have enough firepower to keep up.
PREDICTION: Westside, 31-24.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Clayton
Aristotle Throttle vs. Atom Smashums
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today, dear reader, we take the wild and wacky journey from Atom Smashers to Aristotle, which in the entire history of journalism probably hasn’t been attempted and after today may be outlawed forever because of this.
But that has never stopped us before.
It was Aristotle, the ancient philosopher, who taught us,”You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event — it is a habit.”
It was the Atom Smashers, the team from Savannah’s Johnson High, who taught us, “Sometimes you have to get by on what you do once — and we don’t need no stinking habit.”
They have won once this season — better than 20-some-odd teams who were forced into a Winless Protection sequestering. They are our examples, if for no other reason than all the other “A” teams who might’ve been dragged kicking and screaming into this example had the decency to win more than once.
For some today, it will be enough to be the Atom Smasher. One win will do. For others, nothing less than Aristotle — doing again what they’ve done repeatedly — will suffice.
Take Marist. It is what it repeatedly does. It is a St. Pius-beater. Twenty-four of the last 25 times. But today, St. Pius must beat the Aristotle out of Marist and become the Atom Smasher.
St. Pius is the team that just went on the road two weeks ago to beat the same team Marist couldn’t handle at home a week ago. St. Pius is the team that woke up after losing to Cedar Grove and hasn’t lost since. St. Pius is the team that would seem to have the superior momentum today, which is when it counts. With a win today, St. Pius will claim second place in Region 6-AAAA and the home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs that comes with it.
North Gwinnett needs to be Aristotle. The Bulldogs were what they repeatedly did last season, right up until the time Norcross stuffed their mugs and spoiled the unbeaten regular season.
Now, on the verge of another unbeaten regular season, they must avenge themselves. The Region 7-AAAAA championship hangs in the balance and for one day the Bulldogs must prove themselves heads and shoulders better than the Blue Devils to snag it — better in the running game, the passing game and on defense. In any case, it’s the Gwinnett County game that has supplanted Brookwood-Parkview for pure impact. No region titles are at stake in the Battle of Five Forks Trickum. Just bragging rights. But Brookwood is trying to do something it has done only once before — beat the Panthers for a third consecutive time —and it says here that the Broncos can, led by Kenny Miles and his 1,947 yards. Yes, even in the Big Orange Jungle.
Coaches will tell anybody who’ll listen how hard it is to beat the same team twice in the same season. But that’s the task that faces Hawkinsville, Upson-Lee and Washington-Wilkes, to name three. If they aspire to something better than Atom Smasher status, they’ll have to beat their opponents for the second time this season.
But both of these rematches come in region-playoff settings. There is no time to dawdle. Nothing less will do than the Aristotle Throttle.
LISTMANIA: And now, without further delay, The Weekend Predix. Check the list, then return to scream, rant, holler, praise, genuflect at the shrine of, give shoutouts to or mount a protest against Maxie right here.
Video: Lights! Camera! MAXIE! See Darryl prognosticate.
Mad about Maxie? Our fearless prognosticator awaits YOUR comments. Are his patented Predix right on or way off? Throw down with D-Max now!
Permalink | Comments (56) | Post your comment | Categories: Darryl Maxie
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
