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July 2008
ESPN names Valdosta TitleTown USA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For years, it’s been called Winnersville. Now, the south Georgia town of Valdosta has another name: TitleTown USA, thanks to ESPN.
The cable sports network declared Valdosta the winner of its summer promotion that earlier this month featured the city as one of its 20 finalists for the national award.
Other cities in the running ranged from small town to metropolitan city. It included Boston; Green Bay, Wisc.; and Williamsport, Pa. The only other cities driven mostly by its high school sports tradition was Massillon, Ohio., and Parkersburg, W.V.
The cities were encouraged to offer evidence of championships at all levels and sports.
The 20 finalists were visited by film crews and highlighted on ESPN, and the winner was determined by online voting July 23-27.
The trophy ceremony was filmed July 28 at Valdosta High School’s Bazemore-Hyder Stadium and Valdosta was officially announced the winner on “SportsCenter’ later that evening.
According to the Valdosta Daily Times, Valdosta High School has won 116 region and state championships, a large chunk of them in football. The Wildcats football team is the nation’s all-time winningest program and has 23 state championships.
Lowndes High, the 2007 Class AAAAA football champion, has 94 titles, and Valwood, a private school, has 55. Valdosta State University has won another 40 titles, including the Division II national championships in 2004 and 2007.
Kick off the debate: Do you agree with ESPN that Valdosta is sports TitleTown USA? Tell us why or why not.
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Which city is Georgia’s 21st Century high school football Titletown?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The city of Valdosta has won ESPN’s Titletown USA contest. The promotion made me wonder if Valdosta still deserves that title as a football town, even in Georgia, at least this decade.
Since this is a high school football blog, and since we concede that Valdosta is the all-time football Titletown in Georgia, let’s limit this to Georgia high school football in the 21st Century and call it High School Football Titletown XXI.
Which Georgia city should claim this title? I came up with a points system that goes something like this:
Region title: 2 points
Making the Georgia Dome semifinals: 1 point
Making a state final: 1 point
Winning a GHSA state title: 2 points
Winning a GISA state title: 2 points
To make things fair, I’m limiting the great big Atlanta to its city limits. No Marist or St. Pius to inflate the stats. That’s another county. I’m also including GISA schools, albeit with just one point for a region title and two for a state title.
Which city came out on top?
TODD’S TITLETOWN XXI TOP 10
1. Buford, 39
2. Columbus, 38
3. Valdosta, 36
4. Warner Robins, 36
5. Homerville, 31
6. LaGrange, 31
7. Folkston, 30
8. Macon, 29 (thanks to GISA)
9. Lincolnton, 29
10. Statesboro, 28
But I’m not ready to crown Buford because one-school towns probably should have their own category.
Below are my rankings. I left the point totals in parentheses for comparison.
1: Valdosta (36) — Still No. 1. Lowndes has won three state titles, and Lowndes and Valdosta have won seven of the eight region titles in 1-AAAAA, the state’s toughest league. Plus, even Valwood won a GISA region in 2006.
2: Warner Robins (36) — Warner Robins and Columbus are the only cities that can claim GHSA state titles from two schools this decade. Northside has won back-to-back titles in Class AAAA. Warner Robins won in 2004. If HoCo could just pick it up a little. Jeesh.
3: Buford (39) — Just one school, but the Wolves’ four state titles, six trips to the Georgia Dome and seven region titles are better totals than any other city in the state combined. Simply put, Buford is home to Georgia’s most decorated football team this century.
4 A-B-C-D: Homerville (31), Folkston (30), Lincolnton (29) and Kingsland (23) — Sorry to lump these together, but these are one-school towns that are really runners-up to Buford in that category. Throw in LaGrange (31) and Statesboro (28), cities that have two schools (but one that does all the title work). All these really should be in a separate category. Add Lilburn (26) to the list, as well.
5: Columbus (38) — Yes, Columbus. It’s the third-most populous city in the state, which helps, but Columbus is the only city besides Atlanta with four schools that have won region titles this decade (Shaw, Carver, Brookstone, Pacelli). All four were ranked in the final AJC Top 10 in 2007. And Carver (2007) and Shaw (2000) have won state titles.
6: Thomasville (24) — It’s hard to justify Georgia’s Rose City without a GHSA state title, but Thomasville is the only city that won three region titles in 2007 — Thomas Central (1-AAAA), Thomasville (1-AA) and Brookwood School (GISA’s 3-AA). And Brookwood did just win GISA’s AA state championship. The city has won eight region titles this decade.
7: Sandersville (27) — Washington County has won four region titles and made the Georgia Dome in 2006, but it’s the GISA school, Brentwood, that gives Sandersville a little extra push this decade. Brentwood won state titles in 2002 and 2003.
8: Roswell (15) — There isn’t a high volume in titles, but I like the variety. Centennial, Roswell, Blessed Trinity and Fellowship Christian have won region titles, and Roswell got the state trophy in 2006. All are Top 10 candidates in 2008.
9: Gainesville(14) — It’s a stretch, but this is the only Georgia city besides Atlanta with three schools that have multiple region titles this decade: Gainesville, North Hall, Riverside Military.
10: Atlanta (27) — I know what you’re going to say. There are no state titles here, but five of the nine city schools — Carver, Douglass, Grady, Mays and Washington — have won region titles. So have private schools Lovett and Westminster.
Kick off the debate: You’ve seen Todd’s Titletowns. Now send us YOURS. Tell us which Georgia city deserves the Titletown XXI designation and why.
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Poll Talk’s AAA-A Top 10 rankings: Who’ll challenge Carver, Buford, ECI?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanks for all the opinions on the preseason Top 10 for classes AAAAA and AAAA last week. This week, we’ll tackle AAA, AA and A. The AJC’s official preseason rankings won’t be published until Aug. 18. What I’m throwing out this week are conservative picks to get the conversation started.
Defending champs get the No. 1 slot — for now. Do they deserve it?
How much respect do you give teams dropping down? There are quite a few this year: Baldwin and St. Pius in AAA, Westminster and Henry County in AA and Washington-Wilkes, Savannah Christian, Wesleyan and Holy Innocents’ in A.
And how do you rank Carrollton? Maybe a top-five team until last week’s bombshell that star defensive ends Octavius Thomas and Craig Allen had been dismissed from the team. The Times-Georgian of Carrollton reports that the players, suspended by head coach Rayvan Teague, are ineligible for all sports at Carrollton in 2007-08 for unspecified rules violations.
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of returning starters for teams that made the semifinals last season. That’s all I’ve got information on at the moment. If anyone has those totals for a contending team, let us know.
Class AAA
1. Carver-Columbus (11 starters returning)
2. Cairo (16)
3. Shaw
4. North Hall (9)
5. LaGrange
6. Perry
7. Stephens County
8. St. Pius
9. Carrollton
10. Baldwin
Class AA
1. Buford (5)
2. Charlton County
3. Dublin (12)
4. Lovett (11)
5. Calhoun
6. Thomasville
7. Fitzgerald
8. Cook (9)
9. Henry County
10. Westminster
Class A
1. ECI (11)
2. Lincoln County
3. Clinch County (12)
4. Wilcox County (10)
5. Athens Academy (13)
6. Dooly County
7. Brookstone
8. Savannah Christian
9. Washington-Wilkes
10. Wesleyan
Todd talks back: Holcomb mixes it up with you all week long. Catch his running commentary in Poll Talk Monday-Friday. Leave comments, questions, etc., here and return to talk about this topic.
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Poll Talk returns: Let’s hear your preseason AAAAA-AAAA Top 10s
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Readers gave our staff some great feedback on the Super 11 the past three weeks on the Extra Point blog. Now we’d like to know what you think about the preseason Top 10 teams. The AJC’s preseason rankings will come out Aug. 18, five weeks from today.
Below is a conservative, hastily done, very tentative Top 10 for classes AAAAA and AAAA. Call the lists an argument-starter. We’ll look at classes AAA to A next week.
Why so tentative? If I do too much research too early, I won’t stay open-minded. And if I show my hand too soon, it will muffle the thunder of Aug. 18’s official rankings.
So check it out below. You can argue with my Top 10 if you want, but what I’d really like are your own Top 10s. Let’s start with AAAAA and AAAA.
Which teams will be hot this season? Which teams not?
Class AAAAA
1. Lowndes
2. Northside-Warner Robins
3. Camden County
4. North Gwinnett
5. M.L. King
6. Walton
7. Grayson
8. Norcross
9. Valdosta
10. Newnan
Class AAAA
1. Ware County
2. Tucker
3. Bainbridge
4. Thomas County Central
5. Rome
6. Chamblee
7. Whitewater
8. Habersham Central
9. Banneker
10. Marist
Todd talks back: Holcomb mixes it up with you all week long. Catch his running commentary in Poll Talk Monday-Friday. Leave comments, questions, etc., here and return to talk about this topic.
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Favors gets all-star invitation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
South Atlanta center Derrick Favors has been selected to play in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 basketball tournament later this summer at New York’s famed Rucker Park.
This tournament will feature 24 of the top players in the country. The 6-foot-9 Favors and Lance Stephenson of New York were the first two players selected for the game, which will be played on Aug. 22.
Favors, the AJC Class AAA player of the year, is considered the top recruit in the country by several recruiting services. Last season, he averaged 23.7 points, 17.1 rebounds and 9.1 blocked shots and was named to several national All-American teams.
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Classes AAA - A: Todd Holcomb’s 2008 Super 11 football rankings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Someone suggested recently that we do a Super 11 for each classification. Given the response we got to the all-class Super 11 debate, that’s probably a good idea. Let’s keep the momentum going. My Class AAAAA-AAAA Super 11 rankings have already been posted. You can see them here. And the all-class Super 11 is still up for debate, too.
Below are my rankings of the best 11 players in Classes AAA-A. These aren’t official AJC rankings, just my own. And while I took the job seriously, I didn’t take three weeks to do it, so you might find me second-guessing myself. The rankings are based on all-state teams and recruiting rankings and comparing that to what I’ve seen and heard from coaches, sportswriters and fans.
TODD’S SUPER 11 PICKS
Class AAA
1. Johnnie Farms, Perry (OL)
2. Darren Myles Jr., Carver-Atlanta (QB/DB)
3. Jarvis Jones, Carver-Columbus (LB)
4. Branden Smith, Washington (DB)
5. Qua Huzzie, LaGrange (LB)
6. Donovan Tate, Cartersville (DB)
7. Chris Burnette, Troup (OL)
8. Corico Hawkins, Baldwin (LB)
9. Chase Vasser, Chestatee (LB)
10. Zach Mettenberger, Oconee County (QB)
11. DeAngelo Pease, Cairo (QB)
Class AA
1. Rashard Smith, Dublin (DB)
2. Jamal Patterson, Henry County (WR)
3. Dallas Lee, Buford (DL)
4. Drew Little, Henry County (QB)
5. Eric McDaniel, Calhoun (DT)
6. Shawn Williams, Early County (DB)
7. Justin Beasley, Banks County (RB)
8. Ricky Hart, Charlton County (L)
9. Chris Crenshaw, Jefferson County (DE)
10. C’Reon Arnold, Cook (LB)
11. Michael Ozment, Pepperell (OL)
Class A
1. Washaun Ealey, ECI (RB)
2. Dominique Ellis, Clinch County (WR)
3. Dexter Moody, ECI (LB)
4. J.C. Lanier, ECI (L)
5. Trey Miller, Whitefield Academy (QB)
6. Tanner Bryant, Landmark Christian (QB)
7. Jatoyaus Jones, Lincoln County (WR/DB)
8. Deondrick Pina, Schley County (QB/CB)
9. Tytus Baynes, Social Circle (DL)
10. McKay Matthews, Athens Academy (WR)
11. William Pearl, Our Lady of Mercy (QB)
And now AJC high schools writer Derrick Mahone has listed his Class AAA-A Super 11 picks:
MAHONE’S SUPER 11 PICKS
Class AAA
1. Darren Myles Jr., Carver-Atlanta
2. Jarvis Jones, Carver-Columbus
3. Branden Smith, Washington
4. Donavan Tate, Cartersville
5. Michael Bowman, Ridgeland
6. DeAngelo Pease, Cairo
7. Chris Burnette, Troup
8. Corrico Hawkins, Baldwin
9. LeRon Furr, Carver-Columbus
10. Brandon Watts, Washington County
11. Qua Huzzie, LaGrange
Class AA
1. Jamal Patterson, Henry County
2. Rashard Smith, Dublin
3. Dallas Lee, Buford
4. Drew Little, Henry County
5. Michael Ozment, Pepperell
6. Eric McDaniel, Calhoun
7. Chris Crenshaw, Jefferson
8. Michael Henley, Cook County
9. Shawn Williams, Early County
10. Justin Beasley, Banks County
11. C’Reon Arnold, Cook County
Class A
1. Washaun Ealey, ECI
2. Dexter Moody, ECI
3. Deondrick Pina, Schley County
4. Tanner Bryant, Landmark Christian
5. Jatoyaus Jones, Lincoln County
6. J.C. Lanier, ECI
7. McKay Matthews, Athens Academy
8. Tytus Baynes, Social Circle
9. William Pearl, Our Lady of Mercy
10. Dominique Ellis, Clinch County
11. Antonio Marshall, Wilcox County
HOT OR NOT: PHOTOS
• Rate Todd & Derrick’s Class AAA-A Super 11 picks!
• Rate Todd’s Class AAAAA-AAAA Super 11 picks!
• Vote for YOUR all-class Super 11 picks!
Kick off the debate: You’ve seen Todd’s and Mahone’s Class AAA-A Super 11 picks. Now let’s see yours. And what do you think of their lists?
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How can Georgia high school sports teams combat high gas prices?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Extra Point blogger Todd Holcomb talked to GHSA and Georgia school officials about the problem of continually rising gas prices and its impact on the state’s high school sports programs. Georgia High School Association Executive Director Ralph Swearngin says future region reclassification aimed at lessening away game trips isn’t off the table. Tennessee has adopted a plan for football that groups bigger schools with smaller schools. Arkansas is considering combining its highest two classifications for similar reasons.
“Do we have to do something drastic? If we don’t, I’m not sure we’ll be out there traveling,” Earl Etheridge, chairman of the GHSA’s reclassification and football committees, says. Holcomb notes: “The average price of diesel fuel, which powers school buses that get only 6-10 miles per gallon, is now around $4.65 — 34 percent higher than the $3.48 average for the ‘07-08 school year. It was only $2.85 when school started last August, according to the Energy Information Administration.”
Kick off the debate: If you could devise a plan for the GHSA aimed at helping schools save on gas costs, what would it be? Are you opposed to Georgia adopting a Tennessee-like plan that pits large schools against smaller schools close by? Should Classes AAAAA and AAAA be combined, as Arkansas is considering? And what about title games? Should any championships still be played in a single arena (i.e., the Georgia Dome, Gwinnett Arena or Macon Centreplex)?
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