AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September > 03
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Around the state: Georgia high school football report
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On our state-wide trek around Georgia high school football, we move up the coast to the CORE to take a look at the Central Ogeechee River Empire, which stretches from the Fruitcake Capital of the World up to Swainsboro and over to the South Carolina line between Savannah and Augusta.
WHO’S HOT
• Statesboro: It doesn’t matter if the coach is Buzz Busby or Steve Pennington or if the featured back is De’Angelo Tyson or Nic Lanier, the 10th-ranked Blue Devils just keep rolling. Lanier had two touchdowns rushing and one receiving as the Blue Devils rolled to a 40-8 shellacking of Josey in the season-opener. Statesboro will be without the services of Lanier this week against Groves after he was ejected in the third quarter last week.
• ECI: What more is there to say about AJC Super 11 player Washaun Ealey, future Georgia linebacker Dexter Moody and future Georgia Tech defensive tackle J.C. Lanier? Well, plenty, but for the purposes of this look, those are names enough. If ECI doesn’t win another state title it will be a disappointing season in Twin City.
• Metter: It would have been easy to put Metter in the NOT category since it had lost 23 straight games coming into this season, and a 27-12 victory against Portal isn’t going to shake the high school football world to its foundations, but the once-proud and tradition-filled program is moving forward.
• Swainsboro: Scott Roberts took over for a coach who had won nine or more games in three of the last six years when Shane Williamson moved on to Toombs County, but the Tigers got off to the right start with a 27-0 victory against Bleckley County. Swainsboro will face its old coach in the season finale at Tiger Field.
WHO’S NOT
• Screven County: A 13-3 loss to Dublin in the Shamrock Bowl isn’t much to hang their heads about, but the Gamecocks have a tough stretch ahead with Toombs, Bleckley, Vidalia and Swainsboro all in a row in the middle of the season. Screven should get back on track against Laney this week.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: State Report
Take 10: Remembering top high school football individual performances
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Football is a team sport, and you won’t find anyone at Take Ten willing to argue against that. But every once in a while the Friday night stage gives us an individual performance worth talking about beyond the next home game. Toney Williams provided us with that a week ago. It would be impossible to remember every game-changing performance by legends like Herschel Walker or Eric Zeier.
But here’s 10 of the best individual performances in the history of Georgia high school football:
10: Toney Williams vs. Chattahoochee (2008) - If you’re a program looking to turn a corner, it doesn’t hurt to have your Division I quality tailback blowup on your rival. Williams, who is committed to Tennessee and is one of the AJC’s Super Southern 100, rushed 40 times for 350 yards and six touchdowns. He caught another TD for seven total in Milton’s 51-49 victory.
9: Keith Henderson vs. Cass (1984) - It was just a season opener but a state record at the time. Henderson began his assault on the Cartersville school rushing record with 423 yards on just 23 carries. Not a bad way to start the season.
8: Washaun Ealey vs. Clinch County (2007) - Ealey is already Take Ten’s touchdown king. Last year in the Georgia Dome, he was the master of clutch. Ealey tore up Clinch County for 280 yards and four touchdowns in the state semifinals. Said Ealey at the time: “I thought, I hoped I would be able to have a pretty good day today. I didn’t think it would be like this.” Good call. When we have a rocking day at Guitar Hero, we never see it coming either.
7: Brian Smith vs. Villa Rica (1994) - We would rate this game higher but the crackpot team at Take Ten was unable to find exact numbers for Pepperell’s Smith who allegedly carried the ball 53 times in a 26-20 win over Villa Rica in the playoffs. If you have memories of that game, please email us. We suspect Smith iced his legs for a week.
6: Fedale Hall vs. Our Lady of Mercy (2007) - We like this one for two reasons: It was recent and it came by way of a sophomore. Mount Pisgah’s talented soph rushed 15 times for 382 yards, caught four passes for 74, returned five kickoffs for 197 yards and also nabbed an interception for 22. Hall scored six touchdowns and recorded a state record 675 all-purpose yards. The prize for his efforts? His team lost 63-62, a state record for points in a non-overtime game.
5: Herschel Walker vs. Everyone (1975-1979) - Look, we know how you all feel about HW. If we listed his efforts in the 1979 state final, you’d have 14 other examples of how awesome or great Walker was. Like that time a 14-year-old Herschel Walker rushed for 317 yards against the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers. Man, what a game.
4: Marques Ivory vs. Tucker (2007) - Here’s a case where the Gipper won one for the team. The AJC’s 2006 Class AAAA Player of the Year had the cast removed from a broken fibula just a week prior to Northside-Warner Robins’ semifinal matchup against undefeated Tucker in the Georgia Dome. Ivory didn’t even start the game. He entered in the second half down 21 points to a team that hadn’t allowed more than 14 the entire season. Ivory passed for three scores and led the Eagles on a game-winning field goal drive.
3: Jeremy Privett vs. Pierce County (2003) - We will acknowledge that this selection is sort of like picking a quarterback from Texas Tech for the Heisman. That being said, Privett tossed eight touchdown passes against Pierce County. It’s a state record he set earlier in the season against Brantley County with seven scoring strikes.
2: Wright Bazemore vs. Someone (Before the facemask was invented) - There is legend around the Take Ten offices of an 11 touchdown performance by the legendary Valdosta coach. It was in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Later the story changed saying it was 10 scores in two different games. This was sometime in the 1930s so Take Ten will leave this in the urban myth category.
1: Suqurey Pitts vs. Valdosta (1987) - Sometimes you have a good night. Sometimes your accomplishment echoes in eternity. Pitts, a linebacker for Carver-Columbus, fueled one of the greatest upsets in Georgia football history by catching two TDs, blocking a punt and adding five tackles for loss in the 21-7 win over No. 1 Valdosta. Consequently, after the game he finished the Panama Canal barehanded and delivered a baby while saving it from a burning house. He also stopped all production of New Coke.
Go on. Take Ten. What are the greatest individual performances that you remember? Were we way off base? Do you remember something better? Here’s your chance to shine light on the legends that matter.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Post your comment | Categories: Take Ten
Services »
