AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September > 23 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USState football report: Who’s hot, who’s not in Middle Georgia (Take 2)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We head back to the middle of the state for the second part of who’s hot and who’s not. All things in Middle Georgia football start and end in Warner Robins, that little Air Force town in the heart of the state. So, that is the best place to begin as we look at the top teams in classes AAA/AAAA/AAAAA.
HOT
— Northside-Warner Robins: The third-ranked Eagles, winners of the last two Class AAAA state championships, have made the transition to AAAAA with little difficulty. Coach Conrad Nix’s team has won 34 straight since losing in the state title game in 2005, and this year’s team has plenty of talent to compete with anyone in the state. Led by AJC Super 11 selections LB Eric Fields and DE Abry Jones, Northside will play in the game of the year on Oct. 3, when the Eagles travel to No. 1 Lowndes.
— Westside: Robert Davis built one of the most dominant programs at Warner Robins, and he has built No. 2 Westside into a top program in Class AAAA. The Seminoles have been nothing short of unbelievable this season, outscoring their opponents 220-14 in their first four games. Westside plays at Bainbridge this week, but the big game on the schedule will come on Halloween, hosting Thomas County Central.
— Washington County: The Golden Hawks are starting to remind people of their glory days, when Washington County was one of the most feared programs in the state. After a 4-6 anomaly of a season last year, No. 5 WaCo is putting the pain back into the House of Pain this season.
— Baldwin: The Braves lost in the first round of the playoffs last year, but they appear to be headed for bigger and better things after a thorough 22-0 victory against Carver-Columbus last week. Back-to-back games with Washington County and Thomson will be the biggest tests. The Braves should roll through their next four opponents.
NOT
— Warner Robins: The Demons have victories against Wheeler and Beach, but the prospects of a .500 season are slim in powerful Region 1-AAAAA.
Report back: Explain your hot or not Middle Georgia football picks and why they’re scorching it on the field or torching their seasons with losses.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment | Categories: State Report
Comments
By Lissa
September 23, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
That little Air Force town isn’t so little. With the largest single employer in the state (Robins AFB), it fuels the economies in neighboring cities and the entire Middle Georgia area. It has a population of nearly 50,000, which, by the way, is more than Alpharetta, Lawrenceville, or Kennesaw (just to name a few little towns you may be more familiar with). Just because it’s not part of a metro conglomerate, don’t call it little!
By Chris Whitfield
September 23, 2008 1:24 PM | Link to this
Lissa, I wasn’t really meaning that I thought Warner Robins was little. It would be like me saying that Valdosta is that “little” football power in south Georgia. I lived in middle Georgia for nearly a decade, and I am well aware of the size and economic impact of Robins AFB on the region. Was just trying to be funny and cute, no offense was intended.
By Lissa
September 23, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this
Chris, thanks for the clarification. I was born & raised in WR and now live in Woodstock. I’ve simply grown tired of many people’s attitude that civilization ends at I-285, with anything south of Atlanta-metro area deemed “South Georgia” and full of hicks and hillbillies. It just gets old really fast. There are far too many ignorant people in Atlanta who don’t realize that there’s more to Georgia than what they see on the interstate on their way to Florida.
I do agree with your assessment though. Northside is definitely the powerhouse over the past several years. How I wish they were when I was in school! It was always WRHS taking the glory in those days. NHS didn’t beat WRHS once in the four years I was at Northside. Those were back in the days of Robert Davis, so it’s interesting to see Westside doing well.
Now just wait for it… some doofus will ask if Northside-Warner Robins and Warner Robins are the same school.
By MJ
September 23, 2008 7:54 PM | Link to this
There are “professional” sports announcer that think Northside and Warner Robins are the same school. I heard IJ Rosenberg on the radio, after the Northside-Carver game, he kept calling Northside Warner Robins. I guess anyone can be an expert.
By sandra
September 24, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
is northside-warner robins and warner robins the same school??
By WRHater
September 24, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this
North Warner Robins is overrated. They can’t play Valdosta every week.
By michael
September 24, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this
Sandra, No, Northside High School is different from Warner Robins High School. Northside is only called Northside-WR because I believe there are three schools in Georgia named Northside. There is a Northside in Augusta, Columbus and in Warner Robins. The addition of WR to the actual name of Northside High School is just to indicate which Northside it actually is.
By JesseAWill
September 24, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this
Chris
NE Macon is hot.
NE Macon is off to a 3-0 start. Included in the 3-0 start is a 27-0 thrashing of 1-AAAA Harris County. Harris County beat 1-AAAA Bainbridge (ranked as the AJC’s 3rd best team in AAAA at the time) 17-0 last Friday, so that should say something about the talent of this current Raider team.
They are a very solid football team on both sides of the ball and special teams. The only weakness is in the kicking game – terrible at PATs and field goals. This could (and probably will) haunt them come playoff time. While junior QB/Safety Mike Palmer and senior RB/LB A.J. Cornelius tend to stand out, the team as a whole is more of a blue collar/workmanlike type of team.
They should win their next four games to move to 7-0 and set up a showdown with Henry County (currently ranked #8 in your AJC poll) on October 24 at Thomson Stadium in Macon. I am eager to see if Henry County is as good as advertised.
By Jeff
September 24, 2008 2:27 PM | Link to this
Chris, I went to high school with IJ Rosenberg. He was a doofus back then, so nobody should expect him to know the difference between Northside Warner Robins and Warner Robins. That is asking way too much from his feeble little mind.
By Chris Whitfield
September 24, 2008 3:39 PM | Link to this
Jesse: I talked about both SW and NE Macon in the last state report in part one of my discussion of middle Georgia teams. The Raiders are definitely on the radar.
ENOUGH with people asking if NHS and WRHS are the same two schools!
By Alan
September 24, 2008 3:55 PM | Link to this
Chris,thanks for the mention about the idiot or idiots that keep asking the question about Northside and WR being the same school. Obviously some moron thinks they are funny. Get a life, you jerk.
By Steve
September 24, 2008 4:53 PM | Link to this
Michael, Sandra, et al…. I had a buddy in college who made it easy to tell the differense between the two WRchools. He refused to cal WR by name. Instead, it was always just “Northside” and Southside”. I think that WR fans who are my vintage (late 40s) still feel threatened by Northside’s success because they remember the glory days of the late 70s and early 80s, and despite its state title with a veyr good team a couple of years back, the Demons just haven’t been consistent.
And no, i don’t have a dog in that fight. My HS Alma Mater, Monroe Area, hasn’t had a winning season since its current seniors were in kindergarten, and the Hurricanes look to go o-for-2008 this year, losing badly nearly every week.
By mikemike
September 24, 2008 5:24 PM | Link to this
Cairo vs Monroe thsi Friday night in Syrup City It would be on ESPN start at 7:30 Go Cairo!!!!!!!!!!
By davil
September 24, 2008 6:46 PM | Link to this
For the last 2 AAAA State Championship Games, WR Mayor Donald Walker officially changed the name of Warner Robins back to Wellston, GA for the day in honor of the Eagles. Wellston was the original town name. Mayor Walker is a Northside alumni as is Governor Perdue.
Since the name Northside is used by several schools in GA, they tag the city name with it. It would be like having a 1st Baptist Church without the town name with it. How many 1st Baptist Churches are there? That would be confusing enough.
Over the past 3 years, Northside/WELLSTON is 48 - 1. Amazing! The Warner Robins Demons are not so lucky.
GO EAGLES! GO BIG BLUE!
By johnny
September 24, 2008 6:58 PM | Link to this
Our Governor is not a Northside alumni, he graduated from WRHS!!
By DEMON FAN
September 24, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this
THANK YOU johnny FOR CLEARING THAT UP.THE GOVERNOR WAS A FINE FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL PLAYER FOR THE DEMONS.
By Blake
September 24, 2008 10:11 PM | Link to this
Chris, Treutlen Co is hot. 4-0 for 1st time in 20 years. Win 2 more and it will be 1st 6-0 start in school history. You keep up the good work.
By Can't wait for Oct 3
September 24, 2008 10:35 PM | Link to this
I’m a big Northside fan but I don’t’ think they have enough to beat Lowndes. Lowndes is a monster. Total domination in the state championship game. Blasting the pansies from the metro on a regular basis. Northside was lucky Ivory pulled a miracle out of his helmet last year. They don’t have that luxury at QB this year. Lowndes just beats you down with D and an unstoppable running game. I say Lowndes 24-12.
By John
September 24, 2008 11:10 PM | Link to this
You failed to mentioned Peach County and Dublin High School who by some are considered to be a part of Middle Georgia. They both have won at least one or have played in their repective classes state championship game over the last five years. These two schools though they are not as large as Northside but have gained the repsect of the rivals.
By John
September 24, 2008 11:13 PM | Link to this
You failed to mentioned Peach County and Dublin High School who by some are considered to be a part of Middle Georgia. They both have won at least one or have played in their repective classes state championship game over the last five years. These two schools though they are not as large as Northside but have gained the repsect of the rivals. Having lived in Warner Robins for 11 years and coached at one of the three schools in Warner Robins, itis probably the most competitive football community in the entire state with valuable history.
By Chris Whitfield
September 25, 2008 12:36 AM | Link to this
Blake and John: I did the smaller classes a couple of weeks ago in my discussion of middle Georgia, and I had Dublin in there, but I didn’t put Treutlen in there because they were just 2-0 at the time and those wins were like Georgia beating Georgia Southern and Central Michigan. I divided middle Georgia up because of the number of quality teams wouldn’t fit in one breakdown. Peach County’s loss to Baldwin puts them in the not exactly hot, not exactly not list.
But Blake, and if you are the Blake I am thinking you are, how bout those Vikings? I don’t think there is any reason why Treutlen won’t be 6-0 headed into the showdown with ECI. The schedule has set up perfectly for letting the Vikings get some good experience and build a lot of confidence heading into back-to-back game with ECI and JoCo. Congrats to Britt Ingle and the rest of the staff and players down there in Soperton. I know cross over games will be played in that region in the final game of the regular season, but what are the rules for that?
By JJ
September 25, 2008 4:04 PM | Link to this
What Jessie Hicks is doing at Baldwin is remarkable. They really have come on in the last several years. Milledgeville just isn’t big enough to have the talent of the two Warner Robins powerhouses they used to play against frequently so he’s certainly been doing great work to simply make the playoffs last year and to blank Carver Columbus. I don’t know if they play Westside Macon at all but as for middle Georgia… Westside, Baldwin and maybe Dublin are teams that have piqued my interest.
By That's My Dog
September 25, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this
Baldwin is the team to watch. They have a hellafide defense and start a freshman QB.
By NSeagle78
September 26, 2008 2:44 AM | Link to this
I am from Warner Robins and it is a little town. Do not get upset when the facts are not what you want them to be.
By Lissa
September 26, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this
NSeagle78 - So much of it has changed in the past 15 years that if you weren’t there for it, you wouldn’t recognize it. I moved away two years ago and there’s been so much growth in just that amount of time that I’m amazed every time I go back.
Try traveling a little more (and not to touristy areas). It’ll change your perspective on what a “little” town is.
By DemonFan
September 26, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this
Jeez, we can’t be the only team not hot in Middle Georgia…