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Thursday, November 20, 2008
AJC Football Predictions: Woodstock keeps rolling; Grayson tops E. Paulding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You remember that girl that you were dating that really liked you a lot more than you liked her? Everything was just a little bit greener in her eyes than yours. She really wanted you to meet her parents and couldn’t understand why you never took her around your friends. No matter what you were going to do, you were just going to hurt her.
The last four weeks of the high school football season are a lot like that. You can’t win in this situation when you are picking winners and losers. By this time of the year, most all of the teams are deserving of where they are, and all have worked hard to get to the second round. There are fans that are hard to like sometimes, but most of these are good kids and you hate to see them at the end of the game with their heads down and tears rolling down their faces along with their sweat.
Feel good, Part 1 — Now, I’m not one to brag, but who else picked Cherokee teams to go 1-1 in the first round of the AAAAA playoffs? O.K., so I picked the wrong teams, but Cherokee did go 1-1 last week.
Even though he would never say it, you have to think that Woodstock coach Mike O’Brien walks around with a big smile on his face most of the time. After winning a state title at Valdosta, O’Brien was fired for, well, not being the second coming of Wright Bazemore. O’Brien was 70-20-1 at Valdosta, making the playoffs six out of seven years. At Woodstock, he led the Wolverines to their first playoff game in 2005 and their first playoff victory last week against Walton. In Valdosta, two playoff games in six years, well, shoot, you wouldn’t have made it six years. In Woodstock, they are thinking of naming the stadium after him. Keep it rolling, Wolverines. Woodstock’s feel-good story goes on.
Feel good, Part 2 — I’ve got a little insight into coach Chris Parker at Chapel Hill. I had a couple of classes with his little brother at Kennesaw State. Even without the colossal turnaround with the Panthers, Chris still would easily be the Michael Corleone of that family. His little brother — Fredo. The elder Parker is without a doubt the state coach of the year right now even if he doesn’t win another game. Which, sadly, he won’t. Coffee rolls.
The rest of AAAAA — One and done, East Paulding? Maybe I was wrong, but I refuse to acknowledge that you guys are legitimate contenders. I don’t really hate the Raiders, but I have to be consistent. Besides, if you have been reading this column all year, you know that Grayson rules the known universe (at least until the Rams have to face a South Georgia team). … Peachtree Ridge might be playing the best football in the state right now, which is good because this is the time of the year when it really matters. Against Harrison, I might give the edge to the Hoyas if they were at home, but take Peachtree Ridge in a close one. … Lassiter won its first playoff game since 1986. It won’t take another 22 years to win again, but it won’t be this week at North Gwinnett. … Northside-Warner Robins at Camden County is the high school equivalent of the SEC Championship game — the winner has the best shot to play for the big title. I’m just an old coastal boy, so I will go with the home team in the battle of military towns.
Out and about — Besides the Northside-Camden game, the one game I would love to see in person would be Sequoyah at Marist. Both teams are disciplined, run-oriented teams with solid defenses. The game starts at 7:30 and could very well be over with by 9:15. It is a battle of ranked teams, but Sequoyah has been good to me this year, so take the Chiefs again. … Hillgrove had its first playoff victory last week, but I can’t see picking / against Tucker two weeks in a row. … Who is doing the valet parking when Holy Innocents’ and Wesleyan meet tonight? Wolves roll on. … Jefferson has been the whipping boy in this column for the past couple of weeks, and it probably isn’t deserved, but the lack of competition that the Dragons played in the regular season catches up this week against Lovett. … I’m feeling the Calhoun love up in Northwest Georgia. Take the Jackets over Westminster this week and I’ll take them in the Dome.
WEEKEND PREDICTIONS WIN / LOSS PERCENTAGES
Last week: 56-24 (.700) • Season: 1,493-407 (.786)
SECOND-ROUND PLAYOFF GAMES
CLASS AAAAA
Winner / Loser
Camden Co. / Northside-W.R.
Coffee / Chapel Hill
Grayson / East Paulding
Lowndes / Bradwell Institute
Newnan / Tift Co.
North Gwinnett / Lassiter
Peachtree Ridge / Harrison
Woodstock / Norcross
CLASS AAAA
Brunswick / Griffin
Sandy Creek / Rome
Sequoyah / Marist
S.W. DeKalb / Cedar Shoals
Statesboro / North Clayton
Tucker / Hillgrove
Ware Co. / Mt. Zion-Jones.
Westside-Macon / Jonesboro
CLASS AAA
Baldwin / Shaw
Cairo / Burke Co.
Carrollton / Eastside
Carver-Col. / Woodward Academy
Dunwoody / North Hall
Gainesville / Cartersville
LaGrange / Thomson
Ridgeland / Flowery Branch
CLASS AA
Brooks Co. / Jefferson Co.
Buford / North Oconee
Calhoun / Westminster
Cook / Toombs Co.
Fitzgerald / Henry Co.
Pepperell / Callaway
Lovett / Jefferson
Thomasville / Dublin
CLASS A
Bremen / Athens Academy
Brookstone / Turner Co.
ECI / Clinch Co.
Lincoln Co. / ELCA
Savannah Christian / Miller Co.
Wesleyan / Holy Innocents’
Whitefield Acad. / Wilkinson Co.
Wilcox Co. / Schley Co.
— Compiled by Chip Saye
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