Prep Zone

By Howard

December 14, 2008 7:36 PM | Link to this

Sir…your final rankings in each category are interesting. I’m curious… if you lumped all the classes together and came up with a top ten…where would you rate Buford? Better than Camden or Peachtree Ridge or Tucker or what?? Now a final top ten comprised of all the teams in class A-AAAAA would be interesting reading…just wondering if you would consider doing that for the readers?? I personally think Buford could hold its own and maybe beat any team in any classification above it.

By gdg73

December 14, 2008 8:26 PM | Link to this

All of Georgia and the metro Atlanta area finally got a chance to see the Cairo Syrupmakers up-close and personal this weekend. Did you like what you saw? I know I did. Angelo Pease is a BEAST (just like I’ve been saying since August) and so is RB Reginald “Jam” Bryant. It looked like maybe Pease should be headed to Stanford and not Shaw. Some Division I school would get on helluva QB in Pease. I see him being very productive in a spread offense attack.

By John

December 14, 2008 9:39 PM | Link to this

The Top 5 in Class AAAA are exactly in the order I would have put them. I wouldn’t put North Clayton in there. Bremen is a little under ranked in Class A. Good job overall in your ratings.

By Reeze

December 14, 2008 9:40 PM | Link to this

Todd…….Your top 4 and 7-10 in AAAAA are on the money….But , How is it that you could rank Newnan at # 5 and Northside at #6…..Northside played ranked teams Carver,Lowndes,B.T Washington (Fla) and gave the # 1 ranked and State champion Camden County a good hard fought game 28-20……Newnan played Camden and the game was over when Newnan took its first offensive snap…..We had a discussion August 18th about the preseason rankings and my post was……”Even with a high number of returning starters from their 2007 squad ,Newnans 2007 season wasn’t at all impressive….A win against Whitewater.A blowout loss to Carrollton.Close games with Redan and Coffee.A close loss to NG,which Lowndes blew out.And other than E.Coweta all wins against sub .500 teams.”….Your response……. “That’s kinda what I was saying last season when I didn’t rank Newnan in the final Top 10. And that’s why I didn’t feel comfortable putting Newnan any higher to start this year. I’m expecting Newnan to be a legitimate state contender this year, but there remains something to prove from last season.”…… Now, after seeing Newnan against Camden this year…Do you feel they were a legitimate state contender and How Comfortable are you really ranking them at the final #5 spot?

By BC

December 14, 2008 9:44 PM | Link to this

How bout those Buford Wolves….5 State Championships and 5 undefeated seasons in 8 years!!!

By Syrupmaker Fan

December 14, 2008 9:49 PM | Link to this

Cairo’s win against Flowery Branch started off a little rocky but WOW - what a come back! I think everybody got to see what we’ve seen on a weekly basis. Cairo has GREAT talent and deserved to win. I am VERY proud of our Makers, what a way for 28 seniors to end a spectacular high school football career.

By Tift fan

December 14, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this

Reeze,

I can understand how you would feel that way about Newnan. But TRUST ME, the team that you saw in the Final Four WAS NOT the same team as when we (Tift) played them.

Newnan was a great football team. I am not saying that they would have won the state championship because I think that once you get to the Final Four everyone has a chance, but Newnan was good.

By Todd Holcomb

December 14, 2008 10:37 PM | Link to this

Now, after seeing Newnan against Camden this year…Do you feel they were a legitimate state contender and How Comfortable are you really ranking them at the final #5 spot?

Good points, Reeze. I can certainly see the argument for Northside ahead of Newnan.

But I just don’t think Newnan can be judged solely on the Camden County game. Ask North Gwinnett & Tift County. They saw what Newnan could do. And Northside perhaps had more good wins overall, but I don’t think Northside beat a team as good as North Gwinnett, and Newnan beat NG pretty good. Newnan also killed Tift. I can see it going either way.

For what it’s worth, the two computer ratings that I consult – Maxwell and Massey – each have Newnan at least 7 points better.

Bremen is a little under ranked in Class A. Good job overall in your ratings.

I dropped Bremen one spot for Wilkinson County at the last minute. Kinda thought more people would think Bremen was overrated than underrated.

if you lumped all the classes together and came up with a top ten…where would you rate Buford?

There really aren’t enough inter-class games to go on to be confident about such rankings. But since you asked, the only teams I’d consider for an all-class Top 10 outside of Class AAAAA would be Buford, Tucker & Cairo. And I think those teams would be in the bottom half of the Top 10, if ranked at all.

If you’re curious, here are the all-class computer rankings of Loren Maxwell:

Camden

Lowndes

Newnan

Grayson

P-Ridge

Buford

Cairo

Etowah

North Gwinnett

Northside

Woodstock

Tucker

Harrison

East Paulding

Carver

By Gamer

December 14, 2008 11:07 PM | Link to this

Todd, more often than not you rank teams in the coming season pretty much how they finished the previous year. Camden County lost 8 or 9 senior on both sides of the line. I hope you are not tempted to start them off as # 1 in 2009 although they re-load from that 3,000 studend body. Personally, I see Peachtree Ridge as the odds on favorite. They bring a lot of starters back. I don’t know what Lowndes has coming back. Norhtside’s offense is gone except for two players. Coffee outstanding OB returns which makes them a threat. Grayson seems ready to make another serious run. Oh well, we shall see. I hate this season is over—Love football. Hooray!

By WACO-FAN

December 14, 2008 11:23 PM | Link to this

now as i looked close at AA i stop hating on Buford because when they didn’t win them couple of years they got a beaten by Charlton County so they aren’t the unstoppable truck i thought they was with that said how the world would u answer them cocky buford fans with rankin them 6 in the state of ga dang all them run stopping teams like baldwin,cairo,lagrange,carver-col just 2 name a few AAA teams i seen play would shut that run game (not a power game)down…that lil rb will wear what top defense down

By mistermak

December 14, 2008 11:51 PM | Link to this

I would like to say that handing out a second place trophy is the most rediculous thing I have seen. Not one of those teams went to the Dome to get a 2nd place trophy and I am sure it didn’t make them feel any better to receive it!! Just another part of the liberal world we live in where nobody is a loser!! Well guess what someone has to lose in order for someone to win. That is what competition is all about. Before you know it they will stop keeping score so nobody’s feelings get hurt. Just like some of the pop warner games now!! You know in racing they call the car that comes in 2nd the first loser. I just think it is silly to give out a trophy to the loser!! I mean they already know what they have accomplished just to get there so GHSA quit trying to make your selves feel better!! When these boys get to the real world their is no reward for 2nd place you either got the promotion or you didn’t! they don’t give you a raise just to make you feel better!! Am I right?

By mistermak

December 14, 2008 11:55 PM | Link to this

GAMER Northside’s offense graduates this year. I am talking about Bacon. He was their offense. Many of the NS fans on here have already said they would be in a rebuilding mode next year. Camden reloads every year. We were in the semi’s 3 of the last 5 years so watch out!!

By turkey

December 15, 2008 12:01 AM | Link to this

Buford can stop all this over rated talk. Just move up to AAAAA class. Nothing is stopping you, Valdosta is actually a AAA team playing in AAAAA and getting their butts kicked. If you really want to play Peachtree Ridge, Camden, and Lowndes go for it.

By its on

December 15, 2008 12:06 AM | Link to this

Look like everyone in 5A is lossing alot of players,whoever has the most experience will probably have the best shot to win state

By TEAMOFTHEDECADE

December 15, 2008 12:07 AM | Link to this

Northside WR should have been ranked higher. We would have destroyed Newnan. We beat 4 or 5 good teams this year Carver,Coffee,Tift, Booker T. Washington and lost to only the mighty Lowndes defending state champs with 16 starters returned and this years state champs Camden. Booker T. Washington only lost to NSWR and Miami Northwestern. We have the defensive player of the year in Abry Jones, allstate running back Xavier Bacon,allstate LB Eric Fields,alstate CB K.J. Morton and all world coaches.

By Yo

December 15, 2008 12:12 AM | Link to this

I’m with you mistermak. If we didnt finish the drill at Lowndes then it really doesnt matter where we were in the top 10. Sorry we let you guys at Camden down as I was looking forward to that all south final. Having said that, great job bringing it back home to where 1AAAAA and camden dominate. S. Ga. is AAAAA football. All of maybe 10 legitimate AAAAA schools but we keep bringing it home. In all of South and Middle Ga. there are a little over 1/2 as many legitimate AAAAA schools as Gwinnett alone. Thay doesn’t take into account all of the AAAAA schools in Metro Atlanta and nearby surrounding counties (such as Coweta cty). So few schools down here but so many championships. 5 out of the last 6 ain’t bad. Lowndes will be aweful next year because we are losing our 1 man team Greg Reid. LOL>LOL>LOL>LOL

By NITRODUST

December 15, 2008 12:19 AM | Link to this

NSWR will still rise but with the new high school on our side of town we may not be a legit AAAAA team next year. I think we were one of the smallest teams in AAAAA this year if not the smallest. We lost 9 starters off our 2007 offense and I think we will lose 9 off of our 2008 offense as well. We lose some studs on defense and we did not prepare a QB for next season. But we have some athletes on JV at QB. We will be a different kind of team next year. We will reload and be back next year. We lose all state players every year.

By Marc

December 15, 2008 12:23 AM | Link to this

Todd - maybe you need to get a new way of picking the games because you blew it with Tucker. No other team in the play offs at any level dominated the opponents the way Tucker did. What other team beat 2 number one ranked teams. Along the way they also played in one of the toughest regions if not the toughest. The defense only returned 2 starters and lost 2 starting defensive ends during the season and dominated.

By Hagar

December 15, 2008 6:59 AM | Link to this

NITRODUST, Get a clue, the new HS doesn’t open for 2 years, it won’t affect your enrollment, it is not on your side of town and with over 2000 students in a classification of 1850 and above you are far from the smallest AAAAA team with a lot of teams playing up from a smaller enrollment. Something NSWR should have done the last 2 years they were in 4A, but Conrad had to get his championships, so he stayed in 4A to get them.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 7:04 AM | Link to this

Gamer Camden could have put in some its jv team and still beat PTR. We had to let our seniors shine. It’s their last year. One of our d linemen is a freshman. The one that stood up Minter a few times. J. Booth is just a junior. They have some of our players listed as seniors when they are only juniors. Our freshman suad went undefeated and I’ll jv lost only one game due to jacked up officiating. Camden is right where they need to be. ON TOP 5A STATE CHAMPS!

By Nurlman

December 15, 2008 7:04 AM | Link to this

Yeah, what’s with Tucker at 12 in the blended ratings? That’s just whack.

By bulldog

December 15, 2008 7:23 AM | Link to this

Congratulations to Wesleyan on their impressive win in the Dome!! You should give your recruiters a raise! You have the best class A team that money can buy. I wonder how well you would have done if you had played in class AA where you should be. I know you used to get your butts kicked every year when you were playing AA teams. I see that the only two losses this year came from the two teams that also dropped down from AA. I don’t want to sound like “sour grapes” but the best running back in the state, Washaun Ealey, has played the last three games injured. Also, ECI, being a public school,has to field a team from the student body that actually lives in their school district. Larry Campbell, the Lincoln County coach, was exactly right in his article last Saturday. The small rural schools will never be able to compete when we have to play schools that can recruit and field players from any school district. ( I guess in some places as long as you win, that is all that matters.)

By bjohnDawg

December 15, 2008 7:43 AM | Link to this

To all you Camden County haters

Lets put to bed the crap about Camden Plays a weak schedule and when the playoffs come around, they will not be able to compete against the top teams in Georgia. Fact 2008 State champs.

Yes their conference foes are soft. But they played a tough non conference schedule with top out of state opponents. And when the playoffs come around they take care of business.

another rumor was well they dont get injuries because they play a soft schedule. Well their top running back and defensive line were missing in action in the final…and they won.

another rumor…well they would not advance once they were not playing at home. and again they went to newnan and won,,,and then to the dome and won.

Face it, this team was and is good. Will they win the state every year. No.But no team does.

And FYI…Peachtree Ridge showed they can play. I would put them at #1 pre season next year. They have more talent coming back then Camden. But dont count the CATS out.

Great Season CATS!

By Wolfish Grin

December 15, 2008 7:55 AM | Link to this

Bulldog, you aren’t breaking new ground here — there will always be a public vs. private “sour grapes” mentality, and there’s nothing we can do to change your mind about it — however, I will point out that almost all of those kids have been at Wesleyan for more than four years, so you are giving our admissions office a great deal of credit for identifying talent in kindergarten and in the fifth grade. :-) Kyle Karempelis is the last of several highly athletic Karempelis kids to come through Wesleyan, and he’s been there since forever. You can either make excuses, or you can make it happen. We chose to make it happen. We understand about injuries — playing in AA, against physically far bigger teams (Buford comes to mind), we were beat up to the point where our team doc expressed concern. Team doc is much happier this year, with far fewer injuries. It’s high school football, and for 99.9% of these kids, it’s the last football they’ll play — there’s no reason to be incurring injuries that will dog you for the rest of your life.

So, Bulldog, since ECI had won, as your principal commented, 40-1 in the last three years, how many snarky comments have you endured about “how they they really should move up to AA”? Works both ways, guy.

By therealCamdenWildcat

December 15, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this

Congratulations CAMDEN COUNTY WILDCATS. On top in AAAAA!!! I will not spend the time on here bashing other posters, namely the ones from Northside who have bashed Camden all year. The championship speaks for itself. Amazing that Region 3AAAAA could produce the state champion and losses from the 1990’s couldn’t prevent us from taking the crown though.

ANYWAY, THE 2008 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY IS IN KINGSLAND, LIKE IT OR NOT, BUT ITS HERE TO STAY!!!

By HoyaDawg

December 15, 2008 7:58 AM | Link to this

Chris, Good job. Three teams from 5AAAAA finished in the top 10, with those teams losing out to the 1,2, and third seeded teams. This season seems to prove to most that AAAAA football has become more competitive and good football teams are found all across the state.Some ignorant people still would like for all to believe that the only strong football teams are fielded in the south, but anyone with a true knowledge of football can see that this is untrue. I wouldn’t say that there has been a power shift, but a distribution of power across the state. This was a great year for highschool football. It has been fun. Thanks to all bloggers and AJC for your great coverage of Highschool football.

By D

December 15, 2008 8:03 AM | Link to this

mistermak, gotta agree with you on the second place trophy. When they awarded it at the Wesleyan-ECI game, the ECI team had a hard time finding someone to go out and accept the trophy. They announced it on the podium, and after some milling around, finally someone — the coach? — jogged out to get it, followed by three players sorta dragging their way out there. The lack of sportsmanship was embarrassing.

By Gamer

December 15, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this

bjohndawg< Ditto to what I said, Peachtree Ridge should easily start off as the # 1 team in AAAAA. Since HC said some of the seniors listed on their lineup were really juniors/freshmen, We better watchout for CC next year. I think Lowndes and Grayson will be okay. Keep an eye on East Paulding. Newnan and NSWR will have to re-build.

HurricaneCamden—Do doubt CC is the real deal. You will be competitive every year regardless of your schedule. Maybe if you could schedule any team from 1AAAAA during your non-conference schedule that will quiet down some Anti-CC talk about playing in 3AAAAA. Glynn County AAAA teams—Brunswich and Glynn are much better than the pretend Savannah AAAAA teams.

By High School Fan

December 15, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this

Hey Todd, I’d like your opinon on something. Why do you and the rest of the AJC have such a high opinion of JD at Tucker when there are other true student-athletes more deserving of recognition? He’s a 19 year old man who scoffs at academics, playing against 16-17 year old kids for the most part. Can you imagine Cooper Taylor, who started for GA Tech at DB, playing against high school kids this year? Well, he’s still younger than Mr. Davis. Most seniors who graduate on time at 18 who go on to play college ball put on 10-15 pounds before their freshman season so many, many kids would do what Mr. Davis has done. Also, why is a 19 year old, high school JD off-limits to such criticism when an 18 year-old college freshman is all of a sudden a man, open to full scrutiny? To me, its the ultimate hyporcrisy.

By Reeze

December 15, 2008 8:21 AM | Link to this

therealcamdenwildcat………When are you guys gonna get off this Northside bashing camden junk…….I recall it was only ENR ,you guys proved who were the real champs ,with your two good 4th qrt drives against Northside for the win……Most Northside folks go back aways and are true fans and ballers………Again congrats on the title.

By Voice of Reason

December 15, 2008 8:27 AM | Link to this

PEACHTREE RIDGE played a helluva game on Saturday night against nationally ranked Camden County. They were underdogs all throughout the playoffs but silenced critics by putting up a tough fight against 2 nationally ranked teams. How this team is unranked nationally is beyond me. Both teams had a stingy D-line and I knew that whoever won, they’d only win by a few points. The Wildcats’ offense prevailed in the end. Kudos to both teams for proving that AAAAA football is where it’s at. PRHS should be pre-season #1 for sure, I would love to see these 2 go at it again. Congrats to Camden County as well for silencing the naysayers. Good luck to both teams in ‘09.

By Voice of Reason

December 15, 2008 8:31 AM | Link to this

Camden could have put in some its jv team and still beat PTR!

NONSENSE. It’s okay to be elated about your squad bringing home the title but let’s not get delusional amidst the euphoria.

By Reeze

December 15, 2008 8:31 AM | Link to this

Don’t laugh all at once ,but I think Colquitt County will make some noise next year…..They had a young untamed explosive offense this year,If they get the defense together Region 1 might be in for a surprise.

By RAMDAWG

December 15, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this

HURRICANE CAMDEN-You sound very ignorant.If you played the jv team against P. RIDGE YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.Please play the jv team against Grayson in the dome and see what happens.

By WJ

December 15, 2008 8:41 AM | Link to this

Todd, Do you know if there were any records broken over the weekend in the dome and if so do you know where the information can be found.

By MIKEMIKE

December 15, 2008 8:54 AM | Link to this

CAIRO IS THE BEST TEAM IN GEORGIA.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this

RAMDAWG I was just telling the truth. I understand that some people can’t handle the truth. A freshman (#61)stood up Minter and #32 twice and Johnson ran over Minter twice. Buy the dvd and watch it. Like I said, it was our seniors time to shine. Gamer I wish that could happen but been there tried that and was rejected. I must say that Savannah could have awesome teams if the good players would stay out of jail and go to school. Before you through me under the bus for saying that, you should know that I was born and raised in Savannah. I graduated from Savannah High School. My family is still there. And I KNOW so many talented young men that are great football players. But they would rather be gun having thugs, sell drugs and be in a gang then go to school and use the talent that they have on the field. I APPLAUD the young men on Savannah’s teams that stay out of trouble. Yall think Lowdnes had thugs! LOL I remember games having to end because too much fighting between Savannah High and Effingham County. It wasn’t just the players it was the fans fighting too. Football was banned at Grayson Stadium (home of the savannah sandgnats) because of that rival. If those Savannah boys would get their acts together Region 3 will be awesome.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this

MIKEMIKE We was sitting on flowery branch side and when Cairo would make a good play we would ring our cow bells. I think most of Camden was for you guys. Congrats on your win.

By Chris Whitfield

December 15, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

Todd - maybe you need to get a new way of picking the games because you blew it with Tucker. No other team in the play offs at any level dominated the opponents the way Tucker did. What other team beat 2 number one ranked teams.

Todd doesn’t pick the games, he ranks the teams. I picked the games, and for the season I was 111-61, going 10-5 over the semis and the finals. Tucker did what great teams do - win it on the field. Congrats to all of the state champs.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 9:42 AM | Link to this

VOICE OF REASON We don’t stumble over good football players here, we breed them. Believe it or not, Jv is as good as varsity.

By Marc

December 15, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this

High School Fan do you have proof about JD?

By RAMDAWG

December 15, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this

Hurricane Camden-i can handle the truth so lets start speaking it-fact #1-camden barely beat p.ridge with your varsity.fact#2-camden is 2008 state champions and fairly won.fact3-CAMDEN PLAYED some tough teams to get there see peachtree ridge-northside wr.Feel free to play jv players in the first game against grayson in 2009 you will be run out of the dome.Buford also feel free to move up to AAAAA next year you would be 5-5 it is a whole different world.

By Dawg Gone

December 15, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this

Marc - High School Fan is right on target with facts and opinion.

By Marc

December 15, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

Sorry Todd

By AndyCamden

December 15, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

Camden did great, except for all of the fumbles. RAMDAWG Next year Camden will play this years JV against your Grayson Rams. Get this, we won state this year with last years JV squad!
Barely Beat P-Ridge? How did Grayson fair against them?

By Voice of Reason

December 15, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

HurricaneCamden: please tell me you’re under 18. if not, then thank goodness I’m the Voice of Reason ;-) If Camden is as good as you say they are (and I think we can concede that they are indeed GOOD) then PRHS should have been blown out. Again, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. It was a close, tough fought game and the better team won. Anyone who thinks otherwise wasn’t at that Dome Saturday night…and suffers from delusional euphoria. :-)

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this

LOL RAMDAWG you are funny. How many titles this year does grayson have? I can tell you 1 title LOSERS! LOL don’t let me get under your skin. Camden County is and always will be the best team in the nation to me. I wouldn’t be a true fan if I thought anything else. Lighten up! you should feel the same way about your team. This site is all about opinions, and my opinion is that the JV team is as good as varsity. Some of the JV team now will be on Varsity next season. So I say, LET THE GAMES BEGAN!!!

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 10:29 AM | Link to this

Hurricane season is officially over as of Saturday December 13th. In the mean while there will be some storms brewing in the sea in Kingsland, Ga. that are waiting to bring Devastation to your town. LOL Congrats to all winners and runners up. (for those too serious posters, please lighten up, being wind to tight is not good for your bowels)

By Marc

December 15, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

Dawg Gone so where are those facts other than age and he’s not the only 19 year old in the finals.

By GA Buckeye

December 15, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

To: Chris Whitfield

Just to poke some fun at you, I do believe you picked Tucker to lose 4 out of the 5 playoff games they were involved in. Am I right on that. Sometimes I just wish prognosticators would publicly admit when they were absolutely wrong about a team over and over and explain why. Congrats to all the winners, but especially the Tucker Tigers. It was a long time coming after being ‘snakebitten’ for years and the Tucker community is exciting the team finally brought one home.

By goober

December 15, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

Todd:

We’re anxiously awaiting reports on the crowd and the gate receipts at the Dome for Friday and Saturday. From the TV camera views Sat. night in the 5A game, it sure looked like there were no more than about 10,000 people there.

Can we expect something on this soon please, along with GHSA’s and others views on the success/failure of having 5 finals there instead of 10 semis? And are the finals in the Dome an indefinite thing unless GHSA votes again, or is it an experiment for a fixed time, like one more year?

Also please clarify/elaborate: Didn’t the GHSA change the former 2-year schedule & realignment cycle to a 4-yr cycle, and if so, when does that begin?

Thanks for your and Chris’ and Glen’s great work this year. I especially appreciate the way you consistently and successfully incorporated some wonderful history of GA prep football into your writings. We are blessed to have such a great heritage in this state, with so many great personalities.

For consideration as a future feature, how about the Top Ten greatest quotes from coaches? For example, the best I ever heard was when former Albany coach Al Woodham was quoted in the paper, after losing badly against some team and after being asked what happened, he said: “We had a drug problem. We got drug all over the field the whole game.”

Congrats to the five state winners, to all the others for working hard and making a great effort and representing your team and school, and thanks to all the bloggers who made things even more fun and interesting.

By Graysonfan2

December 15, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

Brookwoodmom

Will you be at that All-Star game? I was thinking about it since your school is not so far away.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this

VOICE OF REASON you sound more like a VOICE FOR A SEASON I might not be as old as you, but I have a 18 year old son. I am glad that we agree that Camden is good.

By Reeze

December 15, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this

Hurricanecamden you are a disgusting woman …No way you’re anyone’s RN.

By Gamer

December 15, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

HurricaneCamden, my female friend that sits on the visitors 50 yard line. Now, if I told you about Waters Avenue, Washington Street, Oglethorpe Mall, Tybee, Bay Street, Grayson Stadium on Victory Drive—I think you would give be a hugg. You don’t have to guess where I am from along the beautiful lower county coast. I love Camden County, many relatives including this ex-Marine lived there at one time. Also, I graduted from WF after going to B a couple of years. Give it up home girl!

By bulldog

December 15, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this

To Wolfish Grin: I agree with you about the Karempelis kid. He would be a talent on any team in any classification. My point is that the true single A teams have to play most players both ways because of lack of depth. If one key player gets injured, the season can go down the drain. No one has suggested that ECI play in class AA because we have a student body less than 350 and our players live in our school district. This team is 39-2 over the past three seasons because we have an excellent coaching staff and a bunch of kids that work extremely hard. If you believe that ALL the Wesleyan football players were students that just happened to go out for the football team, then I have some ocean front property in Kansas that I would like to sell you. My point is, we can’t go outside our school district and recruit kids to come to school at ECI and play football. Can you say that??????

By HoyaDawg

December 15, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this

I mean good job Todd. As far as the PR/ Camden game these were two evenly matched teams. Both teams played well, played hard, and with a lot of class. Don’t let some idiot mess that up with stupid coments on this blog. The game could have went either way as the woodstock camden game could have, and as the PR grayson game could have. There were alot of equally matched teams in AAAAA this year. Only one team went 15-0 though. that was our AAAAA state champs. Great season Camden. You played great and silenced your critics.Camden Wildcats are #1 until somebody beats them and we know that will not be for a while.

By T.J.

December 15, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this

First, congrats to Camden. Was a very inspired game Saturday. The final 4 teams from AAAAA were contenders and class programs. The semi final games were great to see as well as the final. Georgia high school football has come a long way and is as good or better than other states that claim they have the best programs. This blog is a testimate of how exciting high school football in Georgia is.

Is there a schedule out that says Grayson will play Camden the first game next year?

Once again, North vs. South…….does it matter?

By Etowah Fan

December 15, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this

Todd, I am glad to see the respect for Region 5-AAAAA with three teams… even if Etowah didn’t make the Top 10. I felt they should have, but clearly the Eagles didn’t get it done in the first round.

Now that the season is over, how would you rate the Regions (overall top to bottom) in 5A?

Personally, I think Region 1 is still strong, but perhaps not the overwhelming favorite any longer. My list:

1 - Region 5 (my bias) 1 - Region 1 3 - Region 7 4 - Region 8 5 - Region 3 6 - Region 4 7 - Region 6 8 - Region 2

By Football Expert

December 15, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this

It is a well known fact that Wesleyan does not recruit ANY athletes. There are only about 425 students in the high school. The unique aspect of Wesleyan is that they take what they have to work with and the coaching staff does an outstanding job of building up their players; probably more so than any other school I have visited. As for the disappointed ECI fans, all good things must come to an end. ECI lost a game they probably should have won, or at least put on a competitive performance. ECI was outcoached on offense, defense, and special teams. Their players were ill-prepared, over confident and did not execute. They did, however, put on a wonderful pre-game warm-up with their cocky-like swagger. As for Larry Campbell, he used the recruiting excuse the week before his ill-prepared team played Wesleyan to cover his backside. These rural schools that are used to winning have a hard time accepting the fact that many schools want to win just as bad, but some want it more than others; you just can’t show up and ride your reputation to victory; it doesn’t work that way. Congratulations to Wesleyan! You should be proud of your performance and how you represented your school and community. You have set a very high bar for the competition to achieve.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 11:05 AM | Link to this

LOL so Gamer you know I am telling the truth about Savannah. Reeze how am I disgusting? Yes I am an RN 17 years!! baby. Stress does make you constipated.

By HeadEast

December 15, 2008 11:14 AM | Link to this

Congrats to all the winners, especially the men of Tucker for that great turnaround with Marist. Delighted to see three 5-AAAAA teams in the final ten. 1-AAAAA was exposed a little in the playoffs, after Lowdown and NHS they were only fair. Should be great again next year with lots of returning starters at Camden and the Pea. Happy Holidays, Happy New Year to you all!

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 11:15 AM | Link to this

Gamer I graduated from THE HIGH 100 Washington Ave. Savannah High and Beach ruled football and Savannah High and Windsor ruled basketball. When I was born we lived in Hitch Villege! My grand mother still lives across from Daffrin Park. My children grow here in Camden. (Thank God!)

By Reeze

December 15, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this

Gamer…..Good one,funny thing is , I think that I was sitting a couple rows behind Ms. Camdenhurricane at the NS/Camden game….I remember the ” Win or Go Home” sign ,made of ripped up cardboard and lettered with crayola ,that she was throwing up all night…..Hey classy lady, one thing…If you can afford Benz’s ,Blackberry’s and can feed your mut filet mignon….. You sit on the visitor’s side …Why don’t you have season tickets for your beloved cats? :0

By M.C.C.A.I.N.

December 15, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this

High School Fan,

No need to throw salt just because Jonathon Davis single-handedly stripped your Marist team of their respective manhood Friday night. It wouldn’t matter if he were 14 or 19, talent wasn’t gonna lose two games in a row to steroids. You white boys had your moment earlier this year, but get ready for another run of Tucker dominance. So pop some pills, hit the weights, and get ready to (still) have circles run around your slow, pasty behinds next fall. Try not to whine next time. Why can’t you follow the example of your boy John McCain, and be a good sport when it all comes crashing down?

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 11:33 AM | Link to this

Reeze its because I love to sit on the visitors side. As a matter of fact I did purchase season tickets just to support my wildcats and gave them away. Your comments does not take away the facts that yes I do live in opsrey cove golf course community, and yes I drive a mercedes s 320 (silver) and yes my poodle eats filet mignon. It is what it is.

By Todd Holcomb

December 15, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this

Todd, more often than not you rank teams in the coming season pretty much how they finished the previous year. Camden County lost 8 or 9 senior on both sides of the line. I hope you are not tempted to start them off as # 1 in 2009 although they re-load from that 3,000 studend body.

I wouldn’t say that I rank teams in preseason that way. This season, I ranked defending champs Lowndes and ECI #1 because they did return quite a bit. I ranked Carver #2 behind Cairo. I ranked Buford #1 despite only 5 returning starters, but that’s Buford. So Camden won’t be ranked #1 next season by default.

I would like to say that handing out a second place trophy is the most rediculous thing I have seen. … Am I right?

No. You’re overreacting. I think second place out of 80 teams is worth some recognition. However, instead of giving the second-place trophy to the runner-up, I think they should wait until the AJC rankings come out and give it to the team that finishes No. 2. Luckily this season, I ranked the runners-up No. 2. It’s not always the case that the runner-up is the No. 2 team.

Valdosta is actually a AAA team playing in AAAAA and getting their butts kicked.

Valdosta is NOT a AAA team. It’s a small AAAAA team.

Northside WR should have been ranked higher. We would have destroyed Newnan. We beat 4 or 5 good teams this year Carver,Coffee,Tift, Booker T. Washington

If Tift is a good team, then what does that make Newnan, which beat Tift 42-0? Yet Northside would have ‘’destroyed’’ Newnan?

Todd - maybe you need to get a new way of picking the games because you blew it with Tucker. No other team in the play offs at any level dominated the opponents the way Tucker did.

Marc: I don’t pick games. I just rank teams. I ranked Tucker No. 2 in preseason and came very close to ranking Tucker No. 1 from the start. Also, Buford dominated the playoffs more than Tucker, setting a state record for points scored in the post-season.

Yeah, what’s with Tucker at 12 in the blended ratings? That’s just whack.

Those are computer rankings.

Hey Todd, I’d like your opinion on something. Why do you and the rest of the AJC have such a high opinion of JD at Tucker when there are other true student-athletes more deserving of recognition?

I don’t want to discuss anything personal about a high school athlete except to say that Jonathan Davis has been nothing but gracious and respectful with our staff this season with interviews and anything else we’ve asked of him, and we’ve asked a lot.

But I will address the issue: Why does the AJC write more about a player’s playing skills than academics and character? Because it’s sports. Also because it’s high school sports. That’s what people most want to know about. Being 19 is not against the rules of the GHSA. Lots of great players have been 19. A.J. Green is 20. Should he not have been a 5-star recruit because of his age? If you’re a great player and you’re playing by the rules, you’re going to get recognition for it.

Todd, Do you know if there were any records broken over the weekend in the dome and if so do you know where the information can be found.

Ronnie Smith’s 94-yard run was the second-longest in finals history behind Sean Dawkins’ 99-yarder in 2000.

The 85-yard pass from Camden’s Milstead to Smith was the second-longest pass ever. Lowndes hit an 89-yarder in 1980. It was Steve Player to somebody.

Cody Getz became the ninth player to scored four TDs in a c’ship game. Monte Williams of Commerce was the last to do it in 2000.

Getz’s 233 yards rushing was among the 10 best efforts all-time.

Find them on GHSFHA.com on the forums under ‘state champions project’.

By Coach

December 15, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this

Tood and the rest of the AJC sports staff. In class AAAA, how do you not rank the Southwest DeKalb Panthers? The team, competing in the toughest region in the state-refer to the AAAA finals-advanced to the quarterfinals and its only two losses came to the Tucker and Marist. Other teams that are ranked, had good teams, but didn’t see the competition like SWD. I am not even a fan, I just want you guys to re-evaluate. Also, they only lose a few players, so consider them a top five team next year..

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 11:36 AM | Link to this

LOL I love it. You sound kind of bitter Reeze, you need to take a laxative and release. Constipation does that to ya!

By Band Mom Gone Wild

December 15, 2008 11:43 AM | Link to this

Wow. What a game, what a weekend! Lions, we are so proud of you! I hope you heard the band cheering for you because they all were, loudly!

It’s funny because at the beginning of band season we meet with freshmen parents to discuss band camp, practices, games, where we need volunteers, etc. Inevitably we have one or two parents ask a question related to how long the season usually is. Those of us who are veterans look at each other and just laugh because for three years in a row now, our season hasn’t ended until December sometime. It’s hard to explain to a new band parent that putting up the Christmas tree late and last minute shopping are all part of being a PRHS Marching Band Parent! No complaints, though, because we love it! We love our football team and wouldn’t miss being there in the stands supporting our kids who are there to support you for anything!

You done good Ridge! We know you’ll be back next year with some awesome seniors and a great group of up and coming football players!

Luv you all!!!

By RAMDAWG

December 15, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this

Hurricane Camden-you sound like the camden fan that sat next to me during CAMDEN-GRAYSON GAME of 2007 he was very intoxicated and smelled awful.He sat on graysons side the whole game.It is great to love your hometown team but be realistic-grayson lost to p ridge 13-10 in 2 ot.P ridge played you to the death,game was not decided until late,be happy to be state champs in a state where it is very hard to be state champs,just ask Lowndes.I know you think you will repeat next year but i know Grayson and Peachtree Ridge are loaded to the teeth.try to be a classy champion and not turn into Lowndes County.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 11:52 AM | Link to this

To everyone on this blog, good luck to your teams next year. Hurricane season will begin again in August for us. And again those tooo serious posters take a chill pill, it’s football. Live, Love, amd Let Live!

By Todd Holcomb

December 15, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this

According to the inbox of my email, the most unpopular decision I made in the rankings was putting Westminster ahead of Lovett - despite the fact that Lovett beat Westminster and advanced more rounds than Lovett in the playoffs.

Lemme splain. First of all, I understand that most people doing rankings would’ve put Lovett ahead of Westminster given that scenario.

This is why I didn’t:

Lovett beat Westminster, but both were 5-2 in their region. The overall performance was the same.

Lovett advanced one more round in the playoffs. But Lovett didn’t have to play Calhoun in the second round as Westminster did. So I don’t care much about that, either.

So what else is there? Well, Lovett lost to Callaway in a non-region game. No shame in that. Callaway is good. But Westminster played tougher non-region opponents — Carrollton & Cartersville — and won decisively against both.

From August through December, taken as a whole, Westminster out-played Lovett.

By Todd Holcomb

December 15, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this

re: attendance at the Dome

That won’t be released until Tuesday, but Dome officials estimated it to be 40,000 to 45,000 for the two days. Remember that if there’s 10,000 in the Dome for any one game, multiply that by five because the crowds come in shifts for each game.

Tood and the rest of the AJC sports staff. In class AAAA, how do you not rank the Southwest DeKalb Panthers? The team, competing in the toughest region in the state-refer to the AAAA finals-advanced to the quarterfinals and its only two losses came to the Tucker and Marist. Other teams that are ranked, had good teams, but didn’t see the competition like SWD.

Great question. SWD was my #11 team in AAAA and easily could’ve been ranked 6-10. But who do I take out to accommodate SWD?

I could live w/ SWD in the Top 10, but those other teams have good credentials, too.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this

Nah RAMDAWG I do not drink or smoke. If you notice I have not used any foul language either. I did have some of your fans mad with me because you guys were losing and was mad. Yall lil senior boys was so mad that they were throwing things at us LOL. They tried to dish the trash talk but couldnt handle it when it came back at them. It’s cool. As a matter of fact it was a couple of grayson players on the sideline I was having some friendly trash talk with during the game and I even talked and joked with them after the game. I am non violent. I am just a Wildcat Mom gone wild!!!

By Lioness30096

December 15, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this

CONGRATS TO THE PEACHTREE RIDGE LIONS FOR YET ANOTHER AMAZING SEASON. 2 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP VISITS FOR A FOOTBALL PROGRAM THAT HAS ONLY EXISTED SINCE 2006: PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. I LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT SEASON ALREADY.

By Marc

December 15, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this

Todd Buford may have scored more points but they allowed almost twice as many as Tucker (45 versus 80). Tucker also beat 2 number ones along the way.

By Lioness30096

December 15, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this

hurricanecamden: How classless.

Not sure if I believe you about the “friendly trash talking” with the Grayson players (doesn’t matter anyway). First Lowndes, now this. Is having no class a running theme in south Ga? I would expect children to partake in such foolishness but a woman who claims to have an adult child? Good grief.

By Marc

December 15, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this

Todd that’s fair with SWD. They needed to be in the “also mentioned” category.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this

Lioness30096 go back to your hole! Show your face next year. That whole north and south georgia argument as well as Lowdnes is dead, so rest in peace with that.

By cchswildcat

December 15, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this

hurricanecamden: I am proud to call myself an avid supporter of Camden…but the things you say in regards to how much money you do or do not have are not necessary. You are an embarrassment to the entire Wildcat community when you chat about your money on a football blog. Last time I checked…when the guys are on the field…it does not matter how much money their parents make…but what does matter is their skills. I praise you for being such a strong supporter, but I am sure there are other blogs on the internet where you can boast on how much money you may OR may not have. Leave this blog to football!!! One last thing….CONGRATS WILDCATS!!! You deserved it!!!

By coolcell

December 15, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this

Todd, can i have your preseason AAA top 10 for 2009?

By SE GA Fan

December 15, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this

Congratulations to all State Champs on great seasons.

To all the Camden doubters, save the Region 3 talk and schedule strength talk until next year. What should be perfectly clear to the rational fans is that Jeff Herron has put together a program at Camden that is to be envied. He has been successful at all of his stops, 3 State Titles….a conditioning and agility program modeled after the successful Valdosta program, organizational skills, a defensive philosophy, great assistant coaches (I think that there was an article in the AJC this weekend that said that there are 19 of his former assistants now with Head Coaching positions…which is an absolutely astounding number) which has resulted in being able to create the enthusiasm necessary to have the number of kids involved in the program starting at the pee-wee level, into middle school (both of which run the wing T and the defensive sets), to the Freshman team and the JV. The approach is also contagious within the community. What it all adds up to is a very good football team year after year. It is not as much the size of the school as it is the effectiveness of the approach. There may well be more talented teams in terms of individual achievements, D1 prospects, etc., but very few, in my opinion, who have a better approach, and results, on a TEAM basis, and certainly few who can out work one of the Camden teams. They have continually proven that based on their second half play.

To those who want Camden to schedule a Region 1 team for the regular season, have your AD contact Coach Herron, but time is running out….they already have Grayson at the Kell Classic and Hoover is coming to Kingsland…who wants to be the lucky team to play that 3rd non-conference game?

As far as the final rankings go, the only thing certain is the #1 and #2 teams, the rest is speculation at best. Can’t tell anything from scores of individual ball games as they all have a personality of their own as well as emotions, or in some cases lack thereof, of their own as well.

A special note to the Camden fan who claimed that the JV would have beaten Peachtree Ridge….get off the crackpipe…that was a very good football team that Camden beat on Saturday. Need to remember that Coach Ballard worked with Coach Herron at Oconee and won a State Title with him….while we are on that subject…a special congratulations to Coach Stevens at Tucker….another Herron former assistant who won a title at Camden in 2003.

To those who doubt the Newnan team, don’t let the Camden score fool you…that was an exceptional football team and one that is capable of beating any team in the State….they have nothing to prove to me.

One final note….to those of you out there who want Coach Herron to pass the ball more…..nice call on the bomb to DeAngelo…..dumb call on the interception late in the game….in the wing T offense you can and shuld use the run to set up the pass and in some cases, vice versa, but the run is the primary weapon, utilizing multiple backs, giving the defense similar looks but running different plays (notice how hard it is some times to figure out who has the ball? Ask the camera man and half the crowd who was following Valdez Saturday night). Coach Herron continues to play to the strengths of the players he has available….this year it happened to be running behind a very good offensive line, with just enough passes to keep the defense honest…other years it will be different….one thing is for sure…it will be a well disciplined approach and a damn good football team

By RAMDAWG

December 15, 2008 1:35 PM | Link to this

Hurricane Camden-you talking to Grayson players on the sidelines during grayson-camden 2007 i believe you call it trashtalk and i doubt if they paid any attention to you,to them you looked like another camden co drunk screaming insults at 16 and 17 yr old kids.Ive never had the urge to lean over the fence and yell at hs football players on the sidelines.They probably thought you were odd in n.georgia we dont scream insults at hs football players.

By Big Pappi

December 15, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

It’s curious that three teams from 5AAAAA made your top ten, but you left off the region champion Etowah Eagles. The computer ranks them 8th. I guess we will have to wait for next year.

By goober

December 15, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this

Todd:

Thanks for responding about the Dome attendance. When you write about it please be sure to compare this year to the semis in the past. And if you get a chance please answer my other questions.

This is just a guess about the record-length TD pass in the 1980 title game by Lowndes … Eric Thomas was the QB of that team, and Steve Player was the primary WR. So it might have been a pass from Thomas to Player. Or maybe an end-around pass from Player to ??? (Cedric Jones or Ray Parker, maybe?)

By Joe

December 15, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this

As a Camden fan I wanted to say that your final rankings seem right on to me. After playing Northside, Woodstock and Newnan There’s not much difference between these three teams. I thought Camden and Northside both played well in their game. Northside has the best player that I got to see this year in Xavier Bacon! Linebacker Eric Fields was awesome too. Camden came out flat against Woodstock and they scored two quick TD’s. Camden played very well in the second half and came away with the win. Woodstock was a very solid football team all around especially skill players on offense! With a good start I think Camden would have won by 8-10 points. Newnan had a bad start against Camden but they could not recover like we did against Woodstock. Had Newnan played well early I think Camden may have won by 7-10 points. All three of these teams were pretty much the same. Peachtree Ridge was the best team we played all year! Lots of Big, Strong Players! (Minter, Smith) Our Cats just kept on scratching and clawing all the way to the end. I’m happy that our team got the win. Really could have gone either way. There were so many GOOD football teams this year in AAAAA!

By MA

December 15, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

Where is Henry County High?

By HS Fan

December 15, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this

**Todd,

I think they should wait until the AJC rankings come out and give it to the team that finishes No. 2.**

No disrespect, I realize that it must be difficult to be so objective only to endure fuming rants of every John Doe Georgian’s protest regardless. As if you are suppose to predict every Cinderella team in High School football. Undoubtedly, these are the same individuals that probably failed to forecast the NY Giants winning the Super Bowl, or Davidson’s surprise advancement in last years NCAA Basketball play-offs. Nevertheless don’t you find it to be a bit arrogant to think that the AJC should be the sole verdict in Georgia’s second team? I mean, the AP doesn’t even determine college football’s ranking, does it?

By Todd Holcomb

December 15, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this

**Thanks for responding about the Dome attendance. When you write about it please be sure to compare this year to the semis in the past. And if you get a chance please answer my other questions.

This is just a guess about the record-length TD pass in the 1980 title game by Lowndes … Eric Thomas was the QB of that team, and Steve Player was the primary WR. So it might have been a pass from Thomas to Player. Or maybe an end-around pass from Player to ??? (Cedric Jones or Ray Parker, maybe?)**

Yep, it was Thomas to Player. …

Attendance for the semis at the Dome the past 2-3 years was around 54,000. Of course, you had half as many games. We’re going to get the numbers and report it, but I suspect that the schools involved made from $30,000 to $65,000, depending on classification.

Todd Buford may have scored more points but they allowed almost twice as many as Tucker (45 versus 80). Tucker also beat 2 number ones along the way.

Good point.

Where is Henry County High?

I thought I could sneak Henry out of the rankings without anybody noticing. : )

Henry’s region didn’t perform well in the playoffs, which put Henry’s season in a different light, in my opinion, especially since Henry didn’t really hammer its region opponents like a Top 10 team probably would’ve. I also saw Henry play Laney, just didn’t come away feeling this was a Top 10 team. Henry was good, just not outstanding, IMO.

It’s curious that three teams from 5AAAAA made your top ten, but you left off the region champion Etowah Eagles. The computer ranks them 8th. I guess we will have to wait for next year.

Good observation, and I thought about ranking Etowah. I just didn’t feel comfortable ranking a team that lost in the first round, especially since the loss was to another unranked team (Lassiter), even if it was overtime. I guess the way I looked at it was that Etowah, Harrison & East Paulding were about even anyway, and then Harrison & East won their playoff games and Etowah didn’t. And then Woodstock won twice and nearly beat Camden.

Todd, can i have your preseason AAA top 10 for 2009?

Not yet. What’s Carver losing to graduation?

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this

CCHSWILDCAT That post was addressed to a specific person. It was not meant for everyone. Reeze and I know the inside on that. You need to just read sometimes instead of replying when you do not know what is going on. I will forgive you this time, but don’t let it happen again.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

It is amazing to me how many people try to find an argument in everything! Todd I agree with your rankings. Thank you for letting us know the dome attendance. RAMDAWG you are now dismissed goodbye!

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this

Todd I see where you said that Charlton County was overrated. I do know that they were rebuilding this year, do you think this team will make a comeback next year?

By pharaoh

December 15, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this

I do not know Ms. hurricanecamden. I do know that if you want to go to a Camden game, sometimes you have to sit on the visitor’s side. That is because there are so many people who go to the games.

Both of my children graduated from Camden and I miss the travel weekends to the Kell Classic and the Semi’s. I haven’t been to a game this year with work and the fact that I don’t have anyone at the school anymore.

I sat in front of my computer and watched the game on GPB and I will tip my hat to both teams. It was a very defensive game by both teams and both teams cracked those defenses once. There were a couple of turnovers by each team and each team made the most of them. Each team was well-coached and the officiating was decent.

Having been to many semifinals in the Dome, I don’t like the current setup, but it has to be better than the last time Camden won the title. 7000 Camdenites showed up in Valdosta at the old, pathetic stadium. It is good that they tore it down the next day. For the record, Valdosta has a better venue now.

With Lowndes or Camden or some other southern region team winning the title the last 7 years, it was a no-brainer to move the finals to the dome. Nobody wants to travel to the “Concrete Jungle” or the “Wildcat Den” to play.

Unless things have changed, Lowndes was never a classless opponent. Camden and Lowndes played several games down here and they travel well, show up on time support their team and generally put on a good game. I don’t have to like Lowndes, but I have respect for the way they run this high school operation.

I can’t say the same for Stevenson, Newnan, Parkview, or any other Gwinnett county school, including Buford. You might note that I left Brookwood out, because they did nothing the two times that I saw them that denigrated the class program that they had.

It is good to see schools like PTR or NSWR developing good programs in such a short time. It is shows the growth of the state economically, and it shows that there is no shortage of good high school coaches in the state.

There are jerks at any football game. There are even more in this thread. Camden had a good season. The JV team was good this year and won the JV championship. The JV would not have beaten any of the teams in the top 10. They would have lost to Charlton, who was down this year.

When I used to go to the dome for the Semi’s, I wondered why they didn’t do the finals there. It is the perfect venue for high school football in a state so diverse. The new tribute to high school football is awesome!

I have decided that this is probably the best way to do it, despite the fact that you are cheating a team out of hosting a state title game. Since I live in Camden County and came to the realization that there was no way that a championship game would be played here (the last time they won a championship), it really is no problem for the whole county to pull up stake, throw down the biggest convoy you have ever seen and infiltrate Atlanta. We really don’t mind.

I would like to thank whoever it is that allows Camden to play in the dome twice a year. Those fancy hotels in Atlanta are the bomb. Seriously though, Camden is a half an hour from Jax. We are not the hillbillies that you think we are.

It was a great season, I will try to get to some games next year as the job allows and good luck to everyone.

By Jeff

December 15, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this

Congrats to Camden, even though, according to posts about teams they beat, they still haven’t played anybody. They had the easiest bracket in the playoffs. Just kidding you Camden fans. Your team showed they can beat anybody in the state. Looking forward to the Corky Kell Classic against you guys.

Now back to the post about JD, the 19 year old playing high school football. My uncle brought up this topic over Thanksgiving. He said when he played for Americus back in the 50’s, that a school from down south used to have many 19 year old seniors on their roster. He said he heard it mentioned that their booster club frequently recruited kids from 7th and 8th grade that could play football, and talked their parents into letting the school fail those kids so that they could be bigger and better players, and get college scholarships. So it is not unusual at all for schools that want to win in football to have older players on their roster. If you are 19 as a senior, that means you either failed a grade(or two) or you started 1st grade as a 7 year old.

By NHS

December 15, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

As a Northside fan, I don’t have a problem with the final rankings. If you don’t win the state, it’s really not that important about a final ranking in the poll. For the talent we had, Northside did very well. I felt all along that the winner of the Camden-Northside game would be in the finals. We just didn’t “finish the drill” after we grabbed the 20-14 lead. That was due to Camden’s ability to make things happen in the 4th quarter. They deserved the win that night, and they certainly deserved their state title. Congratulation Camden Wildcats.

By Todd Holcomb

December 15, 2008 3:15 PM | Link to this

Todd I see where you said that Charlton County was overrated. I do know that they were rebuilding this year, do you think this team will make a comeback next year?

I don’t know enough about who’s coming back for Charlton, but I certainly expect them to be back. And if a team was overrated, it’s half my fault. I’m the one who ranked them #2 to begin with. And really, Charlton was still a good team, just not as good as past years.

By WACO-FAN

December 15, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this

todd where can u go 2 see this year north vs south GA roster….and y is the game held in Columbus instead of Macon..

By Doc

December 15, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this

Your preseason rankings are not based on logic. Some fans knew that their teams did not belong in the top 10 because they lost 90% of their starters. You need to do some research before you rank teams.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this

* Pharaoh * at least someone know what I am talking about. Besides having to sit there sometimes it is just really fun.

Todd I think Charlton is a great team as well. I was a little suprise not to see them in the top 10 at all.

By Hugh

December 15, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this

I am a proud Camden graduate. This was a great season for the Cats. The competiiton was stiff and the playoff victories were earned. The criticism of Camden is rampant. Only State Championships will silence critics. The Cats overcame injuries, travel,overconfidence and questionable coaching at times. To the dismay of many naysayers, Camden will continue to field championship contenders. A Champions mentality has been created. The players,coaches, school administrators, and community have embraced this infectious reality. I applaud all the young men and schools around the state. Concentrate on the student aspects for awhile, and we will see you in the Dome in 2009(2 times).

By Brookwood Mom

December 15, 2008 4:29 PM | Link to this

GraysonFan2: I will definitely be at the All star game. I think it is some time in January right?? I live so close to Brookwood I can walk to the stadium! I believe we are hosting it. Anyway, I want to meet you so we can chat football.

By coolcell

December 15, 2008 4:35 PM | Link to this

Well, Todd Carver will lose the great Jarvis Jones & L.Furr on D, but 6’6 LB Corey Crawford will be better than J.Jones…..On O we have the best JR RB in the state I.Crowell and we return our QB , 3 o-lineman……I think we should be a top 5 preseason pick….

By Saw it coming

December 15, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this

I don’t live in Ware County anymore. Most who can, escape. But here’s a lesson for you Todd: When the geniuses in charge run off the best coach in school history after he takes the team to the finals the year before — don’t rank them in your Top-10.

By Brookwood Mom

December 15, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this

OK I just heard the All-Star game was this Friday. So… I looking forward to meeting my blogging buddies. I will be somewhere on the 50. I will be the blonde with the brookwood football hat, my brookwood football hoodie and a yellow London fog jacket.

By Brookwood Mom

December 15, 2008 5:13 PM | Link to this

OK one more time! I got it this time. I REALLY need to lay off the chocolate and Diet Coke!! The all-star game is SATURDAY at 2:00 PM ( I just read that in the Gwinnett Daily Post) never ask a teenager anything!!! I am looking forward to it. Are you going GraysonFan2? What about you sweetpea, TJ, GHS student? Oh and Band Mom gone wild?? I think it will be fun meeting all of you!!

By Chris Whitfield

December 15, 2008 5:13 PM | Link to this

Just to poke some fun at you, I do believe you picked Tucker to lose 4 out of the 5 playoff games they were involved in. Am I right on that. Sometimes I just wish prognosticators would publicly admit when they were absolutely wrong about a team over and over and explain why.

Actually, I think I might have picked them to lose all of their playoff games, lol. I’ll say this, publicly admitting I was wrong, and here is why I picked against them: The Tigers had what I thought of as only two quality wins in the regular season - Brunswick to start the year and SWD, and they struggled to a 10-7 win over SWD. Now, I didn’t think that the region was the toughest in the state through the regular season, and the 38-0 loss to Marist was a real eye-opener for everyone involved. So in the second round, I felt they might be ripe for an upset against a solid Hillgrove team. Hey, sometimes you go out on a limb and it gets sawed off. The next week, they were playing the No. 1 team in the state. After that, if I had jumped on the Tucker bandwagon, it would have been understandable, but Griffin wasn’t supposed to get completely dominated and Tucker had a habit of losing in the semis. Well, at that point, I had made my bed, so to speak, with the Tucker faithful, and I needed to lay in it, hence, the pick of Marist in the finals. So there is the public admission of guilt and the why. Is it right? No, but I picked Tucker to beat Marist in the regular season, and I hold grudges, lol.

Your preseason rankings are not based on logic. Some fans knew that their teams did not belong in the top 10 because they lost 90% of their starters. You need to do some research before you rank teams.

Do you think Todd just pulls these names out of a hat? As a person who has worked with Todd for four years now, I can assure you that no one puts more research into his rankings than he does. I used to regularly vote in the AP poll, and I can assure you that the average writer in Dublin or Thomasville or Savannah has seen far fewer of these teams play than Todd has. That isn’t a knock against any other writers in the state, just acknowledging that Todd is the best at what he does. Is he always right? No, and neither are 95 percent of the bloggers out there, but his effort shouldn’t be questioned.

By its on

December 15, 2008 5:23 PM | Link to this

SE Ga Fan, It maybe too late, Camden has the Border of War Classic the second game

By slalom1

December 15, 2008 5:39 PM | Link to this

REEZE, Calm down. I KNOW this woman. She is very dangerous. Her cover is that of an RN. She is actually a deck hand on a pirate tuna boat working off the coast of Indonesia. Be careful.

By JMAN

December 15, 2008 5:39 PM | Link to this

Hey how are northside warnerrobins and newnan ahead of woodstock both of them got killed by camden while woodstock barely got beat by 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By slalom1

December 15, 2008 5:42 PM | Link to this

coolcell, I agree. Carver will re-load every year as long as Dell McGee stays. No telling who else may show up in the Carver roster for 2009. Probably some surprises.

By Chris Whitfield

December 15, 2008 5:51 PM | Link to this

JMAN, really? Northside’s two losses were to Lowndes and Camden. You lost to McEachern and Kell plus three other times. It isn’t all about how you finish, but your whole body of work. Do you also think that Mississippi State should be playing in the Sugar Bowl since they were the only team to beat Florida? Shouldn’t Harrison be ranked ahead of you since you lost to them?

By Reeze

December 15, 2008 5:55 PM | Link to this

Chris Whitfield……..Next year you may need to get around a little more….As an outsider to this Tucker vs Whitfield war…..I watched Tucker dismantle a very good Westside squad…I left the Bibb Co complex with the thought that No team in AAAA could possibly beat Tucker this year….And the Westside folks felt the same…..Your picks against Tucker made absolutely no sense….Going into the playoffs Tucker, a 2007 AAAA semi finalist, 22-2 over two seasons ,with losses only to Northside and Marist ,With Davis ,Calhoun and Scott running the ball ,and you actually picked them to lose to Hillgrove and Griffin….I think you lost what credibility you had.

By Graysonfan2

December 15, 2008 5:55 PM | Link to this

Brookwoodmom,

Ok then, if your going Im defiantly going. see you there, I know who you are! Then I will tell you who my son is, heehee. Its no big deal, just don’t want people here in my business, you know what I mean.

By slalom1

December 15, 2008 5:59 PM | Link to this

As for the pre-season rankings vs. the FINAL rankings, where is the BIG argument? Granted most everyone thought this would be THE year for Lowndes. But right behind Lowndes came Camden Co, Newnan, and NSWR. 2 out of 4 in the semi’s ain’t bad. In AAAA, TODD got it right with Tucker. In AAA all of us picked Cairo, including TODD. (I must shamelessly point out however that I said early in the season that dropping down from AAAA to AAA would not amount to much for St. Pius X and Baldwin when it came down to play-off time. Also predicted a “down year” for Shaw, and stated emphatically that “No way Carver-Col repeats as state champs”) In AA, nobody is surprised by Buford, except for the fact that they turned out to be MUCH better than expected given the heavy losses from 2007. In A, Wesleyan was the BIG surprise in the state. NOBODY gave them a second thought in the pre-season. If I were in TODD’S shoes, I would most likely go with the proven winners from year to year. The teams that are always in the hunt whether they take it all the way or not. From that perspective, I believe the pre-season rankings were pretty close.

By slalom1

December 15, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this

Chris Whitfield, That would be “Ole Miss”, NOT Miss St.

By Columbia Blue

December 15, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this

**CAMDEN WILDCATS 2008 CLASS AAAAA STATE

CHAMPIONS THAT IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW**

By Reeze

December 15, 2008 6:45 PM | Link to this

Slalom 1………Good to see your around ….Flowery Branch worked a good offense with really good athletes.I see how they got away from Baldwin and Your Grangers…How are the Grangers looking for next year?…….My Eagles are at the end of a good 4 year run…It’s gonna take a couple seasons I think to get back into being a contender……………see you next year.

By Band Mom Gone Wild

December 15, 2008 6:46 PM | Link to this

Lioness30096, I’m with you. HurricanCamden is an embarrassment to her team.

HurricaneCamden, Your rantings and ravings aren’t doing anything to help your credibility. “Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.” - Lou Holtz Is your smack-talk how you’d want your team to be treated HurricaneCamden? Somehow I doubt it.

When it comes to the Peachtree Ridge Roaring Lions and the end result of Saturday night’s game, I believe Coach Lombardi said it best…

“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”

By RAMDAWG

December 15, 2008 6:54 PM | Link to this

PRESEASON RANKINGS FOR 2009-ACCORDING TO ME-1-PEACHTREE RIDGE-2-GRAYSON-3-CAMDEN CO-4-HARRISON-5-WOODSTOCK-6-NORTHSIDE WR-7-LOWNDES-8-STEPHENSON-9-WALTON-10-WARNER ROBINS HON MENTION-EAST PAULDING-COFFEE-VALDOSTA-COLQUITT CO-MILL CREEK-

By Brookwood Mom

December 15, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this

GraysonFan2: Yeah!! I will see you then. It will be fun!!

By Brookwood Mom

December 15, 2008 7:20 PM | Link to this

Todd or Chris: Do ya’ll have the dome schedule for next year yet??

By Todd Holcomb

December 15, 2008 8:20 PM | Link to this

where can u go 2 see this year north vs south GA roster….and y is the game held in Columbus instead of Macon.

I don’t believe they’ve been published or even finalized, although I know that most of the rosters have been set and the players invited. The place to find it would the GACA website.

I must shamelessly point out however that I said early in the season that dropping down from AAAA to AAA would not amount to much for St. Pius X and Baldwin when it came down to play-off time.

Yeah, but what about Wesleyan? : ) They moved down.

Looking at computer rankings, there’s no difference between AAAA and AAA this season, at least not the top 15-20. Fwiw.

Also, I’ll tell you who gave Wesleyan a second thought in preseason: Larry Campbell. He’s one of the reasons I put Wesleyan No. 10 in preseason. Campbell told me in August that Wesleyan should be top five, and the reason he gave was that Wesleyan had won five state titles in other sports. Guess he was right, per usual.

Hey how are northside warner robins and newnan ahead of woodstock both of them got killed by camden while woodstock barely got beat by 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I were ranking purely on the playoff games, I might do that. But then, teams would be rewarded or penalized too much for playing one great game or one bad game. I have to look at the full season for perspective. And when I do that, I conclude that if Woodstock really were only one point weaker than Camden, then Woodstock wouldn’t have lost 5 games while Camden lost 0. So Camden must’ve played down, or Woodstock played up, or both.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 8:23 PM | Link to this

Band Mom Gone Wild you and all the other LOSERS are now dismissed!. If you don’t like what I have to say do not read it.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 8:27 PM | Link to this

“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”

Band Mom Gone Wild I just looked up your record and it showed that Saturday is indeed a loss for PTR.

By Brookwood Mom

December 15, 2008 8:32 PM | Link to this

Brookwood Mom is wishing everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a BLESSED NEE YEAR!!

By chigh

December 15, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this

To all of you hating on hurricanecamden you need to shut up. Looks like you are getting mad over nothing. I read all the post and Fact is Camden is the Champs and she has a right to believe in the JV squad! That will be the team for next year just like this years team was the JV team from last year. Where is the wrong in that?

By grayson07

December 15, 2008 9:13 PM | Link to this

hurricanecamden I remember you! Yes we did have fun on the sidelines. I was on the team and I can tell you that she never disrespected us at all. She is so funny. I wish everybody treated us as well as she and some of the other Camden fans did. Even after talking all that trash to her and the crowd behind us, telling her that Camden was going down she was still a class act. She got jokes too y’all! Congrats to Camden the 5A Champs.

By GHS Student

December 15, 2008 9:39 PM | Link to this

Great season to all the playoff teams… Camden County… you guys have had nothing but respect from grayson since yall beat us in 07 looking forward to the classic with you guys that will be fun. Just want yall to know that seniors of 2010 is the class everyone has had there eye on here at grayson, loaded with athletes so yall watch out

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 9:42 PM | Link to this

grayson07 which one was you. The one that told me that we had a lil army or the one that said it was lights out for Camden? lol How are you doing? I hope all is well with you and your fam.

By hurricanecamden

December 15, 2008 9:48 PM | Link to this

GHS Hurricane season began with you guys in August. We have a Category 5 storm brewing in Kingsland right now to bring devastation to the Dome. LOL Good luck seniors of 2010!

By Northside Fan

December 15, 2008 9:54 PM | Link to this

To: Ramdawg, Please remove NSWR from your preseason prediction for 2009. I love those Eagles BUT—You get the picture. Lucky if we are in the top 20 twenty.

By cchs wildcat86

December 15, 2008 10:15 PM | Link to this

I don’t post much but i do read these blogs everyday hurricane camden is right we can talk alittle smack we won state plus a few weeks back some people posted some not so nice things addressed to hurricane so ya’ll chill!!!!!!

Hey Hurricane whata know bout them wildcats

Lioness30096, your team played a great game and I really think your team will be a force next year just like camden so congrads on your great season

grayson2fan,brookwoodmom jeeze nobody cares who your kids are ok this is a team blog lets keep it that way i’m sure they are great players, students and young men just like mine

u ladies have a nice and merry christmas

Band Mom Gone Wild

“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time” so what happened ptr was crowned co champion? don’t think so ya”ll lost!!! Sorry but your not going to take anything from our kids they worked hard for this win!! Plus does your defense really want a 5th quarter they were getting pounded in the 4th quarter 5 and 6 yards a carry up the middle!! Like I said earlier WE BEAT a great ptr team thats it and thats all

By C-HighBaby

December 15, 2008 10:49 PM | Link to this

C HICH B*** DEM BOIS IN DA BLUE WAT YA KNOW AND GET WELL SOON MICHAEL GREEN

By Big Fan of 4A

December 15, 2008 10:58 PM | Link to this

Re this comment from Reeze—Chris Whitfield……..Next year you may need to get around a little more….As an outsider to this Tucker vs Whitfield war….. When I made the same point this weekend, Whitfield’s response was to give me a “journalism” lesson that his picks were just his “opinion”…But, as HSBallfan also expressed, why should anybody read his opinions if they are not based on a good grasp of the game, etc…And to anybody out there who thinks the AJC can stay out of bankruptcy as only the “hometown” newspaper for a few Atlanta zipcodes, you may want to talk to their marketing department if you need a job and are a good salesman. AJC has a nationwide reputation on the line, along with all of the big papers struggling to survive against the internet…If the AJC can’t be bothered to put up scrapbook worthy pieces for ALL of the good teams playing, from lots of zipcodes besides 30319, (and with more “breaking” news available online, on TV, radio, etc)—WHY PAY FOR THE RAG?—LOL!

By C-HighBaby

December 15, 2008 11:01 PM | Link to this

yea baby state champs 2008

By C-HighBaby

December 15, 2008 11:01 PM | Link to this

yea baby state champs 2008

By Casual Observer

December 15, 2008 11:24 PM | Link to this

To Football Expert… I won’t belabor the point about the advantages (and I’m NOT referring to recruiting, for the record… I’m not about to make accusations when I have no knowledge upon which to base them) that well-funded private schools have over small, rural public schools. (Those who get this already don’t need to hear it, and those who don’t aren’t listening.) However, the fact you would basically imply that the teams that lost to Wesleyan simply didn’t want to win as badly and take winning for granted solely because of the winning tradition in their schools says to me that you may be an expert on football (I’m not necessarily buying that one, either), but you certainly aren’t an expert on the mentality of a young man coming through a program such as ECI’s or Lincoln County’s. Yes, there is a tradition of winning in those schools… and it drives each subsequent generation even harder to win those games and those championships. For some schools, a winning season or a playoff berth is a mark of excellence; in schools such as these, anything short of a state championship is a failure, and these kids know that it takes hard work to make that happen. They know it, and they do it. To suggest that they all took for granted that they would beat Wesleyan is ludicrous.

If you want the rest of the world to give Wesleyan credit for a job well done and to stop assuming that they bought a championship, then stop assuming that all of the kids who play on the teams that Wesleyan beat in the final two games of the season have no heart and felt that they could simply “ride their reputations to victory.” By doing so, you are selling both those kids and the team that defeated them (after all, isn’t a victory over players who weren’t really trying a bit empty?) short.

By mistermak

December 16, 2008 12:10 AM | Link to this

Todd I am not suprised that you say I am overreacting to the 2nd place trophy thing. You are a journalist and most of ya’ll are liberals!! and in your minds nobody is a loser. Well I watched all of the games this weekend and I didn’t see anyone running up there to get theire loser trophy. for that matter I didn’t see Alabama hoisting their trophy either. Every body knows second place is just that and no trophy will change that. don’t undermine competition. When you lose you go home and work harder so you won’t lose next year. their is no parade for the loser!!!

By mistermak

December 16, 2008 12:19 AM | Link to this

Lionessss you talk about not having class? What about your team running back on the feild while Camden’s band was still playing and your whole crowd cheering them while the band is still playing? Not to mention you had some fans that came over to our side and watched the game just to be obnoxious!! Luckily we have class and let them have their fun. We knew we would have the final laugh!!!LOL

By Chris Whitfield

December 16, 2008 12:22 AM | Link to this

Chris Whitfield, That would be “Ole Miss”, NOT Miss St.

My mistake, but you get my point.

Big Fan of 4A I thought we had buried our hatchet over the weekend. You got on to me for being biased for Marist in my reporting, and I told you that reporting and my picks column are two different things. Tucker won, and in an earlier post (5:18 p.m. or sometime close), I explained my reasons for picking against them. If I went and walked up and down LaVista Road with a sandwich board repenting for all of my sins against the Tucker Nation, would I be forgiven? Picking games is great, and I love the feedback. I love it when people get onto me when I pick against their team, and the more creative the better. I’ve had people write poetry about me, I’ve had callers to radio shows bash me, and I have had cheerleaders even put a picture of me in a toilet for their run-through sign. Now, that is good stuff!

I know the passion that all of you bring, and Todd, Glenn and I all enjoy the back-and-forth with you guys because we share the same passion for the game. I don’t think that you will find this level of back-and-forth between the readers and the writers on any other blog on the website. And we hope you enjoyed it and will keep coming back.

By mistermak

December 16, 2008 12:35 AM | Link to this

we did not lose, we just ran out of time Well Camden scored the go ahead TD in the 3rd quarter and ya’ll had a whole quarter to tie it up. You didn’t run out of time you just threw the ball to the wrong dude!! You LOSE!!!

By JAYBO

December 16, 2008 2:26 AM | Link to this

Saw it coming,

I’ve been wondering all year…even asked on the blog at the start of the season….what happened to coach Reagle down in Ware?? He beat my TCC last year in the dome and then the next thing I hear is he’s gone from Waycross. Just curious as to what happened?

By Graysonfan2

December 16, 2008 6:22 AM | Link to this

cchs,

UM, since we have no other way of contact, i dont think it will hurt you to over look a few lines so we can plan a meet up, after all look at all the other bull s* all over this blog. Come on, this is between she and I dude! We know no one else cares, didnt ask you to.

By PTR08

December 16, 2008 6:44 AM | Link to this

Reeze & RAMDAWG as a young man you have taught me a valuable lesson, if a women say something you do not agree with, insult her! Wow you guys are the perfect role model. If she would have said that to your face, would you have hit her? My answer would have to be YES. I hope you woke up this morning feeling like the BIG MEN you so desire to be.

By NSH

December 16, 2008 6:55 AM | Link to this

Comment by Band Mom Gone Wild “Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.” - Lou Holtz. Here you try to correct Hurricanecamden about trash talk but you in your opening sentence you agreed with Lionness and insulted her person? Practice what you preach lil lady. I did not see anywhere that ms hurricanecamden personally insulted anybody. You need to take a page from her book.

By hurricanecamden

December 16, 2008 7:01 AM | Link to this

cchs wildcat86 I know that they are the Champs!!! I wonder what ptr is going to do with all those Camden Who? tshirts. I suggest they add another line that says “2008 5A State Champions!”

By blessedman

December 16, 2008 9:00 AM | Link to this

cchs wildcat86 i’m also a 86 wildcat back from back in the AAA days. Good to see the ole blue wagon is still rolling.

By doc

December 16, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this

Go Cats Go. I have ahd the opportunity to travel during the football season and catch at least one game of tems in all 5A regions. I hae to say, that the top 2-3 teams in each region were capable of beating anyone. The true heart of a champion will allow that team to overcome adversity whether they are down 7 or 14. True champion don’t read their own press. They strap it on monday thru friday. Not many schools will go out on a limb early in the season, and schedule teir first 3 games against playoff quality programs. Believe it or not, this provides your program a great measuring stick, of where you need to go. Not all regions are created equal, so to get your team focused, schedule the front end heavy, especially when you know that your region may not be that strong. There are a lot of fine programs ot there, and 5A this year proved that, not to take away from that dredful 5A title tie. None saw that coming, if we were honest with ourselves. In 5A football, you can’t get away with just indivdual talent, you have to have a complete team. I say that not to dismiss the other classifications, I just follow 5A football. As great as Northside was, Xavier Bacon had no other help on offense, and that defense on the ends was outstanding, up the middle was lacking, look a where Camden made their bread and butter. Woodstock came out like gang busters and punched amden in the mouth, once again, once the defense shut down that #1 and the fullback, it was over. Newnan, this game disappointed me, I was expecting a better showing, in the 2nd half is what I expected in the 1st half, once again, Camden came out and punched Newnan in mouth and turned it over to the defense. Peachtree Ridge had the talent, but once again, the got a lead, and tried to run, run, run. If they were able to keep focused, things may have been different. After Smith vaulted for 94, they were spent. Camden got punched in the face and came right back and punched them in the mouth, the defense put the clamps on and it over. As far as Norcross, good squad, needs more focus. Camden went over the state line and punched Hoover in the mouth.( 6A State runner-ups). Lake City Columbia came to Kingsland and got punched in the mouth. Camden’s last 5 games, with the exception of the Creekside game, were against te cream of the crop in 5A, I say that speaks volumes. When you look at it, the Wildcats don’t look so overated or underated, which ever way you choose to see the glass of water. That is the true heart of a champion. Go Cats Go.

By RealisticEP_Fan

December 16, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this

Straight from the GACA Coaches site:

-All Star Football Game -Dec 29, 2008 -Memorial Stadium Columbus, GA Kick Off 2:00 PM

By JJ

December 16, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this

Thank goodness I saw the Marist vs. Tucker pictures (Facetious statement to follow). I never would have known Tucker SOLIDLY beat Marist at EVERY TURN. Thanks to excellent coaching by Coach Chadwick - the game was as close as it was (Serious statement). I am tired, and I am a Marist fan - along with other teams, of watching the worshipping of the Marist Program. Sure what Marist lacks is talent, they make up in heart/coaching. Let the kids (Tucker) enjoy their victory (be it at home [Mays High] or in the playoffs [Tucker High] - I hope there is not a pattern here (e.g., what do Mays & Tucker have in common)).

By Lioness30096

December 16, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this

Lioness30096 go back to your hole! Show your face next year. That whole north and south georgia argument as well as Lowdnes is dead, so rest in peace with that.

You know what, I apologize for that. hurricanecamden’s lack of class and maturity have nothing to do with south Ga as a whole and I apologize to the classy, mature south Georgians who may be on here for that comment. Hurricanecamden is a classless adult woman who taunts children for sport, by her own admission. I think it’s pathetic but it’s in no way representative of CCHS. Congrats again to all teams.

By Lioness30096

December 16, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this

hurricanecamden: I am proud to call myself an avid supporter of Camden…but the things you say in regards to how much money you do or do not have are not necessary. You are an embarrassment to the entire Wildcat community when you chat about your money on a football blog. Last time I checked…when the guys are on the field…it does not matter how much money their parents make…but what does matter is their skills. I praise you for being such a strong supporter, but I am sure there are other blogs on the internet where you can boast on how much money you may OR may not have.

Those who come from money don’t need to constantly brag on it. You can buy lots of things, but class isn’t one of them. Congrats to your wildcats, maybe the 2 shall meet next year? ;-)

By Marc

December 16, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this

Chris I appreciate your answer on why you didn’t pick Tucker to win and I can also understand some of the thinking especially after the first Marist debacle. But the scores of both games wasn’t indicative of the games themselves. The first game was only 17-0 midway through the 3rd when Beck got hurt. I know there isn’t a team in 4A and there are very few in the state of Georgia that can scores points as explosively from anywhere on the field as Tucker. One game this season (before MArist I think) Tucker score on a run from their 20-25, holding penalty called back and yards marked off. Next play they scored again either another holding or block in the back play comes back and loss of yardage. One the third attempt they scored again. There are the JD detractors but he was “Tucker” as a leader and as an example. I saw him in more than one game on the ground in a lot of pain come to the sidelines limping and looking like it would be a long time before he was back in and 2 plays latter there was back in the game. Talking trash is a part of sports and has been forever. People want to bring up his trash talking but it only works if the players on the other team let it effect them and if it does it is just another toll that JD uses. It’s not dirty or cheating just part of the game. I am amazed that there aren’t more colleges looking at him in spite of his size. I your determination on the best player is what he does for the team an not just his individual skill and JD has the skill than JD has to be on the very short list of best player on both sides of the ball and special teams.

By PTR08

December 16, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this

Lionness can you read? Hurricanecamden did not bring up anything about her money Reeze did. Please read all the post on this page and tell me where hurricanecamden bragged about her money. Read the comments. That statement you have in bold came from someone who does not know what they are talking about. I read alot of these post but I do not say alot. Let me tell you where that conversation about money came in. Weeks ago someone got on here and talked about black trash and rednecks in south georgia. Reeze and others can tell you. I have not seen you post on here before so for you to come in at the tail end and start judging people to that is am embrassment to the PTR program. That shows me that you have no class at all. You should be asking Reeze why is he bring up her her money. I think you should apologize because you are WRONG. To hurricanecamden if lionness does not apologize I will for her.

By Lioness30096

December 16, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this

I think you should apologize because you are WRONG. Hold your breath and wait for me to apologize. She typed more than once that she enjoyed taunting the opposing team’s players/students, and that it’s primarily why she sits on the visitor’s side. I think that’s classless and immature but as an ADULT, she’s free to do as she pleases. To hurricanecamden if lionness does not apologize I will for her. I’m no more an embarassment to the PRHS program than she is to the CCHS program. They stand alone from these blogs. You are dismissed.

By PTR08

December 16, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this

Lionness can you read? Hurricanecamden did not bring up anything about her money Reeze did. Please read all the post on this page and tell me where hurricanecamden bragged about her money. Read the comments. That statement you have in bold came from someone who does not know what they are talking about. I read alot of these post but I do not say alot. Let me tell you where that conversation about money came in. Weeks ago someone got on here and talked about black trash and rednecks in south georgia. Reeze and others can tell you. I have not seen you post on here before so for you to come in at the tail end and start judging people to that is am embrassment to the PTR program. That shows me that you have no class at all. You should be asking Reeze why is he bring up her her money. I think you should apologize because you are WRONG.

Wow! Thanks PTR08 I could not have said it better myself. I think Lionness is just a person who likes to argue. Lionness you are on the outside looking and things are not as they appear to you!

By therealCamdenWildcat

December 16, 2008 1:21 PM | Link to this

Reeze… you can easily deny it now but you were one of many NHS bloggers who bashed Camden until we put your team out of the playoffs, but it doesnt matter, the championship is in Kingsland were it belongs.

To all the Grayson and Peachtree Ridge bloggers on here,,, your teams are stacked and one of you may very well take the title next year, but 2008 is ours and we wil revel in it for the next few months if you guys dont mind.

To HurricaneCamden,,, I agree with some of the stuff you are saying, just not the way that you are expressing it on this blog. You are right there a lot of ignorant thugs in areas of Savannah that rather be “in the streets” versus playing football, but since you got out of Savannah and moved to Camden, leave the ignorance in the streets of Chatham County. Its your peroggative to say what you want, but claim Windsor Forrest and not Camden, you are not representing what we are about here. You moved your kids here to get away from that, but it looks like you bought it with you. People who were raised in and/or graduated from Camden don’t act like that.

To EagleNationRising, wherever you are with your fact book my friend, as you so eloquently put it several weeks ago,,, ITS NOW OFFICIALLY GIRLS BASKETBALL SEASON IN CAMDEN COUNTY!!!, LOL

By hurricanecamden

December 16, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

No need to apologize to me PTR08. I understand that Lionness is a new comer she will get broken in after a while. She is taking everything personal right now. I do not care if I am the one who she is taking her frustration out on. I know how to ignore her childish post.

WILDCATS 08 STATE 5A CHAMPIONS

By PTR08

December 16, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this

Lionness is a bandwagon jumper for the PTR program. Please ignore all her messages

By hurricanecamden

December 16, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this

therealCamdenWildcat I guess it could have been stated different, point is savannah teams can be much better than what they are if their talent would go to school and region 3 will not be an issue for Camden. Is that better DaddyWildcat? lol

By Lioness30096

December 16, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this

Wow! Thanks PTR08 I could not have said it better myself. I think Lionness is just a person who likes to argue. Lionness you are on the outside looking and things are not as they appear to you!

Did you just thank yourself, “PTR”08, or are there 2 of you? Next time remember to change your username if you’re going to troll ;-)

By Lioness30096

December 16, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

Lionness is a bandwagon jumper for the PTR program. Please ignore all her messages. That’s funny, you’ve paid more attention to me than anyone else on here ;-) I’m a longstanding member of the Suwanee/Duluth community and my not posting on blogs all day doesn’t negate that. Since you made that post thanking yourself for ‘checking’ me (LOL!), you are hereby deemed a troll. Now go on and create another username to attack me. I doubt the veracity of your existence in this community anyway. You are clearly someone else under the guise of a PRHS fan. Goodbye!

By To PTR08

December 16, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this

I posted that comment. Sorry I left out the To.

By Lioness30096

December 16, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this

Its your peroggative to say what you want, but claim Windsor Forrest and not Camden, you are not representing what we are about here. You moved your kids here to get away from that, but it looks like you bought it with you. People who were raised in and/or graduated from Camden don’t act like that.

This much was evident. Glad it wasn’t just me who noticed ;-)

By hurricanecamden

December 16, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this

Friday nights will not be the same without highschool football. I guess I will have to watch college and the nfl now. I want to thank the Wildcat Family for this season. We had fun. Most of you I have seen and talk with all season, I know you by face but I do not know your names. It doesnt matter we are still FAMILY.

By To PTR08

December 16, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this

I am just a camden fan who do not agree with your babbling. You are taking things too serious. Game over! Let people say what they want. You are trying to make something out of nothing. You seem like the ignorant one.

By WOODSTOCK PLAYER

December 16, 2008 3:30 PM | Link to this

HURRICANECAMDEN WAS AT OR SAW A DIFFERENT GAME THAN I SAW. SAW A GROUP WHO ONLY THREW THE BALL 20 TIMES IN THE 5 STATE PLAYOFF GAMES GET LUCKY AND HIT A BOMB OF 75 YARDS ON 3RD AND 15 IN DESPERATION. ALSO SAW A GIFT INTERCEPTION WHEN THE RIDGE WAS UP BY 7 EARLY IN THE 2ND HALF THAT WAS RUN BACK TO THE 1 YARD LINE. QB AND BIG TALL RECEIVER (21) HAD UNCHARACTERISTICALLY BAD GAMES AFTER PLAYING LIGHTS OUT THROUGHOUT THE PLAYOFFS. IT HAPPENS, JUST HOPE NOT AT THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN THE DOME. GET OFF OF THAT CAMDEN JV TEAM BULLCRAP. YOUR VARSITY GUYS WERE LUCKY TO WIN. DESPERATION ON 3RD AND 15 CAUGHT THE RIDGE NAPPING, BUT SO DID THE BULL CATCH CAMDEN NAPPING AS HE HOUSED IT FROM 94 YARDS OUT. JUST THINK, WE WOODSTOCK BOYS ALMOST GOT YOU ON YOUR HOME FIELD. DON’T STICK THAT CHEST OUT TOO FAR…AND FOR BUFORD, THEY COULD ALWAYS MOVE UP TO AAAA OR AAAAA IF THEY ARE LOOKING FOR THAT COMPETITION…THEY STRUGGLED ENOUGH AGAINST CALHOUN…POORLY SCHEMED UP TO STOP THE SPREAD, BUT CALHOUN COULD NOT SLOW DOWN THE BUFORD OFFENSE….LIKE WATER THROUGH A SIEVE….

By Football Expert

December 16, 2008 4:04 PM | Link to this

To Casual Observer - If you were actually at Wesleyan’s Semi-Final and Championship games I am not sure what you saw. What I saw in both Lincoln County and ECI were two teams that had a significant size and speed advantage over Wesleyan, not to mention their experience of playing in BIG games. With their talent alone, Lincoln County should have been playing ECI in the championship game. ECI should have beaten up Wesleyan pretty bad. As I said before, Lincoln County and ECI were not prepared to beat Wesleyan. That was blatantly obvious in both teams’ offensive and defensive schemes. That aspect comes down to coaching and both schools were outcoached by Pridgen and his staff. Pridgen’s schemes on both sides of the ball were some of the best I have ever seen at the high school level. Even if Ealey was healthy Wesleyan’s defensive scheme would have contained him and Moody. Moody ripped off a 47 yard run on the first play from scrimmage, after Wesleyan sized up his speed, Moody was not much of a factor in the game, nor was Ealey. He scored 3 touchdowns but I wouldn’t call 4 yard TD runs spectacular when the kid was held to under 100 yards. Offensively, Wesleyan held ECI 6’4” 320 lb. Lanier at bay for most of the game.

My point, as I stated yesterday, is that these two “highly regarded” teams showed up not ready to play. That was evident midway through the first quarter in both games. After Wesleyan stopped Moody on a 4th down conversion deep in their own territory early in the 1st quarter it became the turning point in the game and ECI never recovered. Lincoln County had their asses kicked in the game against Wesleyan. So don’t give me this nonsense that these kids that play in in these winning programs are driven to work even harder generation after generation and that not winning a championship is a failure. Who are you making excuses for? If that was the case these two schools would have eaten Wesleyan up and spit them out. They were outcoached, outplayed, and outclassed. Is there something about that, *Casual Observer, * that you don’t understand?

By topper

December 16, 2008 4:19 PM | Link to this

woodstock player: okay i was just going to stay out of this but your comment has changed that. you say camden was lucky to win the championship? I say U lost after having a 14 point lead get over it! Take pride in knowing u hung tight with the Ga 5A state champs!!!!

By Casual Observer

December 16, 2008 4:31 PM | Link to this

I’m not sure what made you think that I was making excuses for anyone. If you got that out of what I was saying, you obviously weren’t reading very carefully. I was simply saying that in regard to the heart of the teams in question, you don’t know what you’re talking about… and I stand by that assertion.

What I said was that those kids in those schools consider any year in which they don’t win a state championship to be a failure. That is true. Does that mean that they don’t go up against teams that outplay them? No. Does it mean that they always play their best? No. Did I at any point argue that they weren’t outplayed or outcoached? No, and I can say with pretty solid certainty that there are probably more kids in those schools than you can possibly imagine who would tell you that they were outplayed. (I won’t argue “outclassed” because I would have to know all of the kids in question to make that kind of judgment, and I don’t.) However, it certainly doesn’t mean that they feel a sense of entitlement going into those games, and that’s what you’re saying:

“These rural schools that are used to winning have a hard time accepting the fact that many schools want to win just as bad, but some want it more than others; you just can’t show up and ride your reputation to victory; it doesn’t work that way.”

You are saying that they believe that their reputations alone should earn them their victories, and you are implying that they simply don’t want it as badly as other schools do. Unless you know these kids and players like them well enough to make those kinds of statements (and I’m guessing that you probably don’t personally know any of the members of the ECI or Lincoln teams), then you just aren’t in a position to judge them.

By Band Mom Gone Wild

December 16, 2008 4:40 PM | Link to this

Ok, here goes. I usually end up regretting getting riled up over blog postings, but I’ve had about enough. In the past, when we have won games, I don’t recall seeing one PRHS fan going over the top and becoming nasty about the opposing team. Sure some ribbing and poking of fun is going to take place, that’s understandable! However, being crude, rude and just plain ’ol mean gets me really, really mad.

NSH, I posted the following: *Lioness30096, I’m with you. HurricanCamden is an embarrassment to her team.

HurricaneCamden, Your rantings and ravings aren’t doing anything to help your credibility. “Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.” - Lou Holtz Is your smack-talk how you’d want your team to be treated hurricanecamden? Somehow I doubt it. When it comes to the Peachtree Ridge Roaring Lions and the end result of Saturday night’s game, I believe Coach Lombardi said it best… “We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”*

Let me just start by saying I am NOT stupid enough to think that the “L” isn’t real in the Peachtree Ridge stats. For crying out loud people, give me some credit. I was there. I saw the utter disappointment in our guys’ faces. I saw the pain they felt after a season of silencing the doubters and not taking it all the way. I love our kids and I felt the disappointment and pain with them. The quote by Coach Lombardi was simply a way of licking the wounds on our collective Lion paws and was meant in a good natured way.

By mistermak December 16, 2008 12:19 AM Lionessss you talk about not having class? What about your team running back on the feild while Camden’s band was still playing and your whole crowd cheering them while the band is still playing? Not to mention you had some fans that came over to our side and watched the game just to be obnoxious!! Luckily we have class and let them have their fun. We knew we would have the final laugh!!!LOL

mistermak, you may not realize this, but each marching band has a certain time limit that their program can be out on the field. It’s a rule that is strictly enforced because, while as much as I hate to admit it, the half-time show means very little in the scheme of things. All bands know that if they’re still out on the field when the football team returns, it’s going to get a little bit crowded. I would bet anything that even if PR wanted to wait off to the side, the people running the TV coverage wouldn’t let them because in the television world, “time is money”. As far as our fans cheering our team when they came out, you’re right – it was rude. I can’t excuse it, but perhaps explain it by saying they saw their team come out to compete in the second half of a State Championship game and they got carried away. Our fans sitting on the Camden side, well perhaps hurrucanecamden can explain the logic behind that one because I haven’t the foggiest.

As for hurricanecamden’s practice of sitting on the opposing team’s side, it’s a free country and she can sit wherever her little heart desires. Cheering for one’s team while sitting on the opposing team’s side is perfectly fine; however bantering back and forth with the players of the opposing team is not only very inappropriate, it’s also very rude. Their focus is supposed to be on the game. They shouldn’t have to deal with a grown woman heckling them from the stands, regardless of whether or not the heckling is in jest. Where I’m normally positioned during the games because I chaperone the band affords me easy access to talk to anyone on our team. Would I do that? I can’t even fathom doing that! Those kids are there to listen to coaches, play the game and support their teammates; not to talk to me or anyone else in the stands for that matter. If I were at a game and saw hurricanecamden doing what she admitted to doing, I probably would have said something to the school resource officer because I’d be worried about her stability.

Having class has nothing to do with living in a nice community, driving a Benz and killing your poodle by feeding it “people food”. A person with class would not build their team up by tearing others down. Class is demonstrated by being proud of your team, praising your team and thanking the opponent for a game well-played.

By Marc

December 16, 2008 4:55 PM | Link to this

mistermak - too often when a person makes a comment like you did about receiving second place trophies that person doesn’t know how to put on a jock strap from putting on a bra. It’s not about winning but the effort that is put in to achieve the winning. If first place is all that it’s about that becomes very Machiavellian and everyone suffers. If it’s as award for the effort everyone - your going to love this - wins.

By camdenwildcat

December 16, 2008 5:21 PM | Link to this

WOODSTOCKPLAYER,,,,,YOUR STUPID OR JUST STUPID. GET OVER IT CAMDEN ARE THE CHAMPS OF 5AAAAA.STOP WITH ALL THE WHAT IFS. YOU DID NOT BEAT US NO MATTER THE PLACE. ITS NOT HOW YOU START THE GAME ITS HOW YOU FINISH AND CAMDEN FINISHED. WE SCORED NO MATTER HOW WE SCORED. LUCKY OR NOT CAMDEN COUNTY IS 2008 5AAAAA CHAMPS. YOU HATE IT DON’T YOU. QUIT BOASTING ABOUT ONE GOOD YEAR. DO IT EVERY YEAR, LIKE TEAMS LIKE CAMDEN, LOWNDES, NS, GRAYSON, PEACHTREERIDGE, PARKVIEW, BROOKWOOD. BEFORE THIS YEAR MANY PEOPLE NEVER HEARD OF WOODSTOCK. CAN IT BE THAT #21 AND THE QUARTERBACK PLAYED POORLY BECAUSE #11 MICHAEL GREEN HELD HIM IN CHECK, COULD THAT BE WHY THEY HAD A BAD GAME.

By P Ridge

December 16, 2008 5:35 PM | Link to this

Good Job Camden. im proud of p ridge we have only been open for 6 years and we got that far. good job boys..cant wait for next year

By camdenwildcat

December 16, 2008 5:57 PM | Link to this

ANYONE WHO THINKS CAMDEN WILL NOT BE A FORCE NEXT YEAR IS CRAZY. DID U SEE THOSE KIDS FROM THE JV WHEN THEY CAME INTO YHE GAMES. SOME COULD HAVE STARTED FOR OTHER TEAMS. WE WERE JUST WAS SO LOADED AT MOST POSITIONS. BUT WHEN THEY COME UP NEXT YEAR TO THE VARSITY, JUST THINK ABOUT THE GAME TIME EXPERIENCE THEY GOT FROM THE JV GAMES, AND THE BLOW OUT WINS CAMDEN HAD. DAYS AND JOHNSON ARE RETURNING TWO BACKS THAT CAME UP BIG. DO NOT COUNT THEM OUT

By slalom1

December 16, 2008 6:23 PM | Link to this

TODD, You made my point. The difference between AAA and AAAA is moot. In 2008 AAA may have been tougher regarding the Top 20 in each class. Teams like Harris County who took heavy losses after 2007, may have actually benefitted by moving up to AAAA’s toughest region. They were never any higher than a #4 seed while in 2AAA. In 2008, they would have most likely been the #5 team in 2AAA losing to Shaw and Troup as well as LG and Carver. In the end, who do you think was best? Tucker or Cairo?

By therealCamdenWildcat

December 16, 2008 6:36 PM | Link to this

HurricaneCamden you maam are something else, I’ll leave it at that.

To the name jacker camdenwildcat, how hard is it to come up with a name that someone else is not already using on here, everyone else can do it, why cant you? Camden’s JV is good, but lets be serious, they could probably place second in our region because they are that good, but they wouldn’t make it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs,,,they are the JV for a reason. If you think they would have beat Northside, Woodstock, Newnan, or PT Ridge you are nuts. I love those guys, but they would get killed!

TO ALL THE CAMDEN BLOGGERS SPEWING ALL THIS NEGATIVITY ON HERE, YOU GUYS NEED TO STOP IT, YOUR MAKING US LOOK LIKE SORE WINNERS. YOUR LOOKING LIKE ALL THE NORTHSIDE POSTERS THAT WERE ON HERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. PEOPLE WERE WAITING FOR THEM TO LOSE JUST BECAUSE THEIR BLOGGERS, ESPECIALLY ENR, WERE SO OBNOXIOUS, WE ARE BETTER THAN THAT FOLKS

By slalom1

December 16, 2008 6:42 PM | Link to this

REEZE, All I can say is that if 2009 is a down year for NSWR, then it is JUST ABOUT TIME! LOL. Seriously, as you reminded me in pre-season, “Now Slalom, you know that Coach Nix is gonna have those kids ready to play.” You were right. During pre-season I did not give 2008 NSWR much of a chance in 1 AAAAA. Probably felt that they were a #3 or #4 seed at best. Too many losses on offense from 2007. But once again NSWR made Warner Robins, Ga. proud. I believe they will do the same in 2009. During post season, many of the posters on this blog forget that the BIGGEST game of the 2008 season was NSWR vs. Lowndes. As for the 2009 Grangers, same story. Lots of rebuilding. Mostly on defense. The 2008 season was both one of disappointment and pride. The losses in personnel were simply too much to overcome, and yet they still made the semi’s. Quite possibly the greatest coaching job yet by Coach Pardue and his staff. I wish you the best as well as the best of luck for NSWR in 2009.

By therealCamdenWildcat

December 16, 2008 7:03 PM | Link to this

hurricanecamden, I was an officer in Savannah for three years so I feel confident in saying that the public schools in Chatham county need more than just the players showing up for school to contend. They don’t put the money behind the game, they have poor coaching, terrible facilities to play and practice in, and little to no fan support. It evens spreads to Savannah State. Chatham county just doesnt spend the money on its teams, and I say teams because I cant seriously call any of them a program. They wouldn’t be very good or contend in any class. Until recently, Beach was the best Savannah had to offer and AA Charlton County demolished them twice I almost dropping 50 and 60 points on them. SO to all the people that think Savannah schools would fair better in AA and AAA, thats upsurd, they really cant compete on any level because the support just isnt there.

By SportsFan31313

December 16, 2008 7:08 PM | Link to this

Greetings Todd Holcomb,

Does Bradwell Institute get a little more respect now? Everyone say that Region 3-AAAAA is a weak Region, but I want to say that Bradwell Institute has also risen to to claim, and inded has shocked a lot of people on this blog as well.

By cchs wildcat86

December 16, 2008 7:23 PM | Link to this

blessedman,

Did u play ball back in the day?

By big l

December 16, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this

Are you nuts? Turner county overrated? They werent expected to win 5 games according to people down south. Check with the local sources before you writw this stuff.

By oldlion

December 16, 2008 7:55 PM | Link to this

To: HighSchoolFan - You sound like a grumpy Marst fan with your comments about Jonathan Davis. You obviously were not at the Dome two years ago when JD came close to single-handedly defeating Northside WR. I forget his exact stats, but it was something on the order of 175 yds rushing and 20 tackles. That was two years ago! JD is a top notch player, PERIOD! I have not seen JD’s grades, but it was widely reported that he received an offer from Ga Tech. Nuff said. Also, I would like to commend JD for exhibiting a humility on the field that he didn’t always show in the past. On that game ending touchdown, JD politely handed the ball to the ref, ignored the cameras and went straight to the sidelines. He does learn. Congrats on the win JD and the whole Tucker team.

One last thing, “HighSchoolFan” - I heard several comments just like yours from the Marist fans as I (SPX fan sitting in the Marist crowd) was leaving the Dome. Perhaps you and the Marist fans should yap a little less about JD’s grades and put a little more effort into representing your FAITH and your SCHOOL a little better in public. Same goes for SPX for that matter.

By MTigers

December 16, 2008 8:59 PM | Link to this

I’m glad E.C.I. met up with a team that had the same size d & o linemen as they had. They wasn’t able to push around Wes. linemen like other under size line men I seen them play against all year. They couldn’t push them around or wear them down like other schools they played you reap, what you sown.

By HS Fan

December 16, 2008 9:59 PM | Link to this

By mistermak

we did not lose, we just ran out of time Well Camden scored the go ahead TD in the 3rd quarter and ya’ll had a whole quarter to tie it up. You didn’t run out of time you just threw the ball to the wrong dude!! You LOSE!!!

* OH SNAP!!!* lol

By Todd Holcomb

December 16, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this

Does Bradwell Institute get a little more respect now?

A little more, yes. And my sources tell me your two best players, Ulrick John and Sheldon Barnes, are only juniors. Bradwell might come within 25 of Camden next season.

To the name jacker camdenwildcat, how hard is it to come up with a name that someone else is not already using on here …

LOL. … Good point. But on the other hand, CamdenWildcat ain’t exactly the most clever name for a Camden County fan. I suggest OceanCat. Or, how about the Ghost of Dungeness? You’re right, that’s good, but nobody would get it. How about BallistiCat? You’ve still got those ballistic missle subs down there, right? … . Or try this: The King of Kingsland! If it were me, and I was a Camden fan, I’d be BallistiCat. Nobody would copy cat that.

By CaMdEn_06_cAt

December 16, 2008 10:19 PM | Link to this

CONGRATS TO THE WILDCATS!! ON YOUR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WE BROUGHT IT BACK HOME CONGRATS ONCE AGAIN 5A STATE CHAMPS AND OUR HATERS THANKS ONCE AGAIN BECAUSE YOU MAKE US BETTER GOOD GAME PEACH RIGDE JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BEAT US!!!

By Todd Holcomb

December 16, 2008 10:20 PM | Link to this

Are you nuts? Turner county overrated? They werent expected to win 5 games according to people down south. Check with the local sources before you writw this stuff.

You read it wrong. Turner County was UNDERRATED in preseason.

By mistermak

December 17, 2008 1:27 AM | Link to this

marc My comment on a 2nd place trophy was legit! I played my share of sports as a kid and I have coached baseball for many years. Getting to play on the big stage such as the dome is plenty of recognition for great effort. but if you are happy to carry a 2nd place trophy home from a state champ game then you are kidding your self. I can see getting the trophy but to have to go up on the stage right after the winner has claimed their prize is not at all fun. I watched those 2nd place presentations and most of the time they had to look for someone to go claim the so called prize. they all went there to win. No real competitor wants to claim a trophy after a big loss like that. 5 years from now nobody will remember who won 2nd place. One of the reasons for high school athletics is to teach young people about competition in the ‘real’ world and their is no consolation prize for the guy who does not get the job or the promotion. If you are happy to get 2nd place then you should not be competing!!

lioness I guess you think that was the first football game I have watched. I was watching the half time clock and their was still 1:30 on it when your boys ran out of the tunnel and on to the feild. Camden’s band was trying to finish up and was rudely interupted. I am sure those boys could have waited another minute to run out on the feild. I have read all of your bad mouthing on here and you don’t sound like a classy lady.
Band mom gone wild get off all of the Lou Holtz quotes!! Your team didn’t even make it to the dome and you are still ranting and raving. I will agree that some of the Camden fans have gone a little too far but it seems as if you are only making it worse. if you would just ignore them they will go away. We will see all of you next year.

By Reeze

December 17, 2008 2:17 AM | Link to this

Fantasy Football geeks…..My championship is this weekend and Reeze needs advice…We have plenty of High school ball experts here…How about Pro….Who should I start at my 2 RB spots?…Pierre thomas vs Det….Addai vs Jax (who the Colts says will play)… Domonic Rhodes vs Jax (who’ll likely share the load with Addai)…Ronnie Brown vs K.C or Larry Johnson vs Miami?

By GwinnettFan

December 17, 2008 4:44 AM | Link to this

PTR v. Camden was a great game. I had to watch it on TV, which was unfortunate, because the cameramen were so confused about Camden’s triple option wing-T. Fortunately, the PTR defense was less confused, which made for an awesome game.

Camden deserves credit for beating a very good Lions team. That interception to start the 2nd half killed all the momentum PTR had garnered before halftime. Unfortunately, the PTR quarterback simply picked a bad time to have a down game. Overthrown passes were a killer (notice the seam route was always open, and the Lions QB nearly always overthrew it). That interception at the end was a killer (obviously), and it was an unfortunate way to end the game. Kudos to the PTR defense for doing a much better than average job of stopping the Camden running attack, and kudos to Camden for making the stops when they needed to.

By PrhS

December 17, 2008 5:58 AM | Link to this

Nick Lombardo the QB for P Ridge broke his thumb during that game

By rw

December 17, 2008 8:05 AM | Link to this

Congratulations to Tucker for finishing the deal. Look for 6AAAA to be strong again next year. With up and coming Miller Grove and new comer Chamblee to go along with SWD, Marist, and defending state champion Tucker. 3 teams from this region were in the quarterfinals and 2 of those teams were in the finals.

By Dawg Gone

December 17, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

Todd Ridgeland in the AAA Top Ten? Ridgeland? There are 4 or 5 teams with better credentials than Ridgeland.

By VIKING DAD

December 17, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this

Congratulations to Camden for a great game and keeping the title in the south. To all of you who said LOWNDES will be down next year because of Reid graduating, just keep on thinking. They return all but one offensive lineman,QB Franklin, and Tyler Hunter, son of former GA BULLDOGS wr Brice Hunter.

By blessedman

December 17, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this

*cchs wildcat86 * yes played ball Toms, reed, simpson were coaches back then. email me oneblessedman67@yahoo.com.

By KPEagle

December 17, 2008 11:07 AM | Link to this

To Reeze: Reggie Bush may be out so Pierre Thomas will get the majority of touches against the Lions. Addai and Rhodes will probably split time. The weather will be cold in KC so dump passes and runs for both teams. I would go Larry Johnson. By the way, I went Southwest-Macon in the early 80’s and came to Northside and/or Warner Robins regularly to get our butts whipped. I live in Lawrenceville now (Collins Hill)and I’ll be doggone if Chansey Stuckey didn’t do to us also. Enjoy reading you and Slalom1. Best of luck next year!

By Todd Holcomb

December 17, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this

Todd Ridgeland in the AAA Top Ten? Ridgeland? There are 4 or 5 teams with better credentials than Ridgeland.

Which 4 or 5 teams would that be?

My top eight would probably be in anyone’s Top 10, so we’re really talking the final two spots.

I noticed that the coaches ranked St. Pius and Carrollton.

Ridgeland beat Carrollton for the region title. Carrollton blew out Cartersville, the team that eliminated St. Pius.

Then you have teams like Peach County and WaCo that lost in the first round to unranked teams. There’s Shaw, but you’ve got 7 losses.

Burke County is a good choice. I could’ve gone with them.

Ridgeland’s season looks a little better after the playoffs when you consider that two of Ridgeland’s losses came to teams that played in the GA Dome.

By Fair Play Fan

December 17, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this

Viking Dad: WOW! So Lowndes bring back their entire offense with the exception of one lineman. Did I read that correctly? What about the defense!!!! I thought your QB was a senior. Of Hunter can do it all—no drop off. Lowndes will be very tough next year if you are corect.

By therealCamdenWildcat

December 17, 2008 1:20 PM | Link to this

Todd Holcomb,,,, I like that ballisticat moniker, I might run with that next year, lol.

By RAMDAWG

December 17, 2008 2:16 PM | Link to this

Viking Dad-Lowndes graduates #24-9-4-25-1-64 and im sure many other starters-sounds like a rebuilding year to me,see you in 2010.

By Dawg Gone

December 17, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

Todd You can make a point that they all have some warts - after pondering your reply-post the pot of #9 to #20 teams is pretty muddled. I would have suggested Peach and WaCo and definitely agree with Burke. But there’s also Hart, North Hall, and maybe even West Forsyth. My main problem with Ridgeland is that they lost to Darlington - an unranked A team that lost in the 1st Round of the playoffs to another unranked team. And, other than Carrollton, they didn’t have another high quality win.

Just the same - thanks for the work this fall!

By Band Mom Gone Wild

December 17, 2008 3:32 PM | Link to this

Band mom gone wild get off all of the Lou Holtz quotes!! Your team didn’t even make it to the dome and you are still ranting and raving. I will agree that some of the Camden fans have gone a little too far but it seems as if you are only making it worse. if you would just ignore them they will go away. We will see all of you next year.

mistermak, what do you mean my team didn’t even make it to the Dome? Peachtree Ridge most certainly DID!!! I’m not ranting and raving… I’m just trying to correct some facts and clarify some of my statements. If I were ranting and raving you’d know it… believe me! My real blog-name should be “Italian Taurus Band Mom Gone Wild!”

Happy Holidays everyone! Have fun and don’t forget to Buckle Up!!

By CATPAW

December 17, 2008 4:57 PM | Link to this

I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE COACH JEFF HERRON AND THE ENTIRE COACHING STAFF AT CAMDEN.AS FOR THE GAME SAT.WE PRETTY WELL DOMINATED THE GAME,TAKE AWAY RONNIE SMITH’S 94 YARD T.D. AND THEY REALLY DIDN’T DO ANYTHING ELSE.WITHOUT THE MISCUE’S THAT WE HAD, WE EASILY COULD HAVE HUNG 35 ON THE BOYS FROM P-RIDGE.NOW I KNOW PEOPLE WILL THINK I’AM CRAZY,BUT COME ON,GIVE IT A REST.CAMDEN WILDCATS 2008 5-AAAAA STATE CHAMPS.GO CATS!!!!!!!!

By cleonard

December 17, 2008 7:42 PM | Link to this

TODD,how do you think Sandy Creek will do next year.And also do you think Rajion Neal will have a big season next year.

By what

December 17, 2008 7:50 PM | Link to this

oldlioni dont know what game u were watchin, but that guy did not politely hand over the ball and go to the sideline. im not a fan of either team—just stayed after our game was over (BWOLVES,baby—back-to-back).he ran over beating his chest and ran up and down the sidelines in front of the crowd.thats not saying he is a bad person but he does need an attitude check.matter of fact it is the pius folks who told about his grades, age and everything else.dont throw stones when u live in a glass house.people need to remember that where there is smoke there is fire and i recall your fans on here last year(when they handed u a butt-stomping)telling everything the man did in his tenure there—including how bad his attitude is, etc., etc. and so on. dont start a love affair now just because it is your rival who usay is talking.what were ur fans doing?how do u know what fan is on a public blog…heck i could be a pius fan for all u know. just because i say i am bhs doesnt mean its so. dont put on ur halo so quick. remembering ur faith is coming on a blog?y didnt u tell the folks when u were walking out with them? u sound jealous. dont even try the move up buford line either…u moved down with a larger base to pull from. where wss ur team when u were leaving the dome? oh yeah, its been orange ball season down there for a few weeks. no i dont like marist but we at buford have to put up with the same crap. what if a poster got on here saying stuff about black kids like one did about them…pasty white boys, take pills? the post would be deleted and it would be open season on racism. hypocrite—-remember ur faith.

By SportsFan31313

December 17, 2008 8:23 PM | Link to this

Todd Holcomb Says: Does Bradwell Institute get a little more respect now?

A little more, yes. And my sources tell me your two best players, Ulrick John and Sheldon Barnes, are only juniors. Bradwell might come within 25 of Camden next season.

Greetngs Todd,

They are returning,quite a few starters. They should be just as good as they were this year. And Yes, maybe they will come with 25 points of Perinnial Power Camden County next year LOL….

By oldlion

December 17, 2008 11:03 PM | Link to this

to “what” -

I don’t see a problem with JD or any other player celebrating on the sidelines facing his own fans. He had just scored the game ending touchdown and sealed his teams first state title! If that had happened last year JD just might have done the celebrating on the field and drawn a flag.

I have been reading these boards for three years now, and I am annoyed and ashamed by the behavior of some the bloggers from both SPX and Marist. Please look at my last post and note that I directed my comments to SPX as well. Those of us who are part of the SPX/Marist communities attend these schools by choice. The students and fans need to be aware at ALL times that they are representatives of more than just a school.

By Todd Holcomb

December 17, 2008 11:37 PM | Link to this

TODD,how do you think Sandy Creek will do next year.And also do you think Rajion Neal will have a big season next year.

Well, you’re losing three very good players in Rio Johnson, Solomon the LB and Brandon Putnam. Rio might be hardest to replace. Always a question when you’ve got a new QB. But not sure how many starters you’re losing, though. So can’t predict yet. I hear you have a DB that’s really super who’s returning. Isiah Johnson maybe? I hear he’s big-time, but truth is, I didn’t get to see Sandy Creek play and would only be guessing about their prospects next season.

By Kingsland_Dweller1776

December 18, 2008 8:08 AM | Link to this

By CATPAW

December 17, 2008 4:57 PM | Link to this

I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE COACH JEFF HERRON AND THE ENTIRE COACHING STAFF AT CAMDEN.AS FOR THE GAME SAT.WE PRETTY WELL DOMINATED THE GAME,TAKE AWAY RONNIE SMITH’S 94 YARD T.D. AND THEY REALLY DIDN’T DO ANYTHING ELSE.WITHOUT THE MISCUE’S THAT WE HAD, WE EASILY COULD HAVE HUNG 35 ON THE BOYS FROM P-RIDGE.NOW I KNOW PEOPLE WILL THINK I’AM CRAZY,BUT COME ON,GIVE IT A REST.CAMDEN WILDCATS 2008 5-AAAAA STATE CHAMPS.GO CATS!!!!!!!!

Shut up

By punkin

December 18, 2008 10:07 AM | Link to this

Todd, Sandy Creek is returning all their skill postion people except for Rio. They do have a young poise QB that will be a jr next year that is ready to step up. Neal and Charleston is going to be the key. If used right both could have great seasons. They need to get the ball in those guys hands to make some plays. They only threw the ball to their backs about 10 times total all year. They must put the ball in their play makers hand. Sandy Creek can have the most explosive offense in the state if they do so with the talent they have at RB and wide reciever.

By bobbylee

December 18, 2008 1:38 PM | Link to this

Well, I can tell you this…Back in September Darlington beat the State Champs, you can say they go “Nanced”

By bobbylee

December 18, 2008 3:40 PM | Link to this

That should be “got Nanced”…get it?

By slalom1

December 18, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this

Camden Fans, in particular PTR08. I have never seen so many “sore winners”. Why do you guys continue to rub salt in the wound? YOU WON. YOU ARE THE BEST. Got it? Show some class as champions. PTR08, you may be a Camden fan, but most likely not a true GHS football fan. Where have you been all season? You wait until Camden has proven to be the best in the state, then check in. EASY. Show some respect for some of the other great competitors rather than beating a dead horse. Again, when you are on top, show some class and some respect.

By slalom1

December 18, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this

PTR08, Sorry about that. Looked at my notes wrong. The comments about you were aimed for “hurricanecamden”.

By SportsFan31313

December 18, 2008 8:43 PM | Link to this

Let’s get ready for next year………

By oldlion

December 18, 2008 11:16 PM | Link to this

Let’s get ready for next year………

Amen to that!

Todd,

6AAAA put three teams in the quarter finals: SWD, Marist and Tucker. Has any other region done that, or better?

How do you rate 6AAAA as a whole vs the other regions?

By BI FAN

December 19, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this

Yes sports fan 31313 let’s get ready for next year and hoping that we will do better than this one!!!! Good luck tigers.

By AAAA

December 19, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this

Marist needs to quit whining

Marist talks about playing with heart- but your own quarterback said after the game that Marist lost because Tucker wanted it alot more than Marist. Tucker regularly beats Marist in the regular season, and it was great to see them do it in the Dome for the state championship. Tucker has as many football state championships as Marist the past couple of decades, so people should quit idolizing Chadwick and his minions. Marist, not JD, are the ones showing poor sportsmanship (e.g. running up the score 38-0 in the regualar season; Chadwick getting fined and suspended for hitting a ref a couple of years ago)

Marist, grow up and face the facts. You are runners-up. You got beat by better athletes who were very well-coached and played with alot more heart than you did. Grab your puke buckets and hit the mat drills, boys- you have a alot work to do between now and next August

By bobbylee

December 19, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

Rome beat Marist…and is better than Tucker, just wait til’ next season.

By Todd Holcomb

December 19, 2008 1:17 PM | Link to this

**6AAAA put three teams in the quarter finals: SWD, Marist and Tucker. Has any other region done that, or better?

How do you rate 6AAAA as a whole vs the other regions?**

I don’t know how often it has happened, but it’s not terribly unusual. Since 1996, when the GHSA expanded the state playoffs to 32 teams, I’d bet it has happened 10 times.

R6 is the top region in AAAA, no doubt.

By HSBallfan

December 20, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this

By bobbylee: Rome beat Marist…and is better than Tucker Wow. two incredible lies in just eight words. Did you write that yourself or hire some professional help? Wishful thinking is a powerful force, is it not?

By jackie

December 20, 2008 5:35 PM | Link to this

have you heard the attendance figures from the state championship games at the dome?

By Marc

December 20, 2008 11:04 PM | Link to this

bobbylee didn’t see Rome in the Dome did they have uniforms that looked like Marist? You act like Rome losing to Marist the way they did is the first time that’s happened. Marist got whipped by Tucker whipped 36 minutes of posession to 12. 377 yards offense to 77, and 75 plays to 24. This year Tucker is by far the best in 6AAAA.

By yo

December 21, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this

fairplayfan & ramdawgLowndes returns #2 Franklin (qb), #15 Hunter (2nd team all region), #10 Smith, #17 Copeland, #29 Braswell, #33 Anderson, #65 Layne Grant (2nd team all region), #73 Ed Christian (1st team all region), #74 Justin Browning (all region Hon. Mention). #84 Jordan Black. These are some of the bigger name returnees. Of this group I would say that at least #15 Hunter (will be a junior), #2 Franklin, #10 Smith, #17 Copeland, #73 Christian, #84 Browning will all be sought out by div. 1 schools. ps-when nothing else, remember Lowndes always has a defense. Sorry if I overlooked any one.

By Fair Play Fan

December 21, 2008 10:05 PM | Link to this

Yo, Thanks, I believe Lowndes will keep it’s place at the top of 1AAAAA. You have a lot of power coming back. Hunter has to be on the field even if he plays WR until 2010. I can’t wait until football season starts again. I will be at the North-South game on 29 Dec. 08. I love it!

By SportsFan31313

December 28, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

To SE GA Fan,

I TOTALLY agree with you 100%. I could’nt have said it any better.

By D

January 10, 2009 11:42 PM | Link to this

As an alumni of Wesleyan, class of 2005, I would like to reiterate what I have said a dozen times. I am downright ashamed that Wesleyan played at the Class A level this year. For 7 years, Wesleyan played in Class AA, and was a .500 or better team every single year. It’s only natural that when they drop down to Class A, they dominate.

Wesleyan does not deserve the championship unless they against comparable teams. This season, they did not. I don’t care if you believe that Wesleyan recruits or not - although if you believe Al-Farouq Aminu had to meet the same admissions standards his freshman year as the rest of his grade, you’re delusional. All you have to do is take one look at their million-dollar facilities and see that Wesleyan has an unfair advantage over any of the Class A teams they play against.

I don’t mean to take ANYTHING away from the players of my alma mater. They played their hearts out against the teams on their schedule. I am simply ashamed of the administration for that school for allowing this to happen. They knew what level of competition they were capable of playing against, but instead of rising to the challenge, they dropped to lower competition. I feel especially sorry for Wesleyan’s other sports teams, which have been dominant for years, that now have even weaker opposition.

To my alma mater, move back to Class AA where you belong. You owe it to your students, your parents, and your alumni like me. I will not give one cent to my alma mater as long as this continues.