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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Take 10: Top moments from the 2008 Georgia high school football season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ah, memories. It has a been a fun ride in a football season that was full of upsets, improbable runs and ESPN-worthy highlights. We’re sure several of you out there are sad to see the season come to an end.
But don’t worry. Recruiting will keep you interested through February, then comes spring practice and after that it’s just a couple months before we’re back in the saddle again. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though.
Here are our top 10 moments of the 2008 football season:
10: Washaun Ealey breaks career TD mark - ECI’s talented tailback didn’t have the end to his career we’re sure he wanted, but finishing as Georgia’s all-time career touchdown king isn’t too shabby. On Oct. 16, he broke the mark of 112 set by Pacelli’s Matt Dunham in 2004.
9: Camden County goes Dome to Dome - The Wildcats started the year with a 21-6 victory against Norcross in the Kell Classic and finished it with a victory against Peachtree Ridge for their second state title in Class AAAAA. If you add in a semifinal game at Newnan, we calculate Camden County traveled the most miles of any eventual state champion: 152,423 miles. That’s roughly half the distance to the moon.
8: Quick turnarounds - We’ve pointed this out a few times, but it was a good year for bouncing back. Lassiter (9-3 from 3-7), Kell (8-3 from 2-8), Chapel Hill (9-3 from 0-10) and North Clayton (10-2 from 5-5) all made quick changes under first-year head coaches. Let’s hope the mojo continues for these programs in 2009.
7: The end of Take 10 picks - We’ve learned our lesson when it comes to picking games. We tried to give you - the readers - our general thoughts on the semifinal games. How did we do? We went 6-4 and two of the teams we picked against (Wesleyan and Camden County) won state crowns. That doesn’t equate to genius. Todd Holcomb and Chris Whitfield, it’s all yours.
6: Wesleyan upsets undefeated ECI - As a matter of disclosure, we hadn’t heard of Wolves sophomore running back Kyle Karempelis until Saturday. Wesleyan rode his legs to a 33-21 victory against the unbeaten Bulldogs. We can offer no excuse for this other than to say, our bad. We look forward to seeing Karempelis as a junior.
5: The Philip Lutzenkirchen throw-back - If you think this is some sort of style, you’re wrong. The Lassiter tight end made SportsCenter for this ridiculous play against Centennial on Oct. 31. The Trojans senior caught the ball out of the back of the end zone and threw it back in to a teammate. That’s not exactly how Lassiter coach Chip Lindsey drew it up.
4: Lowndes falls in quarterfinals - No, we didn’t see this coming. We doubt Grayson saw this coming. The 17-7 Rams victory ended a 26-game winning streak and the Vikings’ bid for a fourth title in five years.
3: Kacy Stuart allowed to kick - We were happy to see the 14-year-old kicker allowed to step foot back onto the field for the New Creation Center in October. The nationally-covered barring of Stuart from the Crusaders ended after six missed games. Here’s hoping she comes back next season.
2: Woodstock’s improbable run - The Wolverines began the season 2-4 before rattling off six consecutive victories and a state quarterfinal appearance. That’s ridiculous. What’s also crazy is that it could have gone farther had Mike O’Brien’s team not fallen one point short to eventual Class AAAAA state champion Camden County.
1: Tucker’s first-ever state title - Getting a revenge victory against a rival is one thing. Reversing a 38-0 loss into a 15-3 Class AAAA state championship victory is another. The Tigers earned the their first state title. Congratulations to coach Franklin Stephens and company.
Go on. Take Ten. What are your most memorable moments of the 2008? What are the stories we missed? Here’s your chance to share your thoughts or tell us we’re idiots.
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