Inside High Schools: Forced to part ways at last with Grayson

All season long, this column has held nothing but love for those Grayson Rams.

I’ve had a crush on the green and gold from the outset just to prove to the rest of the state exactly how biased I am to metro Atlanta. I say that facetiously, of course. I haven’t seen a single Grayson game all season.

By the same token, I haven’t seen Lowndes play, either. But just like I don’t need to watch Big 12 football to realize that it is arguably the best conference in the nation right now, I don’t need to watch video to realize that Grayson will be overmatched by the Vikings.

Lowndes has been No. 1 all season for a reason —- it has proven it deserves it. Grayson has never played past 13 games in a season, and it won’t do it this year, either. Even if it has to make three consecutive trips to Atlanta, Lowndes is the team that can do it.

Class AAAAA

The feel-good story of the playoffs lived for another week in Woodstock. The reward for the Wolverines? A trip to the coastal marshes of Camden County. Accounting for Atlanta traffic, dinner in an antebellum plantation house in Jackson, spending the night in Statesboro, catching lunch at Willie’s Weenie Wagon (get the pork chop sandwich) in Brunswick and a tour of the Jacksonville Zoo, if the Wolverines leave Cherokee County just after slicing the turkey on Thursday, they should make it there for game time. The trip down might be the best part because the ride back will be a looooooooong one… . Now, if you had to pick two teams out of Region 1 to make the quarterfinals, admit it, your picks were Lowndes and, um, Coffee? Nah, me neither. Peachtree Ridge won’t be stopped this week. … I love parity. For that reason, I am sorry, North Gwinnett, but you won’t be advancing. Newnan takes your spot because I just can’t have two teams from Region 7 making the semifinals. It would throw the balance of the known universe off kilter if anyone ever made any kind of argument that their region was better than Region 1. Plus, there is a big bunch of Cougars that are still suffering from last year’s 38-35 Bulldogs victory. Cat-scratch fever for North Gwinnett.

Class AAAA

Apparently, I have no love for Region 6-AAAA. In back-to-back weeks, I have picked Tucker and Southwest DeKalb to lose in the first round and for Marist to fall last week to Sequoyah. I’ll start with perhaps the most anticipated game of the week in the class between Tucker and top-ranked Westside. Tucker is good, but I can almost see this game being a repeat of the Marist debacle earlier this year. It will be closer, but that old Demon, Robert Davis, has been here and done that… . Southwest DeKalb, you get no love either. Griffin’s victory against Brunswick was a big one, and I don’t see that signature win for the Panthers… . So, I guess it all comes down to Marist. Another great Cinderella team in Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, but Alan Chadwick’s War Eagles grind people up… . Outside of Lowndes-Grayson, I truly believe the best game will be between Rome and Statesboro. Could someone from Rome please bring me back some Vandy’s barbecue? Blue Devils top the Wolves.

Class AAA

Dunwoody’s slogan has been 1 and 0 each week. LaGrange is worthy, but the Grangers are just going to be No. 13… . Eastside, Syrup gets even stickier as the weather gets cooler. Your chances of making the Dome are even stickier… . If Flowery Branch had beaten Ridgeland by more than a touchdown, I might be inclined to pick it. As it is, unbeaten Baldwin remains so… . Gainesville is undefeated as well, but Carver is more battle-tested and the better pick in Columbus.

Class AA

Dublin has been itching for revenge against Buford ever since the Wolves plastered 48 on the Irish in the Dome last year. Don’t see it happening in Buford’s backyard… . Toombs has had a good little run, but those Bugs up at Calhoun are more than the Bulldogs can handle… . Brooks County moves one step closer, rolling past Lovett… . The AA game of the week is Fitzgerald at Pepperell. Those Purple Hurricanes have destroyed both of their opponents on the road. Prepare for a Category 5 in Northwest Georgia.

Class A

Wesleyan is the last metro team to spark any interest in the state’s smallest classification. Not after this week. Take Miller County again over a private school after taking down Savannah Christian last week… . Wilcox over Lincoln in the battle of historical powers… . Turner County has been here before. This is only the second time Wilkinson County has ever played more than 12 games. Take the experience factor… . Let me know if Bremen defies the forces of nature and finds some way to slow down Washaun Ealey.

QUARTERFINAL PREDICTIONS

CLASS AAAAA

Winner ……….Loser

Camden Co. ……Woodstock

Lowndes……….Grayson

Newnan ……….North Gwinnett

Peachtree Ridge..Coffee

CLASS AAAA

Griffin……….S.W. DeKalb

Marist ……….Mt. Zion-Jones.

Statesboro ……Rome

Westside-Macon ..Tucker

CLASS AAA

Baldwin……….Flowery Branch

Cairo…………Eastside

Carver-Col…….Gainesville

Dunwoody ……..LaGrange

CLASS AA

Brooks Co. ……Lovett

Buford ……….Dublin

Calhoun……….Toombs Co.

Fitzgerald ……Pepperell

CLASS A

ECI…………..Bremen

Miller Co. ……Wesleyan

Turner Co. ……Wilkinson Co.

Wilcox Co. ……Lincoln Co.

cwhitfield@ajc.com