Expect another shuffling in the Class AA top 10. Nine of the ranked teams were in action Friday night, and five of them lost. Four of the five losses came against teams from either higher classifications or out of the state, but this is becoming a trend. On the year, teams are 13-10-1 while ranked in the AA top 10.
This week’s casualties included No. 4 Lovett (27-7 vs. Marist), No. 7 Brooks County (29-14 vs. Madison County, Fla.), No. 8 B.E.S.T. Academy (28-6 vs. Central-Carrollton), No. 9 Heard County (49-20 vs. Callaway) and No. 10 Seminole County (21-7 vs. Pacelli).
The top three should remain stable, however, as top-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian and No. 2 Washington-Wilkes won, while No. 3 Benedictine was off. Neither GAC nor Washington-Wilkes blew the doors off their Class A competitors, but as the first three weeks have proven over and over (and over again), just getting a win is hard enough.
Slayton saves the day: Highly touted GAC receiver Darius Slayton is living up to his accolades. For the second time in three weeks, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior came down with a game-winning touchdown grab Friday night, delivering the Spartans a 23-16 win over Eagle's Landing Christian Academy.
GAC trailed 16-15 before an 80-yard drive that culminated in Slayton’s 22-yard touchdown catch with less than a minute remaining. Two weeks ago, it was Slayton's catch that lifted the Spartans to a 24-21 win over Benedictine.
Slayton is a consenus four-star prospect and considered to be one of the top wide receivers in the country. He's got scholarship offers from big-time college programs from all the major conferences, and he's proven why.
But don’t forget about the guy getting him the ball. Spartans sophomore quarterback Davis Mills has been tested in high-pressure situations in his first three games as a starter and has come through each time thus far.
GAC now gets a needed week off after a challenging nonregion schedule before beginning 6-AA play against Hapeville Charter on Sept. 19.
Tip o' the cap: To the Berrien Rebels.
For the first time since 1997, Berrien defeated rival Cook on Friday, 21-14. Around Nashville, Ga., that’s a big deal.
The Berrien-Cook rivalry dates back to 1954, with the teams meeting each year since 1974, twice in some years, and the series tilts heavily in Cook’s favor (43-14-4). At this point, it's worth noting that Ed Pilcher, one of the state’s winning coaches with five state championships to his credit, is now in his second year at Berrien.
Just saying.
Ball-hawking Indians: One top-10 team that hasn't struggled this year is unbeaten No. 6 Vidalia.
Preseason all-stater Jordan Black continues to be a big reason why, as he rushed for over 100 yards again in the Indians' 42-0 win over Toombs County. But he's getting some help from his defense, particularly in the secondary.
Defensive back Blake Corbett has picked off a pass in each of Vidalia's three games so far, while Quantrell Yarbrough has two interceptions and returned one 50 yards for a touchdown Friday night. The Indians have six INTs as a team, part of the reason why they're outscoring opponents 110-19 through three games.
Transitive properties applied to the scoreboard: Alternate title, a never-ending exercise in futility and frustration.
Here's what I'm talking about:
Bowdon, which reached the quarterfinals last year and opened the season at No. 8 this year, won 21-0 over Pepperell on Friday. What does this mean?
Well, Bowdon's opening-week, 34-0 loss to Central-Carrollton doesn't look quite as bad now, because Central-Carrollton just beat B.E.S.T. Academy by a fairly similar score (28-6), and we know B.E.S.T. is pretty good because they beat Callaway (which was No. 3 in AAA at the time), 14-7 last week, and then Callaway turned around and beat No. 9 Heard County 49-20 this week, which is worse than Fitzgerald beat Heard County (43-26) last week, when Heard County was No. 3 in Class AA, and Fitzgerald definitely looks legit because they just beat Irwin County 40-12, and Irwin County ... you get the point.
We could keep going, but my brain is already beginning to cramp, and I don't think delving any deeper is going to tell us anything about anybody, least of all Bowdon, who by now we're separated from by about 10 degrees.
Let's just play another week and regroup next Saturday morning.
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So, it's late (LATE) Friday/early (EARLY) Saturday as I'm writing, and full reports from around the state are still trickling in, so there's bound to be some good stuff I don't know about yet.Who stood out for your team? With all these top-10 teams losing every week, who should replace them? Let me know who to keep an eye on, and I will.
See y'all again Tuesday a.m.
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