Most teams have played a couple of games by now, long enough to determine whether things are headed in the right direction. It’s also enough time to determine whether a team qualifies as being a early season surprise.
Here are five teams that belong in the surprise category.
Jackson County:
The Panthers beat White County 17-0 and improved to 2-0 under first-year coach Brandon Worley. That equalled the number of games the program won a year ago. It was also the 100th victory in the history of the program, which began in 1980.
The school hasn’t had a 2-0 start since 2010. Among the wins was the first-ever victory against Madison County, the neighbor rival.
The school has posted only six winning seasons in its history, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. The last came in 2012 when the Panthers went 6-5.
Jackson County is led by quarterback Caleb Matthews, tailback Malik Tuck (123 yards in the opener) and fullback Jorge Monzon.
Josey:
The Eagles are 2-0 for the first time since 1999. They beat Butler 33-30 on Friday and will be favored this week at Hancock Central. Josey has already won more games than it did last season.
The running game is at the heart of the Josey attack. The Eagles totalled 237 yards against Butler, with Treyshaun Ridley serving as the workhorse. Ridley carried 17 times for 83 yards and one touchdown.
Quarterback Nathaniel Foreman completed 7 of 10 passes for 55 yards, including touchdowns to Norvette Lowery and Devries Orsten.
Douglass:
The Astros have also equalled their win total from last year after last week's 64-0 win over Cross Keys. If Douglass can defeat McNair this weekend, it will equal its best win total since 2008.
Douglass was once a power in the City of Atlanta and drew huge crowds at Lakewood Stadium for games against Washington and Southwest DeKalb. This is coach Rodney Cofield’s fourth season at the helm. Cofield developed a well-deserved reputation for excellence from his time at Washington, where his teams went to the playoffs eight times in 13 years.
Pepperell:
May get something going under first-year coach Rick Hurst, who arrived after spending ten successful seasons at Eastside High in Covington. The Dragons (1-1) lost their opener to Class AAAAA Paulding County before coming back to trounce Bowdon 40-13.
Pepperell's last winning season was in 2012.
Quarterback Trevor Thomas directs an offense that showed good signs against Bowdon; he ran for 104 yards and threw for 88 on 12-for-19 passing against the Red Devils. Devyn Collins, an all-state tailback, is always capable of breaking a long one. Collins ran for 485 yards last season against Rockmart in 2014.
Jenkins:
The Warriors showed they were players in Region 1 a year ago by going 6-4, but lost in the game that would have sent them to the state playoffs. They're back in search of their first postseason spot since 2008.
Jenkins is 2-1 with nice wins over perennial Class A power Savannah Christian and Appling County. The Warriors have a solid defense that’s led by senior Damian Campbell and sophomore Daniel Jordan. The offense depends heavily on the running of Arkeem Byrd
