Archer and Wheeler gave Class AAAAAAA fans (and pollsters) something to think about with their performances on Friday night.
Let’s start with Wheeler, which defeated fifth-ranked Roswell 37-36 . C.J. Ogbonna threw a 19-yard TD pass to Ricky White with 45 seconds left for the game-winner at Wheeler’s Corky Kell Stadium. (See the MDJ’s game story below.)
Wheeler is a nice story. An undersized East Cobb magnet school known for advanced math, science and basketball, Wheeler hasn’t had a winning season since 2012, or won a playoff game since 1997. The last time the Wildcats were 5-0 was 1993, also the last time they were ranked.
Remember when Jeff Herron was Wheeler's coach? Wheeler's last state ranking was before that.
Meanwhile, Archer has been stronger than death since losing to Milton 21-19 in the opener. The Tigers bombed Buford 48-24 on Friday. They beat Norcross 37-0 and Mill Creek 42-0 in previous atonement blowouts.
Here’s the rankings pickle – Wheeler beat Roswell, which has no other loss. Roswell beat Milton, which had no other loss, until falling to No. 4 Parkview on Friday. Milton beat Archer, which has no other loss. Do you rank them Parkview, Wheeler, Roswell, Milton, Archer, in that order? There’s no result that contradicts that order.
But come on, now. Did you see those Archer scores? This is the hottest team in the classification.
Except for Colquitt County, of course. The Packers came from 14-3 down on the road to defeat Grayson 26-14. Colquitt is 6-0 with wins over six ranked teams. The first five were not high-classification opponents, but the Pack has been highly impressive, the clear-cut No. 1 team so far.
Another team that’s hot is Parkview. The Panthers are 4-0. They’ve beaten three straight teams that have been ranked – Lowndes 39-27, Tift County 31-28 and now Milton 37-35. Parkview led 37-13, then sweated it out.
Should Parkview be ranked No. 2? No other team in the class has so many high-profile wins against AAAAAAA opponents.
Parkview hasn’t won a region title or been ranked this highly (No. 4) since 2005.
Other notes in the high class …
Lowndes defeated Valdosta 71-35 in the highest-scoring game in series history. The 71 points are the most ever scored against Valdosta. Curious if Valdosta fans liked all the fourth-quarter scoring when the game was in hand. Valdosta leads the series 37-20, but Lowndes moved ahead of Colquitt County and Albany with the most victories against the Wildcats.
Hillgrove defeated South Forsyth 36-14 in a game between two reigning region champions. Hillgrove, of Region 3, will enter region play 5-0 and play arch-rival McEachern in two weeks.
About the Author
