Two remarkable streaks came to an end Friday in Class AAAAAAA.
In Moultrie, Colquitt County became the first team since 1998 to shut out Roswell. The 28-0 Colquitt victory ended a state-record streak of 221 games in which Roswell had scored. The last to shut out Roswell was North Cobb on Oct. 2, 1998.
In Gwinnett County, Archer became the first team since 2014 to beat Mill Creek in a regular-season game. Stan Awtrey covered that game for AJC.com.
That ended a 28-game winning streak in those games. The last to beat Mill Creek in the regular season was North Gwinnett on Sept. 16, 1014.
That also signals that Archer is back as a major player in this class. Archer won 11 games in 2013, 2014 and 2015 before the 2016 slump (4-7) that was exacerbated by a tough schedule and the defection of a couple of blue-chip prospects to other schools. Now, the Tigers under Andy Dyer have a talented young team that could seriously contend next year, if not this one. Archer still must deal with defending champion Grayson in Region 8.
Here are some other highlights of Friday in the high class.
North Gwinnett is off and running again
North Gwinnett has a new coach, Bill Stewart, who ran Mill Creek's defenses during runs to the semifinals the past two seasons. He's also been head coach at Etowah. North Gwinnett beat Norcross rather easily, 35-14. Alex Macrides covered that one for AJC.com. Unlike the pass-first spread offenses run so successfully by North under Bob Sphire (now at Camden County), North ran for over 300 yards. North is dealing with the season-ending loss of QB Cade Fortin (Texas A&M commit) pretty well. Jimmy Urzua is the new starter.
Woodstock sets points record on sad night
Woodstock set a school record for points scored in a 77-49 victory over Kennesaw Mountain. But it was a sad night as the Woodstock community mourned the death of cheerleader Madilyn Phillips, who was killed in a car crash Friday morning. Students organized a ‘’yellow out’’ to honor Phillips during the game. The most points that Woodstock previously had scored came in a 69-27 win over Pope in 2014. The total points (126) are tied for eighth-most for a single game in GHSA history.
Long-suffering Meadowcreek is 3-0 for the first time
Meadowcreek is 3-0 for the first time in a history that dates to 1986. The Mustangs beat Forsyth Central 29-27. Meadowcreek faces Lithonia, Lakeside and Berkmar and might be favored to win each. That would make the Mustangs 6-0. Then comes Brookwood, Central Gwinnett, Parkview, Norcross. Meadowcreek was 5-160 from 2002 through 2014 and hasn’t won more than three games in a season since 1997 (5-5). Jason Carrera, in his third season, is the head coach behind Meadowcreek’s resurgence.
14 teams undefeated in the high class
Colquitt, Archer and Meadowcreek are undefeated, as noted. Four other teams stayed undefeated with victories. Tift County (3-0) beat Valdosta 20-10. South Forsyth (4-0) beat South Gwinnett 30-23. Marietta (3-0) beat Pebblebrook 24-20. Newton (3-0) beat Peachtree Ridge 47-28. Grayson (2-0) plays Saturday at John Curtis Christian, the top-ranked team in Louisiana. Uneaten teams that didn’t play are Lowndes (3-0), North Cobb (3-0), Lassiter (3-0), Walton (3-0), North Paulding (3-0) and Mountain View (3-0). By the way, Tift's 20-10 win at Valdosta was the Blue Devils' first win over Valdosta since 2008 and their first win at Bazemore-Hyder since 1993.
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