It’s halftime of the Georgia high school football season – six weeks down, six to go – and fourth-year Harrison coach Matt Dickmann has a different speech than usual this time of year.
After three 5-5 finishes, Dickmann’s Hoyas are 5-0 for the first time since 2008. That’s also the last time No. 6 Harrison of Class AAAAAA was ranked.
‘’The minute you think that you’re great, that’s when you get knocked off your pedestal,’’ Dickmann said. ‘’We talk about being humble.’’
Harrison’s breakthrough is one of the better stories of the 2016 season. Here are more from the first half.
Surprisingly good – Harrison is now the co-favorite in Region 6 with Dalton. A region title would be the Hoyas’ first in 11 years. … South Gwinnett, 2-8 a year ago, is 4-1 and ranked for the first time since 2012. … Lassiter, 6-14 the past two seasons, is 5-0. … Norcross, which hadn’t won a playoff game since its 2013 state championship, is 5-0. … Arabia Mountain, opened in 2009 as DeKalb County’s newest high school, is 4-1 and ranked for the first time. … Madison County, 1-9 a year ago, is 5-0.
Surprisingly not – Allatoona, a reigning state champion, is 1-4. … Camden County, ranked No. 6 in preseason, is 1-4, its worst start since 1969. … St. Pius, a state quarterfinalist or better the past five seasons, is 0-5. … Jonesboro, a quarterfinalist last season, is 0-5. … Charlton County, a perennial Class A power, is 1-3 for the first time since 1985. ... Two-time defending champ Colquitt County, while still good, is 2-4 after entering the season on a 30-game win streak.
Best players – Jake Fromm, committed to Georgia, has thrown for 2,548 yards in a 6-0 start for No. 1 Houston County of AAAAAA. … Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 junior prospect nationally, has thrown for 1,431 yards for the No. 1 Cartersville in AAAA. … Aubrey Solomon, the state’s top defensive-line prospect, has seven sacks for No. 3 Lee County of AAAAAA. … Defensive back Richard LeCounte, the state’s No. 2 overall prospect, has scored nine touchdowns on 22 touches for No. 4 Liberty County of AAA. … Greater Atlanta Christian quarterback Davis Mills, feared lost for the season with a preseason knee injury, returned unexpectedly in the third game and had his best outing last week, throwing for four TD passes. GAC (4-1) is No. 1 in AAA.
Best performances – Fromm passed 510 yards and four touchdowns against Eagle’s Landing on Sept. 9, then threw for 466 with seven touchdowns the next week against Veterans. … Griffin’s Tylan Morton had a 447-yard passing game with five touchdowns against Upson-Lee. … Toombs County’s Keyshawn Morgan rushed for 342 yards and six touchdowns against Telfair County on Sept. 9. … Rhett Gay, a quarterback at Emanuel County Institute, has thrown for over 300 yards and four touchdowns twice without playing in the second half either time. … Nathan Robertson, a kicker at Northside-Columbus, was 5-for-5 on field goals, including a 51-yarder, in a 24-7 win over Americus-Sumter on Sept. 22.
Also newsworthy - Mill Creek ended Colquitt County’s 30-game winning streak in the season-opening Corky Kell Classic. … Stewart County ended a state-worst 32-game losing streak with a 40-22 victory over Glascock County. … Marist coach Alan Chadwick won his 346th game, tying him with Dan Pitts for third all-time in Georgia. … Corey Jarvis, whose Mays team in 2014 was the first city school to reach a state final in 24 years, was fired for alleged mismanagement of athletics funds even though his school’s representative on the school board wanted him reinstated.
Looking ahead -At his pace of 424.7 yards passing per game, Jake Fromm will break Deshaun Watson’s career passing record in the 10th game and Hutson Mason’s single-season record in the 11th game. … Houston County’s Eli Watson is averaging 127.83 receiving yards, a pace that would break Demarco Robinson’s state record of 1,655 in a season in the 13th game. … Two No. 1-ranked teams, Houston County and GAC, have never won state championships. … Roswell, the No. 1 team in the highest classification, is ranked in the top 10 of five national polls. … No. 1 Eagle’s Landing Christian plays at No. 2 Wesleyan tonight in only the 15th regular-season game in 30 years between 1-2 teams in the same classification.
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