Prince Avenue junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff, a five-star recruit committed to Oklahoma, had surgery on a broken fibula on Monday and is expected to be out six to eight weeks, his father and Prince Avenue head coach Greg Vandagriff confirmed Thursday.
"They placed a plate and screws in the fibula and pulled the bones together - think the surgery Tua [Tagovailoa] had at Alabama," Greg Vandagriff said. "It is a six-eight week injury. Could be longer or shorter according to his response and rehab."
Vandagriff was injured in the first half of a 24-14 loss to Wesleyan last week and finished the game. He was 30-of-44 passing for 321 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. He limited his running in the game. Vandagriff passed for 3,190 yards and rushed for 1,001 as a sophomore.
Prince Avenue likely will turn to freshman Lucian Anderson III, who is 3-for-3 passing for 73 yards. "He has a chance to be a big-time QB," Greg Vandagriff said. "I would say he is a D-I talent but just needs to show it on the field, and he is going to get a real chance."
Harden says Dooly job didn't meet expectations
Ashley Harden, replaced last week as head coach at Dooly County, wants people to know that he was not fired but asked to be reassigned. Harden was hired in the offseason but said he didn't find in the job what he expected. "In order for me to do my job properly and be successful, there are certain tools and expectations that must be met," Harden told GHSF Daily. "We didn't have our players in weight training class. I had to struggle to order basic items we needed for the program, taking kids to camp, getting the field house cleaned and sanitized by custodial staff, and the list goes on." Harden said the turning point came when he was given no means to film the team's opening game against Worth County, a 37-7 loss. With interim coach Quinnen Peavy, Dooly lost to Fitzgerald 30-0 last week. Dooly County Schools superintendent Craig Lockhart released a statement announcing the coaching change last week and thanking Hardin for his service.
Georgia fills up MaxPreps' small-school rankings
Eight Georgia teams are in the top 25 of MaxPreps' Small Schools National Rakings this week. They are No. 3 Peach County, No. 4 Cedar Grove, No. 9 Irwin County, No. 14 Eagle's Landing Christian, No. 16 Clinch County, No. 17 Hapeville Charter, No. 20 Athens Academy and No. 25 Dublin.
Kevin Askeland compiles the top 25. It's based on MaxPreps' computer rankings, which crunch scores nationwide, and there's enough interplay to suggest that Georgia is a pretty good football state. Cedar Grove, for example, beat Colorado's No. 1 team, Valor Christian, last week and earlier took a top-25 national team, Central of Phenix City, Ala., to the brink.
Askeland defines a small school as one that plays in an enrollment classification of about 1,000 students or fewer. That eliminates schools such as Marist that have enrollment of less than 1,000 but play in classes that call for higher enrollment. Marist, which has fewer students than Peach County, would be in the top-10 of Askeland's list were the War Eagles to play in Georgia's Class AAA.
Askeland said he wasn't sure what to make of Georgia's abundant presence in the top 25.
"It seems to me that there is quite a bit of interplay among the AAA schools and the larger enrollment divisions in the state [i.e., Peach County has beaten Lee County and Northside of Warner Robins this season], so I think that helps boost their ratings," Askeland said. "Eventually, when all of those Georgia teams beat each other, some will fall out and unbeaten teams from other areas will move in. However, it's a good start to the season for Georgia most definitely."
Five DeKalb players make NFL debuts
Two former Georgia high school players made their NFL debuts last week that escaped Thursday's List. They are Jonathan Ledbetter (Tucker) of the Dolphins and Darryl Johnson (Camden County) of the Bills. Remarkably, five of the 12 are from DeKalb County. They are Ledbetter, Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (Arabia Mountain), Bears defensive back Duke Shelley (Tucker), Colts cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (Southwest DeKalb) and Redskins defensive end Montez Sweat (Stephenson). All except Sweat played their senior seasons in 2014. Sweat's final season was 2013.
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
