Twenty Georgia teams enter tonight's games with 9-0 records. It has happened only 110 times since 1948 that a 9-0 team's perfect season has been spoiled in the 10th game.
*In 2013, Lovett ruined GAC's perfect season, and Heard County did the same to Bowdon, in the final week of the regular season.
*In 2012, Camden County ruined Lowndes' perfect season and improved to 9-0 while Lowndes fell to 9-1. The next week, Colquitt County ruined Camden County's perfect season. Tonight, Camden will try to do the same to Colquitt.
*Marist in 2003 and Americus in 2001 are teams that lost their perfect seasons in the 10th game, but rebounded to win state titles. Marist lost to St. Pius, and Americus lost to Crisp County. Other teams to lose their perfect seasons in the final game, and still win the title, are 1983 Tift County (Valdosta), 1975 Central of Macon (Northside-Warner Robins) and 1971 Carrollton (West Rome).
*The school that has the most perfect seasons ended in the final week is Carrollton. It happened in 1971 (West Rome), 1981, 1982 and 1991 (all to Cedartown) and 2009 (Ridgeland).
*The most frequent spoiler has been Valdosta. The Wildcats have victimized Jesup (1953), Waycross (1952, 1957), Tift County (1981, 1983) and Lowndes (1996, 1998).
Georgia's 9-0 teams are Colquitt County (AAAAAA), Ware County, Kell, Allatoona and Lanier (AAAAA), Buford and Griffin (AAAA), Washington County, Calhoun, Blessed Trinity, Jefferson, Hart County and Central of Carrollton (AAA), GAC and Vidalia (AA) and Aquinas, Marion County, Mount Paran Christian, Calvary Day and Tattnall Square (A). Peach County (AAA) is 10-0.
Coach asks fans to behave better
High school football fans have been criticizing players from the stands since before the advent of the forward pass. Now, social media has opened the door for another level of bad behavior.
What is unusual is a head coach publicly calling them out for it. Heard County coach Tim Barron, in his 13th season at his school in West Georgia, did that this week in a letter to the editor of the Heard Citizen newspaper.
"I can no longer sit back quietly and accept that it is OK to yell and scream horrible things about individual kids," Barron wrote. "When it gets to the point that the parents of some of our players do not wish to sit with our own fans, then it is time for all of us to come together and put an end to it. When people in this community are going on anonymous social media apps and degrading players by name, then it is time for us to come together and put an end to it."
Barron took over in 2002 and went 10-2 one season after an 0-11 finish. He has had only one losing season. This season, the Braves are 4-5 but will make the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season. Two of the team's losses are to non-region opponents ranked in the Top 10.
Attrition at running back
Football is rough on running backs. The state's No. 1 recruit at the position, Taj Griffin of McEachern, was lost early in the season to a knee injury. Three 1,000-yard rushers also had their seasons cut short - Darryl Giles of Loganville (1,325), Gregory Payton of Carver-Atlanta (1,087) and Raishod Devezin of Etowah (1,000).
Marietta stadium to be renovated
Marietta (3-6) closes out its season tonight at Harrison, but big things are in store for 2015. Marietta's Northcutt Stadium, built in the 1930s, is undergoing an $11.6 million renovation. You can take a virtual tour of the new stadium already. Though lacking some conveniences, Northcutt now is one of the better places to watch a game. "Best in the state to watch a game," Marietta coach Scott Burton said. "Not the biggest but the best because of the atmosphere provided in the neighborhood, tradition and history, intimate and pure, unlike some of the bigger, more sterile stadiums across Georgia."
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