Five observations from Week 1 in the highest class
-Roswell is very good, as expected
Most who studied it were saying Grayson and Roswell were the most talented teams in 7A. No evidence to the contrary in Roswell’s 24-7 victory over Buford. The Hornets’ defense was in shut-down mode. Roswell’s offense has an all-state RB (Sheldon Evans) and two major D-I receivers. Very strong team here. Roswell was the runner-up to Colquitt County last season.
-Mill Creek remains a force
Mill Creek ended Colquitt County’s 30-game winning streak, 34-27. QB Cameron Turley was 16-of-27 passing for 304 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Mill Creek was 13-1 last season, its only loss to Colquitt. Mill Creek wasn't just the right team in the right place to beat Colquitt. In their 13th season as a football program, Mill Creek is finally on the short list of teams that people respect as legitimate title contenders.
-Colquitt County isn’t going away
Colquitt County was down 20-0 at halftime and got within seven three times, including the final margin. The Packers were one third-down stop from getting the ball back one more time. This is a team with 10 new starters on defense and a new cast of skill players and most importantly one of the nation’s best coaches. Nothing happened Saturday to suggest that Colquitt can’t reach the semifinals for an eighth straight time given the high-improvement potential the team has.
-Norcross appears to be back
Norcross hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2013 championship game. It appears the Devils are back in contention after a 46-14 rout of Walton. Norcross led 33-0 in the first half. Baron Radcliff was 16-of-25 passing for 246 yards. Too bad that DL Robert Beal, the Georgia commit, left for IMG Academy, but the Devils didn’t miss him Saturday.
-After the top six, it’s anybody’s guess
Most followers of Class 7A would agree that these six are pretty good – Grayson, Roswell, Mill Creek, Colquitt County, Norcross, McEachern. After that? Lowndes and Camden County lost, both unimpressively. … South Forsyth, a quarterfinalist last season, lost to Hillgrove. … Central Gwinnett and Collins Hill were upset. … Walton looked awful. … Peachtree Ridge and Parkview looked good vs. a pair of Tennessee teams last night. … Westlake, a QF team last year, hasn’t played yet. … Brookwood (37-23 winner over North Gwinnett) looked pretty good, but was 4-6 last season. … Who else? Tift County? North Cobb? Etowah? Newton?
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