Here are some teams that made a good first impression in Class AAAAAA from Friday night's games.
*Roswell beat Lowndes 35-8, avenging a 37-14 loss from a season ago. The victory affirmed Roswell’s No. 5 ranking in AAAAAA, the school’s first appearance in a preseason poll since 2010. Roswell RB Sheldon Evans and LB Tre Lamar could be the best at their positions in AAAAAA if not the state.
*Lassiter, winless last season except for a forfeit victory over Walton, upset reigning Region 4-AAAAAA champion Hillgrove 24-17. Hillgrove had the ball at the Lassiter 1-yard line in the final two minutes but was turned away. Many felt Hillgrove was the best team not ranked in preseason (the Hawks beat McEachern last year), so it's a nice win for the Trojans and coach Jep Irwin.
*Walton, coming off its worst finish (2-8) in 34 seasons, showed early promise with a 49-17 rout of South Gwinnett in year two of the coach Mo Dixon era. Dixon is one of the most competitive and hardest-working coaches in the business. Walton will make Roswell, Etowah and Milton sweat in Region 5-AAAAAA.
*No. 1-ranked Archer smashed North Paulding 49-21 in the Corky Kell Classic at McEahern. Jaymest Williams had scored five touchdowns in the first three quarters. (Will update later in the a.m.) AJC recruiting guru Michael Carvell told me last week that many believe Williams is Archer's best player. That's not bad considering Archer has two of the top-10 senior prospects in the state (OL E.J. Price and WR Kyle Davis) and one AJC Super 11 member (Dylan Singleton).
*I'm going to combine these. It's about two 2014 Top 10 teams that probably didn't get the respect they deserved. Etowah routed Marietta 54-21, and Dacula beat Collins Hill 36-21. Marietta isn't a great team, but it was a good sign for Etowah, which many forget made the semifinals last season. And there was some concern for Dacula after major graduation losses. Dacula shared the Region 8 title last season with Archer and Grayson.
*Also give some credit to North Cobb, which fell to Class AAAAA No. 1 Northside-Warner Robins. Northside won 27-24 after a 20-yard touchdown pass on third-and-15 with 21 seconds left. Northside returned an interception for a touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter to get to within 24-19. North Cobb was expected to fall off significantly without QB Tyler Queen, now at Auburn. Pretty respectable first showing.
