South Gwinnett is off to its first 2-0 start since 2009 and has beaten two teams it wasn’t supposed to – Central Gwinnett 54-21 and Lanier 17-0. South was 2-8 last season.
"This is a different bunch of kids,'' South Gwinnett coach John Small told the AJC's Adam Krohn after the game. "It’s the same kids that have been with us that stuck with it, that didn’t run from a challenge. These kids deserve everything they’re getting right now.”
In other words, South's players didn't take the transfer route that some others did this off-season.
South Gwinnett is an intriguing team. The defense has three major college prospects - junior DL Robert Cooper (committed to Florida State), senior LB Malik Robinson (North Carolina) and junior DE Justin Mascoll (a five-star recruit among juniors). The team also had three 330-pound offensive linemen - Cooper, Ezekiel Williams and Troy Tappin.
South Gwinnett ended Lanier's 24-game winning streak in regular-season games. Lanier was shut out for the first time in its history, covering 54 games.
More observations from the high class:
-Grayson and Colquitt County were 0-2 in their games against nationally ranked Florida teams. Neither team’s defeat was a surprise. Grayson, which entered ranked No. 1 in Georgia, is dripping with talent, but IMG’s roster is ridiculous. Put it this way – IMG has had a better recruiting class so far than the University of Georgia with two 5-stars, ten 4-stars and six 3-stars in the class of 2017. IMG won 26-7. ‘’They look like an SEC team, which they are because all those kids will be in the SEC or places like it,’’ Grayson coach Jeff Herron said. “It’s really a heck of a concept for them, and they’re making it work.’’ Meanwhile, Colquitt lost to American Heritage 17-14. American Heritage was projected to return to the form of its 2014 Florida state title. Colquitt is rebuilding, although certainly not written off in Georgia after an 0-2 start. Colquitt opened with a loss to Mill Creek.
-Parkview (2-0) looked good again in a 37-12 victory over Shiloh. Trailing 10-7 at halftime, Parkview crafted a 27-point third quarter, avenged a 2015 loss and ended Shiloh’s four-game winning streak. Parkview opened with a 32-7 victory over Christ Presbyterian, a strong Tennessee program. Like every team outside the top six in the rankings, Parkview is a shaky Top 10 team, but it’s a good start for a team broke through and made the playoffs last year (6-5) but really didn’t return a ton of starters.
-Brookwood (2-0) is another team that could break into the underbelly of the Top 10 this week after its second straight clear-cut win. Brookwood has suffered back-to-back losing seasons for the firsrt time ever, but has beaten North Gwinnett 37-23 and Walton 40-13. North and Walton aren’t what they have been, but Brookwood is clearly better now.
-North Cobb (2-0) is yet another team that could break into the Top 10 after a 24-20 victory over Etowah. C.J. Cole scored on a 40-yard run with about nine minutes left for the winning score in a back-and-forth game. North Cobb led 14-0 on two long passes, then weathered Etowah’s 20-0 run.
-Seventh-ranked Westlake lost 10-9 to Hughes on Saturday. The game was stopped in the third quarter because of a fight in the stands, and lightning and weather prevented it from resuming before 11:30 p.m. The game was called and the win awarded to Hughes.
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