High School Sports
FROM THE PREP ZONE BLOGS AT AJC.COM
The high school bloggers on ajc.com include Todd Holcomb (Class AAAAAA), Chip Saye (AAAAA), David Purdum (AAAA), Stan Awtrey (AAA), Adam Krohn (AA) and S. Thomas Coleman (A).
Class AAAAAA
Many consider 1-AAAAAA the state’s toughest region. It was the most entertaining Friday night.
Third-ranked Colquitt County (4-1, 1-0) overwhelmed Lowndes 37-7. Lowndes (3-2, 0-1) has missed the playoffs only once since 1994, but things are looking desperate after the Vikings’ worst home loss in 15 years.
In other region openers, Camden County beat Valdosta 14-10 in a game between state-ranked teams, and unranked Tift County won its first region game since 2010 with a 32-29 victory against 10th-ranked Coffee.
Here are a few things that occurred Friday night in AAAAAA — and in the other classifications:
- Alpharetta (3-2, 2-0) is alone at the top in Region 6. The Raiders beat previously unbeaten South Forsyth 38-16. Centennial and North Forsyth also lost, leaving Alpharetta as the only unbeaten team in region play.
- Archer (5-0, 3-0) is alone at the top in Region 8. The Tigers beat Dacula 31-14 in a game between the only unbeatens in the region.
- Brookwood (1-3, 1-1) won't go winless. The Broncos beat Parkview 10-0 in a game between winless archrivals in Region 8. Brookwood's three losses are to teams that have visited the AJC Top 10 this season.
- Norcross (3-2, 2-1) isn't going away. The defending state champions' two losses are to teams with top-10 national rankings, including Georgia No. 1 North Gwinnett. Norcross beat 2012 quarterfinalist Mill Creek 27-13 on Friday. Norcross is 8-0 all-time against the Hawks.
Class AAAAA
- South Paulding took over sole possession of first place in Region 5 with a 48-45 victory against seventh-ranked Allatoona. Quarterback Chandler Burks passed for 395 yards and four touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns for the Spartans, who are seeking the first playoff berth in the program's eight-year history.
- Top-ranked Tucker and No. 2 Stephenson took care of business to set up the huge DeKalb County matchup at Hallford Stadium on Oct. 11 (the region has next weekend off). Tucker beat Lakeside-DeKalb 56-7 for its 13th consecutive victory in the series, scoring at least 50 points for the sixth time in the past seven meetings. Stephenson built a big early lead and cruised to a 35-7 victory against Southwest DeKalb.
- McIntosh beat Mundy's Mill 28-27 to improve to 5-0 for the first time in the program's 32-year history. Granted, McIntosh's first five opponents have a combined record of 4-16, but one more victory will assure the Chiefs of their first winning record since 1995 and tie the school record for wins in a season. McIntosh, which opens region play against Whitewater, was 4-1 at the halftime point last season, but won one game the rest of the way.
Class AAAA
- Cedartown running back Nick Chubb rushed for 370 yards and five touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 42-28 victory against Southeast Whitfield. "(He) probably had 150 yards called back by penalties," Cedartown coach Scott Hendrix said in a text message. Chubb, who committed to Georgia, now has 1,359 yards.
- Westover ended a 13-game losing streak to Cairo and snapped the Syrupmakers' 24-game region winning streak with a 14-9 victory. Jysanti Richardson had two interceptions for Westover. The Patriots' previous victory against Cairo came in 1993.
- Griffin coach Steve DeVoursney was ejected in the first quarter of the fifth-ranked Bears' big victory against No. 3 Stockbridge. After the Bears were called for offensive pass interference, Griffin's bench was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct, before DeVoursney eventually was ejected. The undefeated Bears rallied around assistant Antonio Andrews and senior quarterback Jaquez Parks, who accounted for 376 yards and four touchdowns. Parks owns a 3.8 GPA and is being recruited by Harvard, Yale and Air Force, according to DeVoursney.
- No. 2 Carrollton's dominant start continued with a 51-0 victory against Columbus. The Trojans held the Blue Devils to 85 yards, only 9 rushing. Through four games, Carrollton has outscored opponents 191-21.
Class AAA
- Kawon Bryant may be the best running back in the state. The North Oconee tailback ran for 372 yards and scored eight touchdowns for the Titans in a 62-27 victory against Jackson County. Bryant, a junior, has rushed for 1,108 yards and scored 21 touchdowns in four games.
- Maybe Cedar Grove should start getting a closer look as far as being a title contender in Region 6-AAA. The Saints (4-1) turned back previously unbeaten Decatur 27-3, as "Neon" Deion Sellers carried 22 times for 194 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown run on the last play of the first half.
- Region 6 is going to be a bear. In addition to the Cedar Grove victory, Blessed Trinity took down No. 10 Woodward Academy, and No. 8 St. Pius clobbered previously unbeaten Towers. Blessed Trinity's 27-17 victory against Woodward was led by sophomore Milton Shelton's 126 yards rushing, which included an 80-yard touchdown.
- St. Pius (4-1) rebounded from last week's loss to defeat Towers 45-7. The Titans had allowed only seven points going into the game, but couldn't slow the St. Pius option. The Golden Lions got two rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown from Joey Conners and two rushing scores from Dalton Wilson.
Class AA
- The top 10 teams in AA went 10-0 for the week. And most teams won by a wide margin — except No. 6 Brooks County edging Early County, 13-6 — outscoring the competition a combined 423-101. Lamar County likely will hold the top spot after defeating Taylor County 40-14; No. 2-ranked Lovett made good of its trip across state lines with a 35-13 victory against Fort Payne (Ala.). No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian put up the highest total in AA with 67 points against Howard School (Tenn.).
- There are some teams knocking on the door of the Top 10. The Bowdon Red Devils improved to 5-0 with a convincing 35-12 victory against Region 5-rival Manchester, a team that finished ahead of them in the standings last season and beat them 19-13. Last year's 5-AA champion, Heard County, is still the team to beat in that region and will be waiting for the Red Devils as the regular season's last game, but Heard County already has a loss. Another team to keep an eye on is the Rabun County Wildcats. They defeated Social Circle 64-0 to improve to 4-0.
Class A
- Johnson County, ranked No. 9, went to Savannah and outmuscled one of the most physical programs in the state, 2011 state champion Savannah Christian, ranked No. 4, 14-7. Johnson County held the Raiders out of the end zone in the game's final two minutes, after Savannah Christian had a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line. The Trojans' defense held Savannah Christian to 58 yards rushing, according to the Savannah Morning News.
- After losing two consecutive games and falling from No. 2 in the state at the beginning of the season to No. 10, Lincoln County (2-2, 1-0) got back on track with a 21-20 victory against First Presbyterian Day (1-3, 0-1). The Red Devils jumped to a 21-7 lead and hung on, as their defense stopped Vikings quarterback Will McCormick's two-point conversion run with just less than five minutes left in the game, according to the Macon Telegraph.
- No. 1 Eagle's Landing Christian Academy (4-0, 1-0) and No. 3 Aquinas (4-0, 1-0) each stayed perfect with victories against Holy Innocents' (34-14) and Twiggs County (52-21), in their respective region openers. That was expected. But the surprise unbeaten team in Class A is Mt. Pisgah (4-0), which is off to its best start since 2010, after downing Wilson (Ala.) 26-7.
- Commerce and Clinch County are two traditionally strong programs trying to erase the memory of uncharacteristically poor seasons a year ago. Both took another step in that direction with upset victories. Clinch County (2-3, 1-0) knocked off Telfair County (3-2, 0-1) 27-7 in their Region 2 opener, while Commerce (3-2, 1-0) downed No. 5 George Walton Academy (3-2, 1-0) 31-21 in Region 8. With the score tied at 21-21 in the third quarter, Commerce scored 10 consecutive points, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
- No. 6 Wayne County jumped to a 21-0 lead in first four minutes and rolled to a 49-17 victory against Richmond Academy. The Yellow Jackets are 5-0 for the first time since 1993.
