Today’s interviewee is Will Hammock, the sports editor of the Gwinnett Daily Post. Hammock, a Gwinnett native, has covered sports in the county since 1997
Will Hammock, Gwinnett Daily Post sports editor
1. What does it say beyond the obvious that Gwinnett County has six teams in the semifinals? “I think it says that football is still important here, and high school athletics are still important here, whether it’s in public or private schools. There is a pride among Gwinnett County schools to succeed in all high school sports and to keep up with their neighbors. The success starts at the youth level with the long-running Gwinnett Football League that keeps feeding talent into the high schools in the county. I think it also says a lot about what the Gwinnett players and coaches have done during the current pandemic. Every team had to deal with COVID – some had more problems than others – and the high schools that have been least impacted are the ones who have been the most careful with it. That means the players and coaches are being wise with what they do when they aren’t at practices or games with their teammates. And a lot of Gwinnett kids have gone digital for their school work to limit the exposure of being in classrooms all day.”
2. Which of the Gwinnett six has the best chance to win a state title? “Tough question, but I’m going with Buford. The Wolves have experience on their side from winning last year, and they rolled through everyone on the schedule after stumbling in the opener against a good 7A team. Valdosta will be a good test, and the Lee County-Westlake winner will be another big one, but this team just feels like it has that typical championship pedigree we’ve seen so many times from Buford.”
3. Which of the six is the most surprising based on either their preseason prospects or how they looked entering the playoffs, considering draw and everything? “I’d say this is between Collins Hill and Norcross. I don’t think anyone is surprised to see Grayson, Buford, GAC and Wesleyan at this point based on last year’s results and what each team had coming back. Collins Hill lost in the first round of state the last three years, but it has been building up to this season. The Eagles had the most favorable draw of Gwinnett’s remaining 7A teams, but they also are talented on both sides of the ball. Sam Horn, Travis Hunter and the offense can score in a hurry, and the defense is underrated. Defensive lineman James Smith is having a monster season. Norcross, despite being unbeaten, has kind of flown under the radar this season, too, with Grayson and Colquitt County getting so much attention. But Norcross also has built toward this season with a senior-laden team and made a huge statement last week with the way it beat Colquitt.”
4. The Grayson-Norcross game is perhaps the game of the week statewide as a pair of unbeaten in the highest class. How do you see it playing out? “I think it will be a low-scoring game with two very good defenses. Both teams would love to run the ball, play good defense and win the field-position battle. But I think both of these teams will have trouble running the ball on the other. It probably comes down to which quarterback, Mason Kaplan at Norcross and Jake Garcia at Grayson, can make plays when they need to and make the fewest mistakes. Both teams have to limit turnovers, and both have the ability to impact the game on special teams with dangerous returners.”
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