Class 2A blog: In brief — South Atlanta no longer flying under radar

With their win over No. 5 Lovett on Friday, the South Atlanta Hornets are closer to one of the two main goals Hornets first-year Michael Woolridge has, which is a second straight Region 6-2A title. The other goal, of course, is the ultimate.

“We want the ‘chip,” said Woolridge, who has the Hornets off to a 2-1 start, 1-0 in league play. “We want to be competing for a state championship. We return 20 of 22 starters next year but we said, ‘Why not this year?’ A deep playoff run is what we’re expecting. It’s not overlooking our opponents — we respect every opponent we’ve got here, but we know we’ve got big goals here.

“We always want to do better than the year before, so our next goal is a deep playoff run and a state championship. I know we have the talent to get there, it’s just cleaning up the little things on the field and the mistakes we make. But we will clean that up.”

In their season opener on the road against once-ranked Heard County, they lost 16-12 in large part to issues with the center-quarterback exchange, which Woolridge said cost them 150 yards over the course of the game as the ball sailed over the quarterback’s head.

“I told them, ‘Imagine if we get the quarterback-center exchange correct,’” Woolridge said. “‘I think we win the game by one or two scores.’ Just knowing when you come out of a game like that — we knew we had a good team, and this week (against Lovett) displayed that.”

For more with Woolridge, check out the just-released Episode 30 of The Class 2A Blogcast.

The Hornets rebounded from the Heard County loss to beat Mundy’s Mill 60-30 their next game. It was the most points they’d scored since beating McNair 62-6 in 2019.

Up next, the Hornets host Pace Academy on Friday at Midtown High.

The Knights (1-3, 1-1) have lost the only games they’ve played, with McNair’s forfeit putting them into the win column last week. Columbia beat them 21-14 the week before, and it’s the Eagles and South Atlanta as the Nos. 1-2 teams atop the very early region standings, followed by Towers (1-0) and Lovett (2-1).

As defending region champions who just knocked No. 5 Lovett from the rankings, the Hornets are no longer under the radar. GHSF Daily has recognized the program by awarding running back Keyjaun Brown its player of the week, featuring Woolridge in “4 questions with...” and leading with the Hornets’ win in “Notable results from Week 5.” The Hornets also led Friday’s highlights.

The Hornets are now five years into their turnaround, which began with Brad Stephens taking over in 2016. They went 3-7 that year, but saw improvement every year moving forward, including reaching the playoffs in 2017 — their first appearance since 1994. Last year they won their first region title and playoff game, beating Chattooga 26-14.

Here are the new rankings:

1. (1) Callaway (4-0)

2. (2) Rabun County (3-1)

3. (3) Fitzgerald (4-0)

4. (4) Thomasville (4-1)

5. (6) Bleckley County (4-0)

6. (7) Jeff Davis (5-0)

7. (8) Dodge County (3-1)

8. (10) Washington County (2-0)

9. (9) Northeast (3-1)

10. (NR) Putnam County (4-0)