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)
Out: No. 5 Lovett
In brief:
- Columbia (3-1), Laney (3-1), South Atlanta (2-1) and Swainsboro (3-2) are 2A schools with two upset wins this season. None are ranked, though Laney has beaten two teams ranked No. 5 in 1A Public — Washington-Wilkes and Lincoln County — and plays No. 10 Putnam County this week.
- A big reason the Laney Wildcats are off to a strong start is they’re not turning the ball over.
- The Augusta Chronicle’s Wynston Wilcox covered Westside’s 19-7 loss to Putnam County. The loss pushed the Patriots to 2-2 while the War Eagles improved to 4-0, earning a spot in the polls for the first time this season.
- Benton Bierge covered Chattooga’s 49-38 win over Heritage for FYN Sports, and coach Rick Hurst spoke with FYN after the win. The Dragons are 1-2.
- Rabun County’s Gunner Stockton accepted his invitation to play in the 2022 All-American Bowl.
- Rabun County senior lineman Will McCraw has been invited to play in the 16th annual Offense-Defense All American Bowl Game in Inglewood, Calif.
- Here’s the top 15 teams in 2A according to the Week 5 Maxwell summary.
- Here’s how GAC, Lovett, Pace Academy would’ve fared in Class A Private, according to the Maxwell Ratings.
- As mentioned above, South Atlanta’s Keyjaun Brown earned GHSF Daily’s top performance of the week with 242 rushing yards in the Hornets’ win over Lovett.
- Former Putnam County player Marcus Jefferson scored his first collegiate touchdown last weekend for Reinhardt.
- Emory Jones, a Heard County graduate, is getting his opportunity at quarterback for Florida.
- Former Thomasville player Charlie Thomas is turning heads at Georgia Tech.
Follow the AJC’s Class 2A coverage and The Class 2A Blogcast on Twitter.
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