It was a confusing week in Class A Division II, to say the least. And to be transparent, we all are somewhat to blame -- from reporters with years of experience, to coaches with responsibilities to correct errors, to everyone in between.
What happened this week is a great example of an incorrect score being posted on a team’s MaxPreps page, the official score vehicle for the GHSA, which then was reported and uncorroborated by everyone who touched it. Anyone who was at the game and had responsibilities to make sure the score was properly relayed to media outlets also failed their duties.
Here’s why.
Until late Sunday, it was reported by every outlet in the state that Division II then-No. 3 Macon County had beaten unranked Dooly County 42-26, which would have been a believable result and not one that would put up a “red flag,” so to speak. The problem is that Dooly County won the game 58-26.
The origin of the erroneous result is unknown but likely was due to an input error on MaxPreps and erroneous result-oriented tweets that compounded the issue. Not only was the result wrong Friday night, it remained listed improperly on Saturday and most of Sunday. The Macon County “victory” was not corrected until late Sunday afternoon on the team’s MaxPreps page, and then the official GHSA scores and other outlets followed suit.
You would think that Dooly County would have entered the correct score following a big victory against a ranked opponent and would make sure the issue was corrected state-wide. That didn’t happen, either. Following the correction – which involved re-ranking the newest top-10 rankings -- the Bulldogs dropped from No. 3 to unranked after falling to 0-3.
It is what it is. But please be careful out there.
Another big loss from Class A Division II was former No. 1 Schley County losing to No. 10 Early County, 19-17. Early climbed to No. 2, and Schley fell to No. 4. Clinch County ascended to No. 1 in the Division II poll following a 50-14 victory against Miller County.
In Class A Division I, Brooks County fell from No. 2 to No. 6 after losing to unranked Cook, 32-28, and the rest of the teams in the top-10 won. Top-ranked Prince Avenue Christian beat Athens Academy 48-14; No. 2 Swainsboro defeated Jeff Davis 47-0; No. 3 Rabun County downed Class 3A then-No. 10 Adairsville 72-36; No. 4 Bleckley and No. 5 Irwin County did not play.
Whitefield Academy, ranked No. 7, defeated Providence Christian 35-7; No. 8 Lamar County beat Dublin 21-20; No. 9 Darlington defeated Christian Heritage 36-14, and Elbert County entered the top-10 at No. 10 after beating Harlem 27-21.
Class A Division I top-10 rankings
1. (1) Prince Avenue Christian (2-0) Beat Athens Academy 48-14
2. (3) Swainsboro (3-0) Beat Jeff Davis 47-0
3. (4) Rabun County (3-0) Beat Class 3A then-No. 10 Adairsville 72-36
4. (6) Bleckley County (2-0) Off.
5. (5) Irwin County (1-1) Off.
6. (2) Brooks County (2-1) Lost to Cook 32-38
7. (7) Whitefield Academy (3-0) Beat Providence Christian 35-7
8. (8) Lamar County (3-0) Beat Dublin 21-20
9. (10) Darlington (3-0) Beat Christian Heritage 36-14
10. (NR) Elbert County (3-0) Beat Harlem 27-21
Out: No. 9 Metter
Class A Division II top-10 rankings
1. (2) Clinch County (3-0) Beat Miller County 50-14
2. (10) Early County (3-0) Beat Schley County 19-17
3. (4) Charlton County (3-0) Beat West Nassau, FL 56-12
4. (1) Schley County (1-1) Lost to Early County 19-17
5. (6) Bowdon (2-1) Beat Bremen 35-0
6. (8) Johnson County (2-0) Beat Warren County 47-6
7. (5) Wilcox County (0-2) Off.
8. (9) Washington-Wilkes (2-0) Beat Glenn Hills 41-0
9. (NR) Aquinas (3-0) Beat Savannah Country Day 19-13
10. (NR) Montgomery County (2-0) Beat Taylor County 14-8
Out: No. 3 Macon County, No. 7 Lincoln County
