Even though it is often referred to as the “smallest” classification, Class A athletes, teams and coaches will tell you they take a back seat to no one. The first two weeks of the season proved it once again.
Teams in Georgia’s higher classifications want no part of Private No. 1 Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (2-0), which gave Class 5A No. 7 Woodward Academy its first shutout loss (14-0) in over a decade in Week 1.
Public No. 2 Wilcox County stunned Class AA No. 10 Bleckley County – which features the supposed top prospect in Georgia in 6-foot-8, 320-pound tackle Amarius Mims – 21-20 last week, while Public No. 3 Metter (2-0) destroyed Class 6A South Effingham, a playoff team last season, 36-3.
And even though Private No. 3 Prince Avenue Christian (1-1) head coach Greg Vandagriff and his Wolverines are not into moral victories, they gave the world a glimpse of the quality of Class A as they pushed Class 2A No. 1 Rabun County (2-0) to the brink before losing 38-31 in the final minutes of a game that was heavily promoted and televised on ESPN.
But the true measurement of a league in any sport on any level is its depth. And Class A is deep. Here is a look at two teams no one talks about, but better look out for.
Commerce: The Tigers moved into the Public Top 10 this week at No. 7, after starting the season 2-0 with wins over two Class 2A squads – Banks County (41-18) in Week One and Union County (32-14), a playoff team last season, last week.
In the game, Commerce had 506 yards of total offense. Dreylan Martin rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Trey Huff rushed for 90 yards and passed for 115 on two completions, one a 72-yard pass to Sammy Brown, who also scored on a 72-yard run.
Commerce has been playing football since 1909 and is one of the most consistent programs in the state. In fact, the Tigers are one of just a handful of teams that have won twice as many games all time (620) as they have lost (309). Commerce has not missed the state playoffs since 1996, and is 45-16 over the past five seasons. The Tigers will see just how good they are Friday night, when they travel to Athens to face Private No. 2 Athens Academy.
North Cobb Christian: On the opposite side of the coin is North Cobb Christian. In just their 10th season of varsity football, the Eagles have lost (82) twice as many games as they have won (42). But that trend is changing dramatically under Mark Hollars. After an 0-10 season in his first year in 2016, NCC is 22-12 since with a 2-2 record in the state playoffs.
The Eagles are 2-0 for the third consecutive season after blasting 2019 state quarter finalist Hebron Christian last week, 56-37. NCC had 496 rushing yards, as Caleb Cannon ran for 255 yards on 12 carries and scored on runs of 73, 24, 55 and 38 yards. Isaiah Williams scored on a 77-yard run 20 seconds into the game and finished with 156 yards on four carries.
NCC will be in unfamiliar territory as the favorite on Friday, when they travel to Mableton to face a solid Whitefield Academy (1-1) team that advanced to the state playoffs last season.
