South Gwinnett’s all-region quarterback has graduated, and the new quarterback suffered a broken arm in a scrimmage last week. And now, five-time state champion Lowndes is coming to Snellville for the season opener.
But South Gwinnett coach John Small has resisted any opportunity to poor-mouth his team’s chances Friday night.
“We lost some really good players, but our expectation is to win,’’ Small said. “We want to get to the point where we’re used to winning, and we don’t worry that we lost this one or that one. It’s a big year for our program.’’
Optimism reigns. The Lowndes-South Gwinnett game is one of 19 involving Georgia teams on the first Friday night of the season.
This is Small’s seventh season at South Gwinnett, and the first four produced middle-of-the-road teams in the shadow of neighboring Brookwood, Grayson and Parkview.
The past two seasons, the Comets were 10-2 and 9-3 under the command of quarterback Kent Rollins, who compiled more than 6,000 passing and rushing yards. He’s at Air Force.
The new quarterback would have been Jordan Ramey, a 6-foot-4 junior who figures to be a college prospect. Now, another junior gets his chance after Ramey was injured in a scrimmage and feared lost for the season. Mason Hart, who is 5-10, had won a starting spot at safety, but is back behind center, a position he has played since age 6.
Hart’s first varsity start will be for a team with six senior starters, and the opponent is a storied South Georgia program. Lowndes was a region champion in 2010 and is ranked No. 3 in Class AAAAA. Josh Harvey-Clemons made the AJC Super 11. He could line up at safety, linebacker, defensive end, wide receiver, even quarterback.
The 2010 game between these teams in Valdosta was memorable. Lowndes jumped to a 28-0 lead, gave up 26 points to South Gwinnett in the fourth quarter, but won 34-26.
It was a bad ending, but a good experience, for South Gwinnett. Small’s plan was to broaden his team’s horizons.
“Playing these kinds of non-region opponents challenges our kids and helps build a championship program,’’ Small said. “It definitely ups the ante during the offseason. It’s time for us to take that next step.’’
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