Q&A with North Gwinnett football coach Bob Sphire

North Gwinnett may be metro Atlanta's best hope of ending South Georgia's stronghold on state football championships in Georgia's largest classification.

North Gwinnett is 7-0 and ranked No. 2 behind two-time defending state champion Camden County in Class AAAAA. North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about polls and the way he runs his school's program:

Q. South Georgia schools have won six out of the past seven state championships in Class AAAAA. Is North Gwinnett the metro's top title contender?

A. You can't really get caught up in that. There are a whole bunch of folks across the state of Georgia that can play. There are many communities blessed to have great programs, like Camden County and Lowndes. Whether this year's champion comes from the Atlanta area, South Georgia or elsewhere in the state, Camden County is the state champion until somebody beats them.

Q. Camden County has one loss this year, yet is ranked No. 1, while North Gwinnett is undefeated. Who should be No. 1 in the polls?

A. People ask me that all the time. I just know Camden County has the trophy in their case that everybody wants. Until somebody beats them in the playoffs, they are the No. 1 team in Georgia. And does it end there? No -- because there are other schools that can really play the game. … Somebody is going to come out on top of this thing as state champions, and it certainly won't be easy.

Q. What do you think about North Gwinnett appearing in multiple national polls?

A. Unless it helps us jump higher or run faster, I don't think it means that much. But I do think there is some excitement within our community about what we're doing on the football field. I guess if someone in California sees our name in national poll, that's OK. I'm just excited about the success our kids have had from week to week.

Q. Some have said you run North Gwinnett like a college program?

A. I don't know. I've been to a lot of college practices, seen how they've done things, and worked at the collegiate level as a young coach for a couple of years. At North Gwinnett, we've just tried to use the best parts of what we've seen from great high school teams across the country to give our kids a chance to get better. However, high school football is obviously a lot different than college.

Q. What are some of the differences in how you run things?

A. We don't recruit players, and we've got to coach what we've got. If things aren't working out with a player, it's not like you can go yank his college scholarship. Now, if you're asking if we're very efficient on the practice field and have assistant coaches that can teach their positions, I have a great staff that does those things. But most of the state's top programs have that type of feel. We're not special, or any different, compared to them.