GHSF DAILY: Class-by-class football rankings, weekend roundup and more

The following is an excerpt from the August 24 edition of the Georgia High School Football Daily, an e-mail newsletter compiled by longtime Georgia high school football writers Todd Holcomb and Chip Saye:

Grayson justifies No. 2 spot

Grayson defended its No. 2 ranking in Class AAAAA with its 14-10 victory against Camden County, which remained at No. 4 in this week’s GHSF Daily/Atlanta Journal-Constitution rankings. There was a big gap between the top four and the rest in Class AAAAA, so losing as predicted to Grayson had no effect.

Grayson now has beaten the defending AAAAA champion in consecutive seasons – Lowndes in the 2008 quarterfinals and Camden County to open 2009. GHSF Daily’s research staff is searching for the last time that happened in any classification.

Also in AAAAA, McEachern and Walton of Cobb County had good wins in the Corky Kell Classic that have them knocking on the door of a Top 10 ranking.

No. 9 Etowah beat Starr’s Mill but will face a bigger threat to its ranking against McEachern on Sept. 4.

The only movement in the rankings came in Class AAA, where defending champion Cairo dropped from No. 5 to No. 8 after losing to Bainbridge of AAAA.

This week, there are two games matching ranked teams. No. 1 Southwest DeKalb of AAAA plays No. 8 M.L. King of AAAAA, and No. 10 Newnan of AAAAA plays No. 4 LaGrange of AAA.

CLASS AAAAA
1. Lowndes (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Woodland, Stockbridge
2. Grayson (1-0). Next: Sept. 4 vs. Warner Robins
3. Peachtree Ridge (0-0). Next: Friday at Harrison
4. Camden County (0-1). Next: Sept. 4 vs. First Coast (Fla.)
5. Stephenson (0-0). Next: Saturday vs. McNair (Hallford)
6. North Gwinnett (0-0). Next: Saturday vs. Prattville, Ala.
7. Northside, Warner Robins (0-0). Next: Thursday vs. Perry
8. M.L. King (0-0). Next: Friday vs. S.W. DeKalb (Hallford)
9. Etowah (1-0). Next: Sept. 4 at McEachern
10. Newnan (0-0). Next: Thursday at LaGrange

CLASS AAAA
1. Southwest DeKalb (0-0). Next: Friday vs. M.L. King
2. Tucker (0-0). Next: Saturday at Brunswick
3. Rome (0-0). Next: Friday vs. East Paulding
4. Marist (0-0). Next: Friday vs. St. Pius
5. Sandy Creek (0-0). Next: Friday at East Coweta
6. Griffin (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Dunwoody
7. Westside, Macon (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Central, Macon (Henderson)
8. Statesboro (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Josey
9. Sequoyah (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Cherokee
10. Loganville (0-0). Next: Friday at Clarke Central

CLASS AAA
1. Carver, Columbus (0-0). Next: Friday at Spencer (Columbus Memorial)
2. Gainesville (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Chestatee
3. Flowery Branch (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Stephens County
4. LaGrange (0-0). Next: Thursday vs. Newnan
5. Baldwin (0-0). Next: Friday at Glenn Hills
6. Peach County (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Macon County
7. Carrollton (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Westminster
8. Cairo (0-1). Next: Sept. 4 vs. Thomas County Central
9. Washington County (0-0). Next: Friday at Cross Creek
10. Jackson (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Therrell

CLASS AA
1. Buford (1-0). Next: Sept. 4 at North Hall
2. Calhoun (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Dalton
3. Thomasville (0-0). Next: Friday at Thomas County Central
4. Fitzgerald (0-0). Next: Friday at Irwin County
5. Jefferson County (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Laney
6. Pepperell (0-0). Next: Friday at Paulding County
7. Lovett (0-0). Next: Friday at Woodward Academy
8. Callaway (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Troup
9. Brooks County (0-0). Next: Sept. 4 at Tift County
10. Jefferson (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Commerce

CLASS A
1. Wesleyan (0-0). Next: Friday at Clarkston (North DeKalb)
2. Wilcox County (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Seminole County
3. Clinch County (0-0). Next: Friday at Charlton County
4. Lincoln County (0-0). Next: Friday at Greene County
5. Wilkinson County (0-0). Next: Friday at Twiggs County
6. ECI (0-0). Next: Friday at Savannah Country Day
7. Brookstone (0-0). Next: Friday vs. Landmark Christian
8. Savannah Christian (0-0). Next: Friday at Montgomery Co.
9. Turner County (0-0). Next: Friday at Worth County
10. Bremen (0-0). Next: Friday at Alexander

Weekend Roundup

Five things we learned from the Corky Kell Classic:

1. Grayson is a legitimate contender to win its first state championship, mainly because of its defense. GHSF Daily would like to hear of any gantlet of DT-DT-LB better than Joseph Champaign, Shawn Green and Terry Williams. And it doesn’t have to be limited to 2009.

2. Camden County misses quarterback Christian Milstead, perhaps the most underrated reason that Camden won the title in 2008. Camden’s problems on offense aren’t limited to just that, however. But it’s just one game, and coach Jeff Herron has plenty of time to figure it out.

3. Cobb County football isn’t so bad. Many viewed Walton and McEachern as underdogs against Norcross and Brookwood. Until Saturday, Cobb teams had been 1-6 against Gwinnett teams since 2000.

4. McEachern has a good offense. GHSF Daily’s Chip Saye says it’s the best he’s seen out of the Indians since at least the 1998 state runner-up team, and he’s seen McEachern play every year since then. The 42 points are tied for the third-most in Corky Kell history. Rajaan Bennett has a chance to be McEachern’s best running back ever.

5. Region 5-AAAAA will have a great race. Etowah, the defending champion, looked pretty good, although the home-run threat of Ryan Boykin was conspicuous in its absence. Other title contenders include East Paulding, Woodstock, McEachern, Harrison … . Should be fun watching that develop.

Newswire

Bainbridge beats AAA champ Cairo 16-13
Keenan Adams kicked three field goals, including one from a school-record 52 yards, in Bainbridge’s 16-13 victory against Cairo on Saturday.

Bainbridge led 16-0 in the first half but had to hold off two late threats as Cairo, the 2008 Class AAA champion, got as deep as the Bainbridge 14 and 27 on separate drives in the fourth quarter.

Lowndes proves tough on defense during scrimmage
Lowndes, the GHSF Daily’s No. 1 team in Class AAAAA, defeated Thomas County Central 31-0 in a scrimmage Friday. According to the Valdosta Daily Times, Thomas Central’s varsity was held to 5 rushing yards on 21 carries. Lowndes’ leading rushers were Troy Brasswell (90 yards) and Khary Franklin (83 yards). Franklin, Lowndes’ quarterback the past two seasons, is now a wingback. New quarterback Cole Parker was 3-of-5 passing for 47 yards and a touchdown, a 31-yarder, the newspaper reported.

Villa Rica learns lesson the hard way
Villa Rica, the runner-up in Region 5-AAAA last season, expects to be rebuilding a little this season, but the 43-12 loss to Carrollton in a scrimmage last week wasn’t what coach Rob Cleveland had in mind. “It definitely humbled us,” Cleveland told Corey Cusick of the Times-Georgian of Carrollton in this story. “I think we thought we were going to take last year’s success and, you know, just bring it out on the field without playing.” Carrollton’s A.J. Barge and Dallas Dickey each were 4-for-6 passing for a total of 153 yards. Carrollton is ranked No. 7 in Class AAA. The newspaper also has an article on Carrollton’s unique and thriving feeder program.

Murray County hopes history doesn’t repeat itself
John Ziegler won his first game as head coach of Murray County on Saturday as his Indians beat East Hall 10-0. In this story in the Dalton Daily Citizen, the coach hopes it’s not the last victory of the season, as it was in 2008 when Murray finished 1-9. Ziegler had been an assistant at Murray since 1984. The teams had less than 200 yards of total offense combined. Here is the Gainesville Times’ version of the story.

Hall County teams making a lot of progress
Gainesville and Flowery Branch of Hall County are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in Class AAA, and North Hall has won 32 games over the past three seasons. In this story in the Gainesville Times, Jonathan Zopf explores some of the reasons why programs in Hall are so much better than they were in the 1990s. Good coaching seems to be one reason. “I’m sure there’s more speed in South Georgia,” Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. “But as far as fundamentals and coaching, this region has got to be as tough as any.”

Not much positive footage for Grovetown
One of the reasons that Grovetown scheduled Buford was to give Grovetown’s few seniors an opportunity to have videotape of them playing against good teams so they could have it for college coaches. The first-year program didn’t come away with many highlights in the 51-0 loss, as Buford held Grovetown to negative yardage on offense. Buford’s Jessel Curry scored three touchdowns. Buford was penalized 15 times – 10 times in the first quarter – for more than 100 yards. In one article, it was reported: Buford’s first drive alone saw the Wolves commit seven penalties for 70 yards while failing to gain a single first down. GHSF Daily is not certain what that means, but it doesn’t sound good. Here are the game stories on Buford by the Gainesville Times and Access North Georgia.

Gainesville Times selects ‘The Elite 11′
Three members of GHSF Daily’s all-classification Super 11 team made The Elite 11 for the Gainesville Times. Quarterback Blake Sims and wide receiver Tai-ler Jones of Gainesville and guard Kolton Houston of Buford made both teams. Flowery Branch quarterback Connor Shaw in Class AAA and quarterback Darius Minor of Jefferson in AA made GHSF Daily’s Super 11 teams in their classifications.

The Gainesville Times’ Elite 11:
DE Sterling Bailey, East Hall
DB Nathan Hall, North Hall
OL Kolton Houston, Buford
LB A.J. Johnson, Gainesville
WR Tai-ler Jones, Gainesville
QB Darius Minor, Jefferson
QB Connor Shaw, Flowery Branch
QB Blake Sims, Gainesville
RB Ben Souther, Chestatee
LB Thomas Sprague, Gainesville
QB Shunquez Stephens, West Hall

Athens Banner-Herald names its ‘Terrific 10′
Jefferson quarterback Darius Minor was “the most obvious selection” in the Athens Banner-Herald’s Terrific 10 released Sunday. Minor threw for almost 1,700 yards and rushed for 800 in Jefferson’s 11-1 season last year.

Here is the Banner-Herald’s Terrific 10:
QB Darius Minor, Jefferson
LB/WR Lucas Redd, Jefferson
RB Jon Lee, Apalachee
DL Charmarcus Pittard, Cedar Shoals
WR Dimitri Holmes, Clarke Central
DL Tim Campodonico, Athens Christian
CB Deon Osborne, Commerce
RB Brandon Whitlock, North Oconee
DB/WR Charlie Waycaster, Jackson County
DE Donovan Thomas, Oconee County

A ‘no-win situation’ for Oconee County
The scrimmage between Oconee County and North Oconee drew a big crowd, but Oconee County coach Mitch Olson says he doesn’t like the idea of the neighboring schools playing a regular-season game against each other. “I will never play them unless we are in the same region,” Olson said in Jeff Cochran’s column Sunday in the Athens Banner-Herald. “It’s a no-win situation. There is nothing in it for us.” Oconee County, a Class AAA school, beat North Oconee, a AA school, 10-7 in the scrimmage shortened by bad weather. North Oconee played its first varsity schedule in 2004.

Richmond Academy expects to be in region title race
Richmond Academy returns more starters than any team in Region 3-AAAA, and Mar-Quon Medlock, the fastest player on the team, is considered the region’s best quarterback. The Augusta Chronicle previews the Musketeers in this story.

Other previews of local teams in Sunday’s Chronicle include Thomson’s conversion to the spread offense and Jefferson County’s confidence with quarterback B.J. Bostic, who says, “We can’t be beat if we have it turned on all the time.”

And then there’s Burke County, a contender in 3-AAA that many GHSF Daily readers believe is foolishly unranked. “We could be anywhere from pretty good to pretty doggone good,” coach Eric Parker told the Chronicle.

Other Chronicle previews include Glenn Hills, Harlem and Lakeside (Evans).