Some thoughts from “the weekend that was” in Georgia high school football…
-What a turnaround by Lowndes. After getting upset by Newton in their second game of the season and dominated by Colquitt County in the region opener, the Vikings have won three straight region games and have all but clinched a playoff spot. Last week’s win over arch-rival Valdosta was stunning, but this week’s victory over Coffee proved coach Randy McPherson’s bunch is back to being a premier team. Lowndes rushed for 285 yards and held Coffee to just 51. That is the type of dominance at the line of scrimmage we are used to seeing from the Vikings.
-North Cobb surprised us yet again. The Warriors followed up their impressive 27-17 win over Hillgrove last week with a 28-26 victory over No. 2 McEachern Friday night. Not many teams have had two quality wins in consecutive weekends like North Cobb has in the past two weeks. Tyler Queen gives his father and head coach, Shane, an elite quarterback while Torrance McGee is a big-play threat at wide receiver. The Warriors are now a legitimate threat to challenge for the AAAAAA state title and currently sit atop Region 4. North Cobb now sits a game in the loss column ahead of McEachern, Harrison and Hillgrove, and has the head-to-head tiebreaker over all three.
-Houston County’s 27-23 win over Warner Robins was one of the most shocking upsets of the season. The Bears entered the game against their county and region rival at 3-3 and 1-2 in Region 2-AAAAA play, but somehow managed to hand the No. 7 Demons their first loss of the season. Freshman QB Jake Fromm threw two touchdown passes while Quay Denning returned an interception for a score to help coach Von Lassiter’s first-year program earn “a huge win”.
-We see you, Starr’s Mill. The Panthers’ 42-27 win over previously-unbeaten McIntosh was remarkable on many levels. Starr’s Mill had been largely an afterthought in Region 4-AAAAA despite competitive losses to Drew and West Forsyth. When the Chiefs took a 20-0 lead over their local rivals, many chalked another W up for McIntosh. But Starr’s Mill wasn’t deterred and proceeded to run off 35 consecutive points and pulled off an unexpected victory. McIntosh, which had been receiving consideration for a ranking, had its first loss and dropped to second place in the region standings.
-Class A-Private No. 2 Landmark Christian won its eighth game, but Friday’s 17-14 triumph over Pace Academy may have been its most difficult. Do-it-all QB Stockton McGuire scored on a one-yard run with 36 seconds left to cap a nine-play drive that ate up almost five minutes of action. McGuire also kicked a field goal for the War Eagles. Landmark has games left against Holy Innocents’ and No. 1 ELCA after a week off and may have the best chance of anyone in Class A to give ELCA a true test.
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