The volleyball state championship matches took place last Saturday at Marietta High School. For three of the four state champions, it was just another in a long line of titles. But one school, Sandy Creek, broke new ground with its win in the Class 4A title match, defeating one of the most consistently successful volleyball programs in the state. The Patriots defeated Marist, which has six state titles to its name, in four games (25-23, 16-25, 25-23, 25-21) to win the school’s first volleyball title. The Patriots finished the year with an astounding 50 wins (50-13). Sandy Creek was state runner-up in Class 3A a year ago.
DOMINANCE REASSERTED
In Class 5A, Northview defeated Pope to win its third state volleyball title in four years. The Titans defeated the Greyhounds 3-1 in the final match. Pope, which has only one senior, took the third game 25-20, but fell in the fourth, 25-21. Seniors Ashley Veach and Lauren Busing supplied the offense for Northview, which won the title last year and in 2005. … Woodward Academy won its eighth all-time GHSA volleyball title, adding to its state-leading total. The War Eagles handily defeated St. Pius in straight games (25-10, 25-17, 25-20). Zoey Horton and Mariah Woodson (daughter of Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Woodson) combined for 22 kills in the victory. This was Woodward’s first championship as a member of Class 3A, as the War Eagles won their other seven titles in Class 4A. … Westminster defeated Buckhead rival Lovett in the Class 2A/A championship match, 3-1. It was the seventh state title for the Wildcats program, and first as a member of the state’s lowest classification. Lovett once again narrowly misses bringing home a state volleyball championship, having lost in the state title match for the third straight season.
TRICK OR TREAT
Getting around to football, Westside-Macon had a potential statement game against No. 4 Thomas County Central on Halloween Night. The undefeated Seminoles announced loudly to the rest of the state that they are indeed the frontrunner for the Class 4A state title. Westside blanked its Region 1 rival 51-0, clinching that league’s top seed and reaffirming its status as the classification’s No. 1 team.
There were plenty of other big-time games last Friday, including Buford’s 29-7 win over Westminster. The victory clinched the eighth region title in a row for the Wolves and potentially sets them up for a third straight undefeated regular season. … Northside-Warner Robins beat crosstown rival Warner Robins 14-0. Northside running back Xavier Bacon rushed for 159 yards on 28 carries to help the Eagles secure Region 1-AAAAA’s No. 2 seed and knock Warner Robins out of playoff contention. … Meanwhile, the top team in Region 1 and Class 5A, Lowndes, went on the road and beat Coffee 21-0 to clinch a No. 1 seed. … In Region 5-AAAAA, Kennesaw Mountain defeated McEachern on the road, 30-27. The loss knocks McEachern out of its previous No. 4 position in the league; Woodstock is currently in line to earn that region’s No. 4 seed, but Kennesaw Mountain and McEachern are still in the hunt. … Walton went to Roswell and defeated the Hornets by a score of 28-21, as running back Michael Boydston carried the ball an incredible 47 times for 257 yards and four touchdowns. Walton, at 7-1 in Region 6-AAAAA, is ensured of a playoff spot, although not the No. 1 seed.
There were other important matchups before and after Halloween, as No. 8 Carver-Columbus defeated No. 2 LaGrange 24-0 on Thursday, and Tucker beat Southwest DeKalb 10-7 on Saturday.
ONE MORE WEEK
With a 20-7 win last Friday over Norcross, Peachtree Ridge put itself in position to win Region 7-AAAAA outright with a victory over current region-leader North Gwinnett. … There’s an interesting situation brewing in Region 6-AA, as four teams are tied at 4-2 in the region heading into the final game. Two of those teams—Westminster and Blessed Trinity—will square off head-to-head Friday, while Lovett meets 2-4 Decatur and Greater Atlanta Christian meets 6-0 Buford. One of the four will be left out of the playoffs. … Back to Roswell; the Hornets will play in an elimination game this Friday against Lassiter. The loser of that game will miss the playoffs. If the Trojans win, they’re in, but if Roswell wins, the Hornets still have to hope for a Milton win … yeah, it’s complicated.
Check back here next week for complete playoff seedings and first-round matchups!
Ewalt can be reached at aewalt@scoreatl.com.
Loading ...
