Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Class AAAAA preview for GAHS football 09!

With the Corky Kell Classic ready to explode this weekend, High School Football is upon us here in the state of Georgia. Though I will not be co-hosting High School High Five this season for 790 The Zone, I will still have my finger on the pulse of Georgia HS Football as we'll be discussing it Sunday afternoon on 790 as well as Monday nights from 7-9, also on 790. OH, and you can read all about my thoughts on Gwinnett County in Score Atlanta's Prep editions every Friday. Finally, follow my ramblings here on Sports By Fletch. We'll shoot for a Tuesday wrapup/preview of the next week's games. I am thinking Tuesday. Let's go with that for now.
Over the next few days, I'll be breaking down the five classifications with my predictions on the four region seeds for the state playoffs as well as a PoY and CoY in each region.
With no further ado..........
CLASS AAAAA

Region1.
Champ: Lowndes. They just reload every year. They lost in the playoffs for the first time I can recall. They'll be hungry.
2.Northside-Warner Robbins. Moved up from 4A and the Eagles did well in their first season with the Big Boys last year. They'll miss Abry though and the Fields kid.
3. Coffee. They're HOT baby! Get it?
4. Colquitt. Rush Propst's second season bringing basketball on grass to Georgia earns them a playoff spot.
Player of the year.....Ed Christian, OL Lowndes. I'll agree with my good buddy Todd Holcomb, former of the AJC and Official Visit FOS.
Coach of the year.....Rush Propst. If he gets his team to the playoffs, he deserves it over Randy McPherson.

Region2.
Champ: ML King. Corey Jarvis has these guys ready EVERY season. With Mack Brown, they should run over the rest of this improving region.
2. Stephenson. LB Tyrone Cornelius leads an always stingy defense.
3. Douglass. Sorry, biased here because of Garrison Smith. The state's No.2 player and No.44 overall player in the country. He's headed to UGA in case you didn't know.
4. Union Grove. Those guys are NOTHING BUY ATHLETES. They just aren't football players. Athletic talent will get you to the playoffs though in this region.
Player of the year: Mack Brown, RB, ML King. The future Gator may be the State's player of the year.
COach of the year. Corey Jarvis, ML King. The guy just reloads. Great coach.

Region3.
Champ: Camden County. The defending state champ lost a lot, but they run a system that let's them plug and play. They might be one year away however...
2. Bradwell Institute
3.?Windsor Forest?
4.?Johnson-SAV? Ummmmm, Actually, THIS is the worst region in 5A
PoY: Andre Johnson, RB, Camden. He scored the his team's first TD in the state championship and he'll score more this season.
CoY: Jeff Herron, Camden. His record is 109-10 in his ten seasons at Camden. WOW.

Region4.
Champ: Newnan. Alec Ogletree and his twin brother lead a D that MUST overcome the offense's losses due to graduation. Ogletree is the No.1 recruit in Georgia. He's headed to UGA. Newnan gets the love....
2. Westlake. I like the LB Michael Taylor, but not enough to put Westlake over Newnan.
3. Chapel Hill. They return a LOT from a team that went 9-2 last season.
4. Creekside. Better than anything else in the region.
PoY: Alec Ogletree, S Newnan. Duh
CoY: Mike McDonald, Newnan. First year at school and he gets a region title. 1 for 1.

Region5. Cobb part ONE!
Champ: Harrison. True they lost Robbie Godhigh, but they return the QB. Hoyas take it.
2. East Paulding. No Jahron Brown, but this defense will be good in the second year in AAAAA
3. McEachern. The Pistol offense should really take off in its second season under Kyle Hockman
4. Kennesaw Mountain. The returning upperclassman should let the Mustangs sneak into the playoffs over Campbell, Etowah and Woodstock.
PoY: Rajaan Bennett, McEachern, RB. This kid could be scary good and have SEC and ACC programs beating down his door by the end of the season. A Perfect back for the Pistol. I could translate into the spread! Wake Forest, Clemson, are you watching? UK?
CoY: Scott Jones, KMHS. If the Mustangs make the playoffs, he is Coach of the Year.

Region6. Cobb-sorta Part Two!
Champ: Lassiter. Hutson Mason was good last year as a junior. Just imagine what he'll be with a year under his belt! No Lutzenkirchin (spelling?) though and no Camden Wentz. That's OK. Mason is back!
2. Centennial. I know it is a zany pick, but IJ has brainwashed me. Plus they have a strong O-Line.
3. Walton. They lost Dudley and Boydston and Rayburn and Burrows.....but tradition FORCES me to pick them.
4. Roswell. They'll recover from a 5-5 season, right? Right? Hello?
PoY: Hutson Mason, QB Lassiter. Darn good as a junior. Damn good as a senior.
CoY: Chip Lindsey, Lassiter. Nice program turnaround Coach. Next step: Playing past Thanksgiving...

Region7. GWINNETT, BABY!
Champ: Norcross. They underachieved last season after I thought they might win it all. Well, with Delino DeShields in the fold, they will be tough to beat. You Know Maloof will be on them to overachieve after last season.
2. North Gwinnett. The O-Line makes the Loss of Tyler Jarry and Mikey Tamburo bareable. CJ Uzomah can still throw to Chad Jarry and Cordero Dixon. Plus Juwan James will make sure his jersey stays clean all season. They'll drop one early though due to growing pains.
3. Collins Hill. Charles Perkins carries this team as far as his legs can go...which is the second round of the playoffs.
4. Peachtree Ridge. Bill Ballard is TOO good of a coach to let this team drop too far. They played for the title last season for Pete's Sake. They've got talent, but a VERY good coach too.
PoY: Charles Perkins, RB Collins Hill. This guy is underrated. He'll be a warrior for the Eagles.
CoY: Bob Sphire, NGHS, His offense might stall early, but look for them to be a smooth running machine by the time the playoffs arrive.

Region8. GWINNETT's POWER CONFERENCE!
Champ: Grayson. Mickey Conn lost his QB, but he still has a strong running game and a defense with bite! At least two of his defensive starters have D-1 offers.
2. Brookwood. Mark Crews always finds a Running back. he didn't in time last season, but he will this season. Just not good enough to take down Grayson though.
3. South Gwinnett. I like the coach, and despite losing the QB, whomever steps in will have Aaron Wimberly and Janathan Krause at his disposal. Throw in Chaz Jackson at DB and you've got a sleeper in the region.
4. Parkview. Tradition once again. No Brandon Jacobs means a tougher road to hoe. Coach Flowe always figures it out though.
PoY: Ean Pemberton, RB Grayson. The Little Giant might be my favorite player in the state.
CoY: Mickey Conn, Grayson. Nice guy and one heck of a coach. He beat Lowndes last season and this edition might be even better. Look out semi-finals!

Classification PoY: Hutson Mason, Lassiter QB. With all due respect to Mack Brown, RBs are going to pile up numbers in this state. When QBs do it, WOW. Mason will make your jaw drop with his numbers in Lindsey's system. But the end of the season, I might be calling Mason the state's best QB instead of Shaw or Sims (sorry Devin Burns)
Classification CoY: Randy McPherson, Lowndes. The Only coach in the Classification that will go 15-0. I think he beats Grayson if they meet again.

Preseason top ten
1.Grayson
2.Camden County (they play each other in the Corky Kell. WOW)
3.Lowndes
4.Northside-Warner Robbins
5.ML King
6.Lassiter
7.Newnan
8.Norcross
9.North Gwinnett
10.Harrison

2 comments:

unknown said...

I can't help but notice that Duluth is missing from your list. Where are the mighty wildcats?

Anonymous said...

I love what Chip Lindsey is doing at Lassiter. This guy is a class act and has been a winner everywhere he has been and he will make Lassiter into a winner year in and year out. Everyone needs to take note about this program. His style of football works and with the resources and talent that Lassiter can put out I see nothing but great things for him and his program. Good luck coach Lindsey!