Class 3A
*Best player: Hart County running back Malachi Thomas was 3A’s offensive player of the year in 2019. No reason he can’t do it again. He compiled 2,862 all-purpose yards – 1,942 rushing, 638 receiving, 282 returning – and scored 36 touchdowns. Thomas committed to Virginia Tech last month.
*Best position: Tight end. And that’s unusual. Hart County’s Cane Berrong is committed to Notre Dame, and juniors Jake Johnson of Oconee County and Holden Staes of Westminster are top-100 national recruits. Johnson, who often lines up outside, made it here as a wide receiver.
*Most highly recruited: Peach County offensive lineman Terrence Ferguson is a top-50 national recruit and AJC Super 11 pick who committed to Alabama last month.
*That's interesting: Crisp County, the 2019 3A runner-up, has four players on the team, all on defense. Christopher Paul (Arkansas), Preston Lavant (Pittsburgh) and Sirad Bryant (Georgia Tech) are committed to Power 5 conference teams. Kamron Moate has mid-major offers, as does Nick Mercer, a Georgia Southern commit, though he just missed making the team.
*Snubbed? Harlem's Cameron Garnett is a Georgia Power 100 player who rushed for more than 1,300 and can play many positions. But the running-back room has a pair of 2,000-yard rushers, Malachi Thomas and Quintavious Lockett, and the athlete spot went to Rockmart’s Javin Whatley, who passed for 1,500 yards and rushed for 1,000 on a top-10 team last year.
*What else is new? Their players don’t show up here, not yet, with many near-misses, but Sandy Creek, Mary Persons, Thomson and Carver (Atlanta) have been winning programs in higher classes, so their presence will be known soon.
OFFENSE
QB - J. Ben Haynes, White County, Sr.
RB - Quintavious Lockett, Douglass, Jr.
RB - Malachi Thomas, Hart County, Sr.
WR - Janiran Bonner, Cedar Grove, Jr.
WR - Jake Johnson, Oconee County, Jr.
TE - Cane Berrong, Hart County, Sr.
OL - Patch Bennett, Pierce County, Sr.
OL - Terrence Ferguson, Peach County, Sr.
OL - Addison Nichols, Greater Atlanta Christian, Jr.
OL - Carsen Stocklinski, Oconee County, Sr.
OL - Keon Watson, Cedar Grove, Sr.
ATH - Javin Whatley, Rockmart, Sr.
PK - Alex Bacchetta, Westminster, Jr.
DEFENSE
DL - Felix Hixon, Jackson, Jr.
DL - Demarius Jackson, Cedar Grove, Sr.
DL - Christen Miller, Cedar Grove, Jr.
DL - Kamron Moate, Crisp County, Sr.
LB - Tyrell Gibson, Appling County, Sr.
LB - Preston Lavant, Crisp County, Sr.
LB - Christopher Paul Jr., Crisp County, Sr.
LB - West Weeks, Oconee County, Sr.
DB - JaMario Blige, Windsor Forest, Sr.
DB - Sirad Bryant, Crisp County, Sr.
DB - Shad Dabney, Cherokee Bluff, Sr.
DB – Jordan Grier, Cedar Grove, Sr.
P - Connor Weselman, Westminster, Sr.
Coming Monday: Class 2A
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'16 Grayson wins 7A; Buford wins 2 |
Grayson’s 2016 team, led by seven starting seniors who would sign with Power 5 conference teams, defeated 2015 Colquitt County 37-20 in a showdown of iconic Georgia champions in the Class 7A finals of the Team of the Decade computer tournament.
Buford won two Tournament of the Decade titles. Valdosta got one. Sandy Creek, Calhoun, Eagle’s Landing Christian and Irwin County won the rest.
Over the past two weeks, GHSF Daily has reported the results of eight 32-team brackets. The computer model, created by Georgia High School Football Historians Association founder Loren Maxwell, uses historical scores to simulate any matchup involving Georgia teams of the past 75 years.
Below is a class-by-class roundup of how things went down in the finals, with a peek behind the curtain of the score generator and rankings that produced the results. To account for the GHSA’s move from five classes early in the decade, teams were fitted into seven classes for this tournament.
*Class 7A: According to the Maxwell Ratings, the two best teams of the 2010-19 decade were ’15 Colquitt County and ’16 Grayson. The title went to Grayson. “I would have to say that the 2016 team was probably the most talented overall team I have seen in Georgia,” said '16 Grayson coach Jeff Herron, now an assistant at Tennessee Tech. “The only weakness I felt we had was an unusual one, at least for me. I didn’t feel we started playing as a ‘team’ until we went to Hoover in week nine [and won 36-14]. Once that began to happen, I felt like we were unbeatable.” Colquitt’s coach that year, Rush Propst, told GHSF Daily his ’15 team was not necessarily his most talented. “What the Colquitt team had in ’15 was the ‘it’ factor and leadership,” Propst said. “They just had a will to be 30-0.” In fact, the Maxwell Ratings rates ’15 Colquitt as the decade’s best team, with ’16 Grayson second and ’14 Colquitt third. Rounding out the top 10 of 7A teams in his ratings are ’12 Norcross, ’18 Colquitt, ’19 Marietta, ’11 Grayson, ’13 Norcross, ’15 Mill Creek and ’16 Roswell. Only one team per school was allowed to participate in each class.
*Class 6A: Maxwell didn’t find Valdosta’s Team of the Decade championship that surprising. The Wildcats beat nine top-10 teams in 2016, including No. 9 Lowndes of 7A in the regular season. Only ’18 Lee County was rated more highly in the bracket, and Lee was upset by ’10 Chattahoochee’s 15-0 team in the semifinals. Maxwell’s top 10 for this class is ’18 Lee, ’16 Valdosta, ’11 Northside (Warner Robins), ’19 Harrison, ’10 Chattahoochee, ’16 Tucker, ’14 Dacula, ’11 Lovejoy, ’14 Tucker and ’16 Northside.
*Class 5A: Buford’s 2019 team was just the sixth-strongest Buford edition of the decade, according to Maxwell, and it had the added weight of playing in 5A. Remember that Buford began the decade in 2A. But just as they did in ’19, the Wolves just kept winning. Maxwell projects that ’17 Rome was the top team in the division by a healthy seven-point margin over No. 2 Tucker of ’11, followed by ’13 Creekside, the computer tournament runner-up. Rome lost to ’10 Statesboro 7-6 in the quarterfinals. The final seven, per Maxwell, are ’13 Griffin, ’17 Buford, ’19 Buford, ’10 Tucker, ’10 Starr’s Mill, ’19 Warner Robins and ’16 Rome.
*Class 4A: Sandy Creek’s dominant 2012 team took the crown. In ’12, the Patriots didn’t have a game closer than 10 points and beat Ridgeland 45-10 in the final. Buford had the highest-rated team here but didn’t win it, falling to Sandy Creek 23-10 in the semis. Maxwell’s 4A top 10 is ’14 Buford, ’12 Sandy Creek, ’16 Cartersville , ’15 Cartersville, ’10 Sandy Creek, ’18 Blessed Trinity, ’17 Cartersville, ’10 Carrollton, ’15 Buford and ’11 Burke County. Trevor Lawrence played for three of those.
*Class 3A: Buford won a second overall title and was 10 points better than its next-best opponent, according to Maxwell, whose 3A ratings are ’13 Buford, ’13 Washington County, ’10 Carver (Columbus), ’18 Cedar Grove, ’14 Calhoun, ’12 Buford, ’12 Jefferson, ’14 Blessed Trinity, ’19 Cedar Grove and ’14 Washington County.
*Class 2A: Calhoun won 129 games in the decade, more than any school in the state other than Buford, so it’s only appropriate that the Yellow Jackets took home a title. They beat surprising ’13 Lamar County in the final. Maxwell rates Calhoun as only third best of the decade, but the top three are virtually equal, as those Buford-Calhoun overtime games in 2010-11 attested. The ranking go ’10 Buford, ’11 Buford, ’11 Calhoun, ’10 Calhoun, ’17 Hapeville Charter, ’16 Benedictine, ’10 Cook, ’13 Lovett, ’17 Rabun County and ’14 Benedictine. Benedictine also had Nos. 11 and 12.
*Class 1A Private: Eagle’s Landing Christian won six state titles in the decade, so any non-ELCA champion would’ve been hard to explain. What’s peculiar is that the 2018 ELCA that won it was not even ELCA’s best team, according to Maxwell. Here’s his top 10 for the decade: ’19 ELCA, ’17 ELCA, ’19 Holy Innocents’, ’11 Savannah Christian, ’16 ELCA, ’12 ELCA, ’14 Mount Paran Christian, ’18 ELCA, ’19 Athens Academy and ’11 ELCA.
*Class 1A Public: The late coach Buddy Nobles said of his 2019 Irwin County Indians, “If there is a better Class A team in the history of Georgia high school football, I want to see them.” None better was found here. Irwin, rated Maxwell’s No. 1 Class A Public team of the decade, beat 2014 Marion County in the final. The rest of Maxwell's top 10 is '10 Clinch County, '18 Clinch County, ’18 Irwin County, ’16 Macon County, ’11 Lincoln County, ’12 ECI, ’19 Clinch County, ’14 Hawkinsville and ’10 Wilcox County.
Championship games:
Class 7A: 2016 Grayson 37, 2015 Colquitt County 20
Class 6A: 2016 Valdosta 31, 2010 Chattahoochee 21
Class 5A: 2019 Buford 41, 2013 Creekside 28
Class 4A: 2012 Sandy Creek 26, 2016 Cartersville 19
Class 3A: 2013 Buford 23, 2012 Jefferson 20
Class 2A: 2011 Calhoun 44, 2013 Lamar County 14
Class A Private: 2018 ELCA 27, 2011 Savannah Christian 24
Class A Public: 2019 Irwin County 41, 2014 Marion County 21
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Decade's best
Buford won the most games in the past decade (2010-19). Twenty-three GHSA schools won 100 games or more.
131 - Buford
129 - Calhoun
120 - Eagle's Landing Christian
117 - Cartersville
113 - Colquitt County
112 - Peach County
110 - Blessed Trinity
109 - Greater Atlanta Christian
108 - Tucker
107 - Grayson
105 - Marist
105 - Prince Avenue Christian
105 - Sandy Creek
105 - Stockbridge
104 - Marion County
101 - Callaway
101 - Cedar Grove
101 - Clinch County
100 - Jefferson
100 - McEachern
100 - North Gwinnett
100 - Northside (Warner Robins)
100 - Woodward Academy
Join the GACA and be eligible for liability insurance, participation in all-star games, registration to clinics, and access to job listings.
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Grayson’s 2016 state championship team finished No. 4 in MaxPreps’ final rankings and No. 7 in USA Today's. The Rams lost one game that season. Which opponent beat them? Archer, Colquitt County, Hoover, Lowndes or IMG Academy? (Answer Monday)
Answer to Thursday’s question: The GHSA coaches who won 100 games during the 2010-19 decade were Jonathan Gess (120), Hal Lamb (119), Chad Campbell (112), Franklin Stephens (109), Alan Chadwick (105), Rush Propst (104), Tim McFarlin (104), Pete Wiggins (101) and Kevin Kinsler (100).
Jostens is the leading provider of yearbooks, caps and gowns, class rings and championship rings and is the Official Championship Ring of the GHSA. Click here to learn more.
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Alabama, Tennessee among nine states playing games tonight
Nine states are playing football games tonight. Those in their first weekend of the season are Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Tennessee, according to High School Football America. Utah began last seek. According to HSFA, 17 states are starting their seasons on time, and 17 are delayed, including Georgia, which would’ve opened this week but will start Sept. 4. Fifteen states plus the District of Columbia have postponed. One state, Delaware, hasn’t declared. The only Southern states not playing this fall are Virginia and North Carolina. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s “board of control” voted 16-2 Thursday to start football games the week of Sept. 11.
Clayton County lifts ban, will resume sports Monday
Clayton County Schools lifted its sports ban effective Monday for its 10 high schools. The metro Atlanta school district froze all sports activity for two weeks on Aug. 8. Clayton’s GHSA members are Drew, Elite Scholars Academy, Forest Park, Jonesboro, Lovejoy, Morrow, Mount Zion, Mundy’s Mill, North Clayton and Riverdale. Elite Scholars does not play football.
Briefly ...
Rabun County junior Gunner Stockton, the No. 1 dual-threat QB prospect nationally among juniors, committed Thursday to South Carolina. Stockton has thrown for 6,390 yards and 77 touchdowns over his freshman and sophomore seasons, within sight of Trevor Lawrence’s state records of 13,902 yards and 161 touchdowns.
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Pivot To Play Program
Pivot to Play is a free six-week program to help recruits navigate the recruiting process and gain more visibility with college coaches. It is targeted to teams that are not playing this fall. Players need to be nominated by their high school coach. Click here for more information.
Also, GHSF Daily, in conjunction with scoutSMART, will be announcing a football student-athlete of the week each Friday this season. The ideal candidate will be outstanding on the field and in the classroom. Please click here to send nominations to Diane Bloodworth.
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Today’s interviewee is new Valdosta coach Rush Propst, who was hired in April. Propst won state titles in 2014 and 2015 during an 11-year run at Colquitt County that ended in 2018. He was a volunteer assistant at UAB for one season before returning to high school football. Most Four Questions interviews follow a stricter format – four questions, four answers. This is essentially an excerpt from a longer conversation about various topics, and the questions are fitted to some of his more interesting comments. It picks up where the coach was discussing the best teams he’s ever coached. He said his 2018 team was his most talented at Colquitt, though it fell short in its title bid and finished 14-1.
Rush Propst, Valdosta head coach
1. Your last high school game wasn’t a fond memory for you. Colquitt County lost to Milton 14-13 in the 2018 Class 7A championship game. How does that game sit with you nearly two years later? “The thing that galls me more than anything, probably the reason I’m the head coach at Valdosta, is those back-to-back state championship losses. We had the ball game won in 2017 [against North Gwinnett, which won 19-17 on a seven-play drive and a field goal with no time on the clock]. If any one of those final seven plays had gone our way, we would’ve won. Then you go to ’18. If you played that game 10 times, you win it nine out of 10, maybe 24 out of 25. There’s no way we should lose that game. We just did not come to play. I didn’t get them ready. We didn’t have a good week of practice. I pride myself in details, especially in road games. We were 45 minutes late getting to the field. We had lots of problems in that game. It was just a complete debacle. I’ve seen that film one time, and I’m throw-up sick looking at it. That was probably the most talented team we had at Colquitt County. Everything just crumbled at our feet.”
2. So how did that loss lead you to Valdosta? “There are three reasons that I’m here. One is that it’s Valdosta. That’s first and foremost. I interviewed for the Valdosta job after the 2005 season [while at Hoover] and couldn’t leave that good team I had, and I wasn’t offered the job. I’ve wanted it for a long time. I really embrace that tradition. Two is that when I was at Hoover, all I cared about was winning state championships. [He won five there.] At Colquitt and Valdosta, all I care about is helping kids. Down here, there are a lot of kids that won’t go to college without football. I want to help these kids go to college and get their degree. Third is I wasn’t going to go out with back-to-back state championship losses. I’ve got more to me than that. I’m too much of a competitor and too much of a winner. So we’re going to go to Valdosta and make it what it should be.”
3. What kind of reception have you received from Valdosta, a former rival? [Propst was 7-4 against Valdosta in his time at Colquitt.] “It’s been really good. It’s been overwhelming, to be honest. We’re still getting started. I didn’t meet my team until June 8 and all my coaches until June 1. That’s why we’re working 18 hours a day. I’m not kidding you, we’ve been here 4:30 [a.m.] to 11:30 every night. But the people and the fans have been outstanding. Even through all the COVID stuff, I’ve probably met over 125 people at different functions, 10 people here, 15 there. I’ve been very fortunate to have Todd Cason as a superintendent. We worked together at Moultrie. I have a wonderful AD, Reginald Mitchell, who’s very efficient. Then our principal has come back for a year, Janice Richardson. She runs a good school. Having 100 percent support from your administration is the key to any coach being successful. Valdosta reminds me a lot of Hoover High School. It’s run very well. The teachers have been wonderful. I can’t tell you how many have come down to my office and stopped me in the hallways. There’s so much pride here. They’ve done everything in their power to make me feel comfortable and to help us win football games, and I’m appreciative of it.”
4. How does your team look so far, and how do you feel about the prospects of a full season? “It’s hard to say, through the pandemic, the loss of time, how do you know? We’ve got a talented football team, no question. We’ve got seven players just on offense that have the ability to be all-state. That’s all-preseason. None of that’s entitlement, just potential. I think Garcia is the best quarterback in the state. He could be one of the best at throwing a football that I’ve coached. He’s going to be a special player. We’ve got a lot of depth at that position. [Jake Garcia, a senior committed to Southern Cal and one of many Valdosta players that he talked up, transferred from a school in California, which postponed football into winter. Garcia just got clearance to practice with the team beginning with tonight’s intrasquad scrimmage.] ...
“As for playing a season, I think we can. I’m a glass half-full guy, but also a realist. At the end of the day, we need football. The kids need it. I can target about eight kids on our team and say they’re going to lose [college] opportunities if we don’t. I believe they need an opportunity and hope that’s not taken away. I’m not saying there’s not a bad virus out there. There is. We’ve had a few positives tests, and we were shut down a week. So I would just say there’s more reward than risk for these players.”
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Storm Johnson gives back to student-athletes
Former UCF standout and NFL running back Storm Johnson has joined The Learning Company in offering services to middle and high school students and student-athletes through a boys only academy with NCAA approved classes (in person one-to-one or virtual); final semester program for high school seniors; ACT/SAT prep; athletic training; and Camp Storm, a residential camp facility located in southeastern Georgia on 40 acres. For information, call 770-652-7542 or click here to email.
Mitchell County seeks two opponents for 2020 football schedule
Mitchell County High School is seeking two football games to complete its 2020 schedule. It has open dates on Sept. 25, Oct. 2 and Oct. 9 and would like to play one of the games in Camilla. Click here to contact coach Deshon Brock.
Jackson County seeks assistant in boys basketball, baseball
Jackson County High School is accepting applications for an assistant boys basketball coach and assistant baseball coach that will include duties as a PE teacher. If interested, click here to contact athletic director Brad Hayes.
Sequoyah seeks boys basketball assistant coach
Sequoyah High School is accepting applications for a varsity boys basketball assistant coach for the 2020-21 school year. Teaching certificate needs to be in science or SPED Math. If you are interested, click here to contact head coach Allen Carden.
St. George’s Episcopal seeks assistants in volleyball, boys basketball
The assistant coaches in volleyball and boys basketball will assist in all matters concerning the varsity teams. We are looking for someone who wants to help build a competitive program in an elite academic environment. We are only in the fifth year of competing at the varsity level. St. George’s competes in GISA AA athletics. These are part-time jobs through the season with the possibility of expanding roles in the coming years. Click here to contact athletic director Britt Gaylor.
Rockdale Co. seeks assistant football, baseball, girls basketball coach
Rockdale County High School is looking for an assistant coach for baseball, girls basketball and football. Interested candidates should be certified in one of the following teaching vacancies – English, Spanish and/or SPED (Science and/or English). Click here to contact athletic director Chad Suddeth.
Manchester seeks head softball coach
Manchester High School is now accepting applications for our head softball coach. Also, there is a possibility of coaching an additional spring sport, with a SPED co-teacher opening as well. Interested applicants can send their resume and cover letter to assistant principal/athletic director Dr. Kelvin Smith by clicking here.
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GHSF Daily classified ads
Reach 22,000 readers per day in GHSF Daily’s classified ads. Rates are $50 per week. Ads must be a maximum of 75 words and include a headline and contact information. Click here to contact us.
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About Us
Georgia High School Football Daily is a free e-mail newsletter produced and owned by Todd Holcomb and Chip Saye. Holcomb is a former lead high school football writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and co-founder of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Saye is a 35-year veteran of the newspaper industry who has covered high school sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Athens Banner-Herald, Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail and Gwinnett Daily News.
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