Ringgold 3-0 for first time since 2011
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Ringgold ended a four-game losing streak to one of its main rivals last week when the Tigers defeated North Murray 31-28, but it was the back and forth that made it one of the state’s most exciting games Friday night.
Ringgold trailed 14-0 at halftime and 21-14 and 28-21 in the second half. The comeback was ignited by Peyton Williams, who rushed for 204 yards in the second half alone and finished with 338 all-purpose yards. Landon Eaker kicked a 43-yard field goal with two seconds left to break a 28-28 tie.
Ringgold – 3-0 for the first time since 2011 – is GHSF Daily’s state Team of the Week. The award, sponsored by Siemens and World Electric, will be presented to the team this week at the school.
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Hunter tops first POY Watch list
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With the regular season one-third complete, here are the five players and a few extras that GHSF Daily projects will have the most attractive Player of the Year resumes in December. Unlike all-state teams, which reflect individual talents alone, the POY Watch also considers team success, position and recruiting status, things that POY Watch voters favor when voting for these awards.
1. Travis Hunter, Collins Hill: No surprise here. Hunter is the consensus No. 2 recruit in the country, and he has played like it for a 4-0 team that is ranked No. 1 in Class 7A. He has 27 receptions for 484 yards and three touchdowns in three games. He has 12 solo tackles, one for a loss, and an interception. Collins Hill has collected one non-played forfeit. Hunter is committed to Florida State.
2. Malachi Singleton, North Cobb: Singleton might be emerging as the best dual-threat quarterback in the state. A top-300 national prospect among juniors, he has rushed for 303 yards, including 244 against current No. 4 Milton. He’s 47-of-70 passing for 614 yards and three touchdowns. North Cobb is 2-1 and ranked No. 2 in Class 7A.
3. Gunner Stockton, Rabun County: Gunner is just being Gunner. He’s 38-of-64 passing for 873 yards and 11 touchdowns with one interception, and he’s rushed for 303 yards. Stockton is 23 TD passes from breaking Trevor Lawrence’s career record of 155. Rabun County is 2-1 and ranked No. 3 in Class 2A, seeking its first state title. Stockton is committed to Georgia.
4. David Dallas, Trinity Christian: Trinity, the No. 1 team in Class A Private, has beaten all four opponents by 36 points or more, two of them ranked in the top four, and scored at least 54 points in every game. Remember that the 2020 all-class player of the year, Prince Avenue Christian’s Brock Vandagriff, also came from this classification. Dallas is 61-of-74 passing (despite starting 0-of-3) for 1,046 yards and 16 touchdowns with one interception. Dallas is committed to Western Michigan.
5. Caleb Downs, Mill Creek: Perhaps a sleeper, Downs is a safety with 11 solo tackles and an interception returned for a touchdown for what has been probably the state’s best defense. Mill Creek is allowing 10 points per game in three blowout victories over teams that have been ranked. Downs also has scored two touchdowns as a part-time running back and receiver. Downs is an uncommitted top-40 national prospect among juniors.
Others: Ware County QB Thomas Castellanos is closing in on 6,000 yards passing and 3,000 rushing for his career, and he’s got the highest completion percentage (.653) and yards-per-carry (6.3) of his career for a 3-0 team ranked No. 2 in Class 5A. ... Roswell QB Robbie Roper has thrown for 1,100 yards, completing 63.4% of passes, for a 3-0 team ranked No. 6 in Class 7A. ... Jefferson QB/DB Malaki Starks doesn’t have big numbers yet because of blowout victories and extra help in the backfield, but he and No. 1 Jefferson of Class 4A figure to be around until the end. ... Blessed Trinity RB Justice Haynes has missed two games injured, but he’s run for 200 and 154 yards when healthy for a Class 5A contender. ... Carrollton QB M.J. Morris, an N.C. State commit, has thrown for 802 yards and 10 touchdowns in a 3-0 start for the No. 3 Class 6A team.
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Here's a look at Georgia's teams ranked on a consensus of six polls (AJC – Atlanta Journal-Constitution/GHSF Daily; GPB – Georgia Public Broadcasting; SC – Score Atlanta; 680 – 680 The Fan; Max – Maxwell Ratings; and MP – MaxPreps).
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Schley County
Schley County, which defeated Taylor County 55-0 for the Wildcats’ third shutout in three games, is the Titan Electric Georgia Defense of the Week. Against Taylor, Schley allowed less than 90 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers. OLB Zayden Walker had 2.5 tackles for losses. OLB Luke Forehand had 1.5 tackles behind the line and recovered two fumbles, one that he returned for a touchdown. Other starters in the Taylor County game were safeties Carson Westbrook and Malachi Banks, cornerbacks Jalewis Solomon and Clinton Jackson, inside linebackers Sidney Blackwell and Jack Clark and defensive linemen Wade Cox, Reggie Hinton and Quintin Edwards.
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Private sizes
These are the enrollment numbers used to classify GHSA private schools in 2020. Nine of the GHSA’s largest private schools (shown in red) are proposing a reclassification that would shift Greater Atlanta Christian of Class 3A and Lovett and Pace Academy of 2A into Class A Private beginning in 2022-23. The proposal also would pull Riverside Military, currently in Class 2A, down into A Private. Schools in blue do not have football teams.
Class 5A
1,101 - St. Pius
1,082 - Woodward Academy
970 - Blessed Trinity
Class 4A
815 - Westminster
810 - Benedictine
809 - Marist
Class A Private
672 - Greater Atlanta Christian
625 - Lovett
624 - Riverside Military
550 - Holy Innocents'
538 - St. Vincent’s Academy
496 - Wesleyan
471 - Pace Academy
443 - Paideia
434 - Darlington
415 - Atlanta International
414 - Hebron Christian
412 - Mount Paran Christian
409 - Trinity Christian
374 - Mount de Sales
374 - Savannah Christian
373 - Mount Vernon
360 - North Cobb Christian
358 - Walker
353 - Eagle’s Landing Christian
352 - Landmark Christian
351 - Fellowship Christian
332 - Athens Academy
331 - First Presbyterian
316 - Tallulah Falls
314 - Providence Christian
308 - Galloway
303 - Savannah Country Day
301 - St. Francis
295 - Stratford Academy
295 - Whitefield Academy
293 - George Walton Academy
293 - Mount Pisgah Christian
287 - Calvary Day
282 - Brookstone
280 - King’s Ridge Christian
272 - Strong Rock Christian
265 - Prince Avenue Christian
257 - Weber
255 - Pinecrest Academy
247 - Pacelli
235 - Aquinas
233 - Our Lady of Mercy
211 - Lakeview Academy
208 - Loganville Christian
193 - Athens Christian
188 - Deerfield-Windsor
185 - Christian Heritage
184 - Tattnall Square
171 - Heritage (Newnan)
161 - Mount Bethel Christian
105 - Ben Franklin
102 - Brandon Hall
79 - Atlanta Jewish Academy
61 - Greenforest Christian
47 - W.D. Mohammed
35 - Southwest Atlanta
25 - Excel Christian
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Two former Georgia high school players were among the SEC players of the week. Kentucky RB Chris Rodriguez rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Missouri. Georgia QB Stetson Bennett was 10-of-12 passing for 288 yards and five touchdowns in a victory over UAB. At what Georgia high schools did Rodriguez and Bennett play? (Answer Thursday)
Answer to Tuesday’s question: Jacksonville State, which beat Florida State on a last-play, 59-yard TD pass Saturday, is the alma mater of the following Georgia football coaches: Chattooga’s Shawn Peek, Gordon Lee’s Josh Groce, Haralson County’s Scott Peavey, Manchester’s Stephen Holmes, Peachtree Ridge’s Reggie Stancil, Perry’s Kevin Smith, Sonoraville’s Denver Pate, Temple’s Scotty Ward and Washington County’s Joel Ingram.
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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GHSF Daily will select 10 games each week for a Predict the Winner contest, presented by ALL-STAR QB. Predictions must be submitted by 5 p.m. each Friday. Limit one entry per email address. Contest winners will be announced on Mondays at the start of each new contest and will receive the ASQB-LITE model game, the company's most popular. Click here to play!
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Elite Classic begins picking players for all-star games
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The Georgia Elite Classic will be held in Rome from Dec. 20-22, featuring three All-Star Games that will be televised as part of the Score Atlanta high school football TV package on PeachtreeTV. The Classic will be in its 10th year, and on Dec. 22 an eighth-grade game will be played at 10 a.m. at Historic Barron Stadium followed by a junior vs. senior game at 12:45 p.m. and a freshman vs. sophomore game at 3:30 p.m. Rusty Mansell of 247Sports selects the teams, and the first group from the sophomore Class of 2024 is Martavious Collins (Athlete, Rome), Daniel Calhoun (OL, Centennial), KJ Bolden (Athlete, Buford), Sammy Brown (LB, Jefferson), Alexander Cunningham (DL, Johns Creek), Debron Gatling (WR, Milton), Hevin Brown-Shuler (DL, Pace Academy) and Walt Claire-Flynn (OL, Grayson). Mansell will make these picks official during the scoreboard show Friday night on PeachtreeTV after the Parkview-Marietta game in the Drive for the GHSA State Title series. If you would like to either nominate yourself for the games or have someone do it for you, click here.
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GHSF Daily each week will rank the top five teams and their head coaches in each classification based on their improvement in the computer Maxwell Ratings from 2020 to 2021, but with some exclusions. Only teams with winning records will be listed. In the end, each team and coach must also make the playoffs and improve playoff seeding or state playoff finish from the previous year to qualify. The objective is to recognize not only improvement but the challenge of making a struggling program relevant on the state level or taking a good program to the next level. After the season, GHSF Daily will present an award, sponsored by Hudl, to the eight coaches who lead their classifications. The recognition will take place at the GACA Falcons Luncheon on Feb. 1 in Macon.
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Class 7A
+19.1 - Marietta (Richard Morgan)
+15.4 - Mill Creek (Josh Lovelady)
+15.0 - Campbell (Howie DeCristofaro)
+13.4 - Collins Hill (Lenny Gregory)
+12.9 - West Forsyth (Dave Svehla)
Class 6A
+21.8 - Kennesaw Mountain (Caleb Carmean)
+18.8 - Johns Creek (Matt Helmerich)
+15.3 - Pope (Tab Griffin)
+12.8 - Carrollton (Joey King)
+11.5 - Northside-W.R. (Chad Alligood)
Class 5A
+32.8 - Forest Park (Rex Robertson)
+29.4 - Creekside (Maurice Dixon)
+20.5 - Woodward Academy (John Hunt)
+17.4 - Northside-Columbus (Andrew Oropeza)
+15.0 - Cartersville (Conor Foster)
Class 4A
+32.7 - Dougherty (Johnny Gilbert)
+24.7 - Spalding (Carl Kearney)
+22.9 - Chestatee (Shaun Conley)
+17.2 - Perry (Kevin Smith)
+15.5 - Pickens (Grant Myers)
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Class 3A
+21.8 - Salem (Jarrett Laws)
+19.4 - Coahulla Creek (Danny Wilson)
+16.7 - Sonoraville (Denver Pate)
+15.7 - Stephens County (Wesley Tankersley)
+14.7 - Ringgold (Robert Akins)
Class 2A
+23.6 - Columbia (Greg Barnett)
+18.0 - Laney (Ronnie Baker)
+12.9 - East Laurens (Bin Turner)
+11.6 - Dade County (Jeff Poston)
+11.4 - Dodge County (Ray Hardin)
Class A Private
+17.8 - King's Ridge Christian (Terry Crowder)
+14.0 - Whitefield Academy (Coleman Joiner)
+12.5 - Calvary Day (Mark Stroud)
+11.8 - Savannah Country Day (John Mohring)
+11.4 - Trinity Christian (Kenny Dallas)
Class A Public
+29.3 - Greene County (Larry Milligan)
+24.7 - Schley County (Darren Alford)
+22.8 - Armuchee (Jeremy Green)
+20.9 - Trion (Sean Patrick)
+19.0 - Greenville (Tyler Wynn)
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Today’s interviewee is Milton coach Adam Clack, whose team defeated USA Today’s No. 12 team, St. Joseph’s Prep, 28-21 on Saturday in Philadelphia. St. Joseph’s had won 18 consecutive games and is the three-time defending champion of Pennsylvania’s highest classification.
Adam Clack, Milton head coach
1. How did the game play out? What did Milton do that allowed you to win? “We knew we were going to be in for a battle against a very talented and well-coached team. SJP runs very comprehensive schemes on both offense and defense, and they are sound on special teams. We had very little film on them and a short week of practice due to weather and travel, so we wanted to make sure we didn’t get away from our identity so the boys could play fast and confident and rely on our ability to make in-game adjustments as the game settled in. The game was back and forth early on, but we seized momentum late in the second quarter with our second touchdown just before half and scored again in our first possession of the second half to make it 21-7. They reclaimed a little momentum by forcing us to punt on the next two possessions before cutting our lead to 21-14. Our offense answered with a fantastic fourth-quarter drive to put us back up by two scores. The drive consisted of 17 plays and four third-down conversions, the biggest coming on a third-and-15 when Devin Farrell scrambled out of the pocket and found Adam Freas up the sideline for a 16-yard gain. The drive ate up over nine minutes. It was capped off by Jordan McDonald’s second rushing touchdown of the game. SJP answered with another touchdown but failed to execute their onside kick when Brooks Bortle made a terrific snag on the recovery.”
2. What was the objective of the trip to Philadelphia, and what were some of the non-football things that the team did? [Milton played in Southern California in 2019.] “We schedule trips like this more for the greater experience and team building. The boys spent nearly 72 hours together. During this time they experienced so many things that will not just help them bond as a team this year but will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Simple things like being on a long bus ride and staying in a hotel together, seeing historic landmarks like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the Rocky Steps, eating an authentic Philly Cheese Steak and playing video games together at Dave & Buster’s. And of course competing against a national powerhouse program all work together to create an experience that will be invaluable for the young men as we move forward this year.”
3. What did this victory mean for Milton and for football in the state? And for Milton particularly, did it restore confidence after a tough loss to North Cobb, or was confidence even an issue? “I have a ton of respect and pride for the current state of Georgia football. The talent and coaching in this state are second to none. Period. Anytime we get a chance to represent our state on a national stage, it’s a big deal. I am so grateful that our boys, staff, administration and community all pulled together to make this trip possible. We were equipped with the resources to support the team in a way that allowed us to enjoy a first-class experience and compete at a very high level.
“The non-region schedule is all about preparing your team for region play and the state tournament. In week two, we did not respond well to early adversity, so we went back to work to correct those flaws and improve our game. I was excited to see how the team would respond to so many variables, and we faced similar adversity early in this past game as we did a couple of weeks ago. I was very pleased to see a much different response this time. Seeing growth from one week to the next is encouraging, and we will use those lessons to help us continue to build towards our ultimate goal.”
4. What did you observe that you found interesting or unexpected about your opponent, the atmosphere surrounding the game, Pennsylvania football, etc.? “Good football is good football. Doesn’t matter what part of the country you are in. The biggest thing that we had to prepare for was a different atmosphere. St. Joe’s doesn’t have a home stadium, and this was a noon kickoff on a Saturday. To say that is a little different than a Friday night in Milton would be an understatement. With that said, the boys, coaches and fans – we had a great crowd – provided more than enough energy and excitement to marginalize the stale atmosphere to make it a non-factor.”
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Note: All scores are courtesy of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other media outlets. If a score is not accurate, it was reported incorrectly.
All games are on Fridays unless noted. All game schedules are subject to change.
Stadium key: A - Adams; AV - Avondale; C - Callaway; CM - Columbus Memorial; FF - Freedom Field; GL - Glynn County; HM - Henderson-Macon; K - Kinnett; M - Mills; ND - North DeKalb; SC - Southern Crescent; SH - Sharp; SM - Savannah Memorial; T - Tara; TO - Twelve Oaks
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Let’s build your financial game plan
At Thrivent, we believe everyone deserves a financial plan. But money can seem complicated and life gets busy, especially during football season. I know this first-hand, as a financial advisor who is also blessed to coach high school football in this state. Whether it’s investment guidance, budgeting, life insurance, debt management or retirement planning, I can help. Please reach out with any questions or needs. Have a great season! Contact Andrew Frerking by phone at 404-772-0909, via email by clicking here, or on the web at www.thrivent.com
Greater Georgia Basketball Officials enrolling new members
Greater Georgia Basketball Officials, one of the leading GHSA officials organizations, assigns officials to more than 25 high schools in the state. Our group is comprised of dedicated and professional men and women looking to give back to the game of basketball. If you are interested in joining Greater Georgia (GGBO), please contact Mike Oglesby via email by clicking here or by mail at Greater Georgia Basketball Officials, 3770 Cliff Crest Drive, S.E., Smyrna, GA 30080.
New sports fiction book geared toward teen athlete readers
Mike Tierney, a former longtime sports editor and writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has drawn from his experiences as a basketball coach in the Decatur school system to write the sports teen fiction book "Perfect To A Fault" about a high school player who goes through an entire season without missing a shot. Mike now coaches at Notre Dame High in the Los Angeles area, where he briefly worked with Ziaire Williams, the No. 10 pick in the NBA draft. Order the book by clicking here.
'Nobles Strong' out in paperback
Jon Nelson followed the story of the Irwin County Indians' 2019 season for GPB Sports and the chronicling of the eventual Single-A Champs is now in book form. Head Coach Buddy Nobles was given a cancer diagnosis before the season started. An entire community - on the field and off - united with the Nobles family and the Indians for a season no one touched by the story would ever forget. Order the book by clicking here.
Temple looking for game on Oct. 1
Temple High School of Class 2A is looking for a game on Oct. 1. Will travel (split the gate) or play at home (split the gate). If interested, contact coach Scotty Ward via email by clicking here.
Ware County seeks home game for Oct. 1
Ware County High School is looking for a home game on Oct. 1. If interested, contact head coach Jason Strickland via email by clicking here on athletic director Matt Collins by clicking here.
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GHSF Daily classified ads
Reach 23,000 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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