South Panola (Batesville, Miss.), ranked No. 4 nationally by MaxPreps, and Crenshaw (Los Angeles, Calif.), which features perhaps the nation's No. 1 running back, are coming to Georgia to take on some of the state's best football programs in 2010.
With the start of Georgia’s football season is less than two months away, here is a look at 10 of the most intriguing games of the coming season:
Aug. 27 – Tucker (Ga.) vs. Southwest DeKalb (Decatur, Ga.) – It’s a good rivalry in Georgia’s most fertile ground for college prospects, DeKalb County, and it’s the opening game for both. Tucker has a couple of early commits in linebacker James Vaughters (Stanford) and defensive back Chris Sanders (Georgia). Southwest DeKalb has one also in linebacker Terrance Smith (Florida State).
Aug. 28: South Panola at Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.) – South Panola, Mississippi's Class 6A champion, has won 103 of its past 105 games and is ranked No. 4 in MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 preseason rankings. At Colquitt, former Hoover coach Rush Propst delivered the Packers to Georgia’s Class AAAAA semifinals in his second season and returns key personnel for 2010, including blue-chip lineman Xzavier Ward.
Sept. 3: Buford (Ga.) at Carver (Columbus, Ga.) – Georgia might claim it has the best pair of small-school programs (fewer than 1,000 students) of any state. These two schools are playing AA this season. Buford has won seven state titles in the past decade and sent dozens of players to college football. Carver, the 2007 Class AAA champion that is dropping to AA, is led by Isaiah Crowell, perhaps the South’s best running back.
Sept. 3: Crenshaw at North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) – This will be the first time a Georgia team has played a California team, and North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire pulled in one of the West Coast's best. Crenshaw, of Los Angeles, was 14-1 last season, its only loss in a state championship game to De La Salle. De'Anthony Thomas is considered by some the No. 1 running back prospect in the country. He is committed to Southern California. North Gwinnett’s C.J. Uzomah is potentially Georgia’s top quarterback. North Gwinnett was 12-1 last season and lost in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals to eventual champion Camden County.
Sept. 24: Westside (Macon, Ga.) vs. Peach County (Fort Valley, Ga.) – Several prominent programs dropped down in classification for 2010, and Westside (23-3 in Class AAAA the past two seasons) is among them (Carver of Columbus, Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.), Northside (Warner Robins, Ga.) and Charlton County (Folkston, Ga.) are others). Westside will take on the AAA champions, Peach County in a Region 2-AAA game.
Oct. 1: Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.) at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) – Camden County, Georgia’s two-time defending AAAAA champion, takes on a Florida powerhouse. St. Thomas Aquinas has won five Florida state titles and was MaxPreps’ national champion in 2008. Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin is among several big-time college players that Aquinas has produced. Camden returns only three starters but suffered similar losses for 2009 and repeated as champion.
Briar Van Brunt, Northside
Photo by Stan Prophitt
– This will be the 53rd meeting in perhaps
Georgia’s most storied rivalry. Northside returns quarterback
Briar Van Brunt and leading rusher
Shaquille O'Neill from its AAAAA runner-up team.
Warner Robins was the best team that failed to make the state playoffs in 2009. Each is playing in AAAA this year and figures to be a top 10 team.
Oct. 8: Charlton County at Wilcox County (Rochelle, Ga.) – Two elite quarterbacks will dual in this one. Charlton’s Chris Milton passed for 2,664 yards and rushed for 1,159 last season. Wilcox’s Nick Marshall, who has committed to Georgia, threw for 2,956 yards for a state championship team. Charlton is dropping down in classification after averaging over 12 wins for a decade, so these probably will start the season ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in A.
Oct. 8: Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) at Valdosta (Ga.) – Most would call this Georgia’s top rivalry. Valdosta, Georgia’s most famous football program, has a new coach in Rance Gillespie, who led Peach County to a pair of state titles and was offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern. Headed by tight end Jay Rome, Valdosta has its best talent since its state runner-up finish in 2003. Crosstown rival Lowndes is still Lowndes, just an old-school program with four state titles in the highest class since 1999.
Oct. 29: Stephenson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) at Newnan (Ga.) – Reclassification has put these state contenders – which are 55 miles apart – in the same region for the first time. Stephenson, 10-1 last season, is the Stone Mountain school that sent a state-record 29 players into college football from its 2009 team. Newnan is 37-4 over the past four seasons. These are two of Georgia’s most prominent programs without state titles.
