Last week’s good surprises

          Veterans gave top-ranked Carrollton a boatload of trouble in the 5A battle, the Warhawks unable to muster enough offense to rally in the second half.

          Carrollton had a field goal blocked, and missed one early, but pulled off a big-play touchdown early in the second half for an 11-point lead.

          The Trojans defense made it stand, letting the Warhawks get some yards in the middle of the field but keep them out of the end zone, save for a fourth-quarter Lebron Fields’ touchdown.

          Of the eight games involving the No. 1 teams in the AJC poll on Friday, excluding the big loss by AA Rockmart, the Carrollton-Veterans game was the tightest, Veterans the only loser to keep the winner below 35 points.

          Carrollton, though, was no doubt in a little bit of a haze, with services that Friday and a day later for linebacker Chase McDaniel, who had on Nov. 17 after a six-month battle with cancer, the last two months in ICU at Egleston. …

          Peach County was certainly the favorite over Calhoun, especially at home. That would’ve been the case on the road, and at a neutral site.

          But again, unless you predicted a running clock in writing, hush.

          As noted in last week’s roundup here: It was the worst postseason loss since a 28-0 defeat to Wesleyan in the 2003 AA playoffs, topped by losing 48-6 to old R.E. Lee in 1991.

            And it’s the kind of performance that a No. 1 team and state favorite plays. Yes, that was a bit of a question in a season of starters sitting most of the second half.

 

Last week’s not-so-good surprises

          Hebron Christian was favored, so beating Mount de Sales wasn’t necessarily a shock.

          The Cavs not being in the game? That was a shock.

          The Lions came 75 seconds from a shutout, which is impressive on any Friday night, but moreso in the playoffs, on the road, against an undefeated team.

          And the six points was a season low allowed by the Lions, and the Cavs’ lowest total since falling 26-3 to Darlington in the 2017 first round. …

          Mary Persons packed all sorts of things into many games this season, none more than the 38-14 loss to fourth-seed Madison County.

          If there was momentum to be had, the Bulldogs seemed to find a way to lose it, in all three phases. Everything they did and survived in earlier games? Not this time.

          And Madison County’s dream postseason – its first two playoff wins in program history – continue. The wakeup comes against Sandy Creek. …

          Oconee County was ranked and Perry wasn’t, but the teams were among the more evenly matched last week.

          But the Panthers just couldn’t get the sharpness down early enough – they were picked off twice early, one in the end zone and one for a touchdown - and ended up with their second-worst loss of the season.

          And probably not to their second-best opponent. Nevertheless, a building block is a building block.

 

And about normal

          West Laurens continues to just play all three phases of the game at a quality level. The Raiders aren’t playing like a team that hasn’t been this far since 2014 and has never been to a semifinal. …

          Up the road, Dublin was gonna Dublin, and the Irish had a little less yardage than usual and the average number of points. Getting some field goals is big. But the passing game is still just barely there, something to watch this week. …

          Baldwin, Baldwin, Baldwin.

          The Braves were there, right there, with Blessed Trinity, in spite of itself. And then less than two minutes later, the Braves were done.

          From 9-3 at halftime to 29-3 before anybody’d worked up a third-quarter sweat. And then the fundamentals and discipline slid, Baldwin unable to manage a score in falling 36-3.

          Blessed Trinity’s dandy run game did go for 341 yards on 43 carries, but the Braves were done in by those early third-quarter mistakes.

          Baldwin was an underdog of three-plus touchdowns, but pretty much coughed up that difference. …

          Houston County, Warner Robins, and Jones County still need to clean some things up – like points after touchdowns in particular for the Demons.

          Sure, some issues come from the opponents, but the Greyhounds and Demons are probably a little better than what Friday showed.

          Houston County has survived, and can give second-ranked Harrison some issues if the Bears are patient and efficient. On the other hand, the Hoyas aren’t too likely to overlook a four seed that has won two road playoff games by double figures. …

          Nothing to see here – so to speak – with John Milledge, Brentwood, and Gatewood in GISA action.

          There’ll be plenty to see, though, when Gate and Brent bring the wood to Sandersville in a AA semifinal.

          Gatewood is the defending state champ, and Brentwood is having one of the best seasons in program history.

 

Loughdmouthings

          Here’s hoping for some quiet on the coaching front, after area changes in a short period of time at Northside on the high school level and Fort Valley State and Mercer on the college side.

          The world of speculation remains spinning on Kevin Kinsler’s resignation at Northside, and certainly on the successor.

          The surprise here in the decision was that I never expected that Kinsler’s last game would be a loss to Houston County to end a year that included the biggest loss to Warner Robins.

          Conversely, losing a key player to a move in the middle of the summer and finally going through a down cycle in talent – and maybe, in reality, some work ethic – that hits everybody leads to the Eagles in 2019.

          Remember: Warner Robins went 3-8 only a few years ago. …

          Stat stuff: Jones County’s Hunter Costlow is 296 passing yards from 3,000 for the year, Warner Robins’ Jalen Addie, 119 from 2,000

          West Laurens’ Daniel Dorsey is 158 from 1,000 rushing, Peach County’s Noah Whittington 176 yards away.

          And don’t look now, but it’s West Laurens’ Brent Carr who is fourth in the state with 1,275 receiving yards (Central Gwinnett’s Daejon Reynolds leads with 1,534, and his season is done). Houston County’s Isaia Harris is 95 yards from 1,000, Jones County’s Maleek Wooten 168 yards from the magic mark.

          All is according to information provided by teams/schools to MaxPreps, so it’s not 100 percent complete by any stretch. Still …

          Other statewide coaching openings include Central Gwinnett, Social Circle, Alpharetta,

          From the Consolation Dept.: As bummed as Washington County was to get handled by Brooks County in the first round, top-ranked Rockmart took a much worse beating, 41-3 at home to Brooks County last week. …

          Of the eight teams in the news Region 2-3A starting next year, two (Peach County and Crisp County) are still alive, while Mary Persons, Americus-Sumter, and Jackson won their first-round games.

          The new Region 1-5A has two of five (Warner Robins and Coffee) still playing, with Veterans, Wayne County, and Ware County all winning their first-round games.

          Of course, three of the four in the new four-team 1-6A are still going: Houston County, Lee County, and Valdosta.