Monday Morning QB (Thursday edition): A notable high school weekend; Mercer’s rolling; about those college rankings; Loughdmouthings: rumors, research in the booth, Falcons, Tech-UGA
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
An interesting high school playoff weekend
So close. Central Georgia was so close to having a huge thankful Friday.
Jones County turned in one of its best performances – and it’s had plenty of superb Friday nights the last decade or so – in a long time against Marist, which needed to bow up on defense late to win.
A burly game indeed for the Greyhounds, who may have had a little better year than expected going into the game, but goodness, the icing the upset would’ve been.
Upson-Lee is one of the more squirrelly teams in the area, and make most games pretty worthwhile as something of a roller-coaster ride. The Knights led North Hall, a very beatable team, until late.
Rockmart was quite beatable, too, and Westside was on the verge of a fairly legitimate upset – on paper – but couldn’t get that last big play.
And Bleckley County on a chilly night had Fitzgerald sweating profusely, leading most of the night as the standard-bearer for low seeds being taken seriously. The Royals were only one of two first-round lower seeds to win, No. 19 Elbert County continuing on with wins over No. 14 and No. 3.
Just when one points out the need for defense to go with the shootout, Houston County’s defense defends, humbling Lakeside-Evans to its lowest point total of the year, by nine points.
The stage might’ve been bit bright and big for Dodge County at Worth County, which is nowhere near 40 points better.
* Oct. 28 MMQB: Georgia-Florida week? Really?; CFP sermon; area HS stat stuff; Loughdmouthings: Good games, Falcons, hotseats, HS players, new coaches/old coaches …
* Oct. 21 MMQB: A really good - not epic - win in Austin, with silliness; weekly CFB playoff sermon; Loughdmouthings: Dumb Ho orn (this week) fans, really good HS 🏈slate, Falcons are fine, but …
* Oct. 14, MMQB: Monday Morning QB: Which Nation is the most absurd this week?; HS stat stuff, playoffs sermon; Loughdmouthings galore: stats, QB shoving, tackling, Falcons,and Jerry’s happy-for-us birthday
* Oct. 7 MMQB: Saturday like most others (really); the new Falcons? They still need O; Loughdmouthings galore (the wit, the wisdom, the sarcasm …)
* Oct. 1, MMQB: Missing the point - and tackles - on UGA-Bama; Falcons getting there, but about the O …; Loughdmouthings galore (the wit, the wisdom, the sarcasm …)
* Sept 23, MMQB: Two good weeks of football for Atlanta?; Loughdmouthings galore (the wit, the wisdom, the sarcasm)
* Sept 16: MMQB: Another black-n-blue battle in Lexington; Loughdmouthings: Falcons, silly second-guessing (UGA, county records
* Sept. 9: MMQB: Suddenly, we saw Ridder and Smith in Falcons black again; notable numbers, on campus, and Loughdmouthings galore
* Sept.8 Column-Not just yet, but brace yourself to think good thoughts about the Falcons in 2024
* Sept. 2: MMQB: Notes, reviews, Loughdmouthings
* Aug. 28: MMQB: What we know and what we’re not sure about; Loughdmouthings galore
* Aug. 16: Sit down, get comfy, and let’s just babble high school football for a bit
Baldwin was in it with Peach County, and then not, and in a big way, leading to a fairly sour ending to a good season. The Trojans? Goodness.
And now Calhoun comes to the Valley. If the Peach County side isn’t full, there’s some shame to be had.
Didn’t see Brentwood rolling over Southwest Georgia like that in the GIAA Class AA final, and pretty sure few people in Sandersville did, either. A win is no shock – it’s the championship game, so, ya know, qualified teams – but to be in that control for so long is impressive.
Didn’t see FPD-Bulloch being that low scoring. I could’ve seen FPD being able to increase the tempo and put some pressure on Bulloch, but the Gator defense pretty much took care of that, nudging the Vikings to some uncharacteristic mistakes.
Mercer on a roll
Rocking and rolling is Mercer, a legitimate top-10 team that just takes care of business and can make a better run than some might expect.
The Bears – who dominated Southern Conference awards - aren’t necessarily elite in any area, but they’re good to very good in about everything, and they have a little depth, which increases with the bye week.
And more folks should be seeing it.
Oddly, there were more people on hand last Saturday than for homecoming, though still only occupying about 60 percent of the seats, a number lowered had the opponent not been Furman, which brought an impressive crowd, and if it wasn’t Senior Day and a big recruiting visit afternoon.
No, of course, it was nowhere near the 8,4xx listed, but it was decent.
The next game? Five Star should legitimately be 75 percent full. Early weather look shows in the 60s at a 2 p.m. kickoff, and this is a team that can make a legit run to the semifinals.
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Yes, the SEC championship starts a little after four, but there’s not a huge overlap in fan bases, and shoot, missing the first quarter and a half and supporting local – folks do talk a lot about supporting local – is no big deal.
It’s the second half that matters, and you can be home before halftime of the SEC game, which isn’t really all that sexy this year, let’s be honest.
Weekly playoff sermon
Dear God, make people smart and less paranoid and bellyaching and uninformed.
Speaking of college football and the rankings and waiting until games are played and well, uh, yeah, never mind.
From here recently: “For that specific week, yeah, Georgia was fine at No. 12, which with the formula left it out of the playoff.
“News flash: THERE ARE BIG GAMES LEFT TO BE PLAYED, SO PEOPLE, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF …
“Sorry. *Deep breath*.”
And it still goes. Why do people like knee-jerking and whining and hyperbolizing for no real reason so friggin’ much? Take a breath, get a grip, ponder for a few minutes and move on.
The reality is that we’re amid the first real session of parity, and it’s more from inevitability – which I thought would happen 15 years or so ago – than the portal and NIL, though the portal is of much bigger impact than the NIL.
Oregon and Ohio State are a clear 1-2. After that, it’s pretty open. Somebody has to be ranked somewhere, and I remain undazzled by Texas, and those who follow.
Not everybody who will make the playoff is a candidate to win it all, but there are about eight I can see as a possible trophy holder: The aforementioned three, plus Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Tennessee, and, hmmm.
CENTRAL GEORGIA’S BEST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE
Last week
* GIAA AAAA final: Bulloch 14, FPD 10
*GIAA AA final: Brentwood 28, Southwest Georgia 6
* Roundup: Houston County, Peach County, Dublin roll; heartbreaking near misses for Jones County, Westside, Bleckley County; Woodford leads Northeast
* GIAA AAAA finals preview, FPD-Bulloch
* GIAA AA finals preview, Brentwood-Southwest Georgia
* Scouting Reports/predictions, GHSA
* Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA games
* Maxwell Predictions
* Who’s going to win this week’s games, Thursday
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Watch big Willie’s run; a Friday night of some surprises; go watch Mercer; Loughdmouthings: Watch a HS game; ranking whines, flubbin’ Falcons …
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week
* GHSA, GIAA playoff schedule
Two weeks ago
* Roundup: FPD, Brentwood head to GIAA title games; big nights for Houston County, Jones County; Bleckley County surprises, Jasper County ends drought, Baldwin survives penalties
* Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Predictions
* Who’s going to win this week’s games
* Central Georgia state composite rankings
* Central Georgia rankings
* Monday Morning QB: Kennesaw State colossal screw up; CFP sermon; Loughdmouthings-UGA’s slump, Beck’s slump, Tech’s Canes pain, ripping a backup? …
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week
* GHSA playoffs are set: Who’s at home? What Central Georgia teams play each other? Who’s seeded where?
Three weeks ago
* Roundup: FPD lone Macon GIAA survivor, road heartbreakers for Tattnall, Stratford; Milestone win for Gatewood’s Ratliff; Southwest stays in playoff hunt; Jasper County, Brentwood roll
* Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games, coming Friday
* Maxwell Predictions
* Who’s going to win this week’s games
* Central Georgia state composite rankings
* Tuesday’s Roundup
* Central Georgia rankings
* Monday Morning Quarterback Safe to hop on Falcons bandwagon; CFP sermon; Westside's Iverson & Northeast's Woodford; Northside news; Loughdmouthings-Cowboys/TV tiff, GHSA playoffs ...
* GIAA playoffs are set, GHSA picture much clearer but still has some fuzzy going on
* The schedule
Four weeks ago
* Roundup, Warner Robins wins thriller; Upson-Lee dumps No. 5; Dublin finishes perfect regular season; Spoon Risper gets milestone win; Washington County edges ACE
* Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Predictions
* Who’s going to win this week’s games
* Central Georgia rankings
* The GHSA and GIAA football playoffs are here, and almost here. Breaking things down, it's complicated
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Georgia-Florida week? Really?; CFP sermon; area HS stat stuff; Loughdmouthings: Good games, Falcons, hotseats, HS players, new coaches/old coaches …
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week
Sorry, Miami. And Penn State is right behind you.
People like SMU, and I’m not writing off Clemson, although South Carolina – where’d the Gamecocks come from? – could easily change that.
This week, here we go again, with the potential for things to be clustered all over again.
Say Georgia Tech beats Georgia and Texas A&M beats Texas. Georgia drops, and has to beat A&M, especially if Tennessee, SMU, Boise State, and Clemson win, and if any of those teams wins big.
Or Georgia beats Tech but loses to A&M, and others win.
It’s dizzying, and not worth the time because it’s a never-ending babble. It’s, yes, severely entertaining, and game after game matters, but enough with the noise pollution until something actually happens.
Loughdmouthings
Man, some of the rumors that float around the Cnetral Georgia coaching carousel scene get to be hysterical.
Tattnall’s John Abernathy – attached to one of ‘em – said last week that he had heard that he was fired at the beginning of the week and escorted off campus.
Amazed people find their way to the store and don’t fall down a lot more. …
Dear people at microphones for high school games: There’s a thing called “The Internet” that has all sorts of information, stuff that makes one smarter, not dumber.
Instead of almost being in stalking love with the sound of your voice or buddy’s voice or how y’all look and what level of hyperbolizing puckering up you can achieve, consider knowledge.
Get the other team’s record. Roster. Maybe some stats for those who like their kids getting some attention and posting stats for the world.
And research stuff. For example, viewers were told several times Saturday that Bulloch won its first state championship ever when it edged FPD.
Well, it was the Gators’ first state title since 1997, which was their first since 1982-83, which was the first since 1978.
It was in the papers, and on several websites even. Long before the game.
Info sat right there on the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, an easy-to-navigate – and free – website with loads of info. Granted, some organizations make their websites – and thus accessing simple information – very difficult, but not the GHSFHA. But still …
A reminder: AMERICA HAS A CRAPPY-TACKLING EPIDEMIC. All levels. It’s worth about two touchdowns a game, made or saved. …
Falcons fans better hope that before chowing down on turkey that Raheem Morris chewed some bird butt in practice the last week. He’s a little to template and calm after games when displaying pissed off would be better.
Atlanta needs to play with more urgency and aggressiveness, and pull people who aren’t playing with urgency and smart aggressiveness.
The Falcons need Kirk Cousins to be a little more physical and mobile, and the defense has to play like it’s hyped up to be.
And, yeah, the game plans and adjustments need to improve. …
Yes, Georgia Tech can beat Georgia.
The Bulldogs have been inconsistent on defense, and have had uncharacteristically mediocre tackling days. And if starting quarterback Haynes King can throw at all – and Tech might be wise to hold that secret for awhile – the Jackets are a legit threat.
Few teams have been able to keep Georgia’s defense on the field for prolonged periods, and Tech might be able to do that with proper usage of multiple quarterbacks.
Note, though, that the teams are pretty even in time of possession.
It’s the typical scenario: the longer the underdog stays in the game, the longer it’s a tight game. …
Reminder: Players gotta play. Nobody coaches false starts or offsides, or missed reads, or lazy routes, or passes at feet. …
From David Hale of ESPN.com on the openings to coach Owls: “Rice, Florida Atlantic, Kennesaw State and Temple are all looking for new head coaches, meaning all four programs with Owl nicknames fired their guys in the past month.
FAU beat Temple in Week 12 in a game so bad, both teams fired their head coaches afterward.”