Monday Morning Quarterback: Northeast’s Woodford is No. 1 in the state, and legit (with video); surprises/upsets, Loughdmouthings (brackets, John Milledge, state QBs, Falcons, more)
It’s safe and honest and not deceiving or hazy to crown Northeast’s Nick Woodford as the regular-season rushing champ for the state of Georgia, all classes.
Boom. Which is also close to the “ooooof” sound made by those trying to tackle Wooford, especially if they are in the way or try to tackle up top.
There is no official award or anything, and, sadly and remarkably, the GHSA keeps no stats, so there is nothing official for the state of Georgia. Yessir, for all the bragging, that’s quite the headshaker.
Depending on the week and the media outlet, Woodford was and wasn’t the leader throughout the season. As reminded here regularly: stats and rankings for both MaxPreps and the Georgia High School Football Daily/Maxwell Ratings are unofficial and incomplete, because both are based on coach participation.
For weeks, the MaxPreps top 5 and the Daily’s top 5 were different, including atop each stat category. Why? Because there are coaches/teams who take the time – it really doesn’t take three hours, though you’d think … - to update MaxPreps stats for the world to see, and there are coaches who only take the two minutes to type in a name and stats and send an e-mail or text (And if your player isn’t listed in one or both, there’s one person to ask).
And many private schools don’t participate in the HS Football Daily’s efforts, so there are players – legit and not so legit – missing there, too. Both are full, but incomplete, so they must be taken with a bit of a grain of salt. Saying “top 5” or “top 10” is the safest bet.
Nevertheless, the Georgia High School Football Daily proclaimed Woodford as the state’s regular-season rushing champ, with 2,262 yards, topping South Atlanta’s Keyjuan Brown (2,218) and Johnson County’s Germivy Tucker (2,128).
Amazingly, and thankfully and stunningly, that’s the order that shows up on MaxPreps through 10 games. Amazingly, and thankfully and stunningly, with the same numbers (and that’s not always the case).
The HS FB Daily only does the state leaderboard throughout the regular season. Alas, as per the typing in of information, the MaxPreps list is different than reality because one school - *coughcough* - hasn’t updated through Wednesday noon the 335-yard performance of a player, who now sits at No. 4 so far, although he really isn’t.
Regular Ted Talk rant aside, Woodford is as for real as it gets. He must be related to old Dallas powerback Robert Newhouse, renown for burly ol’ thighs, like Earl Campbell, that made him brutal to bring down, thanks to power and balance.
His current total of 2,597 yards – unofficially, and according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association list (as official as it gets) – is the 16th-best single season mark in state history.
He has passed the likes of Jahmyr Gibbs (2,554), and J.D. King (2,434) and Dameon Pierce (2,123), and took the Bibb County lead from Westside’s Travis Evans – a very similarly dazzling back – and his 2,423 in 2004.
Woodford is 90 yards and 121 yards from passing Nick Chubb – who had 2,690 in 2013 and 2,721 in 2012 – and moving into 14th place.
He is tied for 14th – with Dublin’s JaQues Evans and former UGA standout Tyson Browning – with 39 rushing TDs, just behind Gibbs’ 40 and Chubb’s 41.
Woodford is a 5-9, 210-pounder, a sophomore, a 3.8 student, who can run away from people he hasn’t knocked over or run through or carried.
Unless some funky things happen, he won’t be playing again in town until the summer – since the fall sport starts absurdly in 97-degree heat – of 2023.
And if you don’t go to a Northeast game and get a look at him then, you are really, really missing out. The kid’s a joy to watch.
Last week’s upsets/surprises
The biggest upset came from Quitman, where 18-point underdog Bleckley County came up huge, especially on defense, and won by four.
The only other underdogs to win were Northeast (by two, won by 14), Dooly County (by seven, won by one, and Washington County (by four, won by six).
The surprise here was Wilkinson County holding on to beat Macon County, which was on a bit of a roll at the end of a funky season few really saw coming.
Glynn Academy gave Northside a much better tussle than expected (-32, lost by five).
Loughdmouthings
Bracket watching, GHSA version: We’re down to 12 teams from Central Georgia, with one pairing of area teams in Class A Division I, Bleckley County at Lamar County.
None are really a surprise, even with Bleckley County’s win at Brooks County a legit – moreso on paper – upset.
We could be looking at a championship-caliber quarterfinal with No. 2 North Oconee at No. 3 Perry if both teams win this week. A couple upsets on Friday, and we’ll have Wilkinson County at Dooly County in Class A/Division I quarters.
Buford’s move to 7A opens up the 6A championship, and A Public champ Brooks County is out, courtesy of Bleckley County. Class A Private champ Trinity Christian-Sharpsburg was knocked out in the 4A first round by Wayne County, Perry’s opponent.
Of the defending champs still alive, excluding 5A Warner Robins and AA Putnam County (vs. Fitzgerald Friday), the remaining Central Georgia teams won’t face one until the finals. …
An early congratulations to John Milledge and head coach JT Wall and his staff for breaking the state’s record for consecutive wins on Friday after its 31-point win over Heritage. …
It’s Tuesday in Georgia, a state where folks whine about a national championship quarterback in college and who don’t see any other NFL game or quarterback malfunction on any Sunday because they apparently watch no other games than the Falcons.
And the latter folks are so dizzy, they grumble about a team that’s already surpassed their “expectations”, and has a better record than 11 teams in the NFL – including the defending Super Bowl champs who won’t make the playoffs, not even close - and the same record as two more.
Some folks just wake up looking to whine and be loopy. …
It’s time for the NFL and college to change the rule on jet sweeps and turn them into runs: “Any ball exchange where the two players can touch each other goes as a run.”
Too many QBs get nifty yards for a “pass” that may go less than a foot. Yes, it’ll have to be a fumble instead of an incomplete pass if botched. …
FYI: Marcus Mariota has six pick-6s in his career, on 2,026 pass attempts. That’s .00296. Mr. Stafford? Has 20 – two this year, for nine since 2020 - on 7,110 attempts. That’s .00281. Pretty close.
What is around a quarterback matters. No game is over until the horn, no season is over until it’s over. And Atlanta’s season isn’t over, so this brow-furrowed hand-wringing about the team is astounding and absurd. …
Nobody loves the teevee people more than the teevee people.
The yahoos doing the UCF-Tulane game went goofy at the end of the third quarter, when there was a review situation that interrupted their schedule for commercials. About four times, their priority was having another unscheduled commercial break because of a replay deal and squawking about.
And can the morons near mics – on all levels, all days and nights – quit telling us that a penalty doesn’t matter, that a review doesn’t matter?
Tell that to the people on the field putting their bodies on the line and those who work with them that any single play is irrelevant. …
No, teevee people and clickbaiters, again, one game doesn’t mean anybody is back, or done. Tampa Bay beating Seattle in Germany doesn’t mean the Bucs are back. One game.
Remember when said people jumped all over Brian Kelly after LSU lost to Florida State. In his first game?
Well, they no doubt forgot. Memories are hazy after dingbat hot/cold takes.
Speaking of which, no, Tampa Bay and single man Tom Brady aren’t back, either. No, the Eagles aren’t going to collapse because of their first loss. No, Nick Saban isn’t doing a doddering Lou Holtz impersonation and contemplating retirement because he won’t make the playoffs.
Apparently, reality is a branch with thorns, because it hurts many to grip it.
Polls
Here are last week’s polls, after the end of the regular season. The next poll will come out after all Central Georgia teams are done, followed by the top 10 in Division I and the top 20 – maybe the top 25, we’ll see – in Division II.
Division 1 (6A-5A-4A-3A, 13 teams)
1. Perry
2. Warner Robins
3. Northside
4. Houston County
5. Peach County
Division II (AA-A-GISA, 34 teams)
1. John Milledge
2. Lamar County
3. Dublin
4. Bleckley County
5. Northeast
6. Putnam County
7. Dodge County
8. Tattnall
9. Stratford
10. Dooly County