Demontay Jones has gotten hot at just the right time. While his play throughout the year has obviously been good enough to lead his team to a 9-2 (6-0) record, he has really taken it to a whole new level in the past several weeks. This week, Jones put the team on his back, accounting for 264 yards and 5 TDs: 2 through the air and 3 on the ground.
Gahnon Byington, senior linebacker and fullback for the Valwood Valiants, had a career night as he led his defense to a comeback victory that launched them into the semifinals of the GISA AAA playoffs. Byington had two interceptions (one of which was one-handed due to a injured wrist) that stopped the Pinewood attack, flipped the momentum, electrified the crowd, and essentially saved the Valiant’s championship hopes.Bainbridge RB Dameon Pierce’s 17 carries, 128 yards, and 2 TDs, is just another milestone on his masterful list of wins and stats. His efforts have propelled his team through an undefeated regular season campaign, first round win, and likely several more in the coming weeks.
Seth Shuman probably isn’t fully satisfied with the entirety of his play on Friday, but one thing is for sure: he was great when his team most needed for him to be. Facing a 3 point deficit, 93 yards of field, and less than 3 minutes before the final horn blew, Shuman the Wildcats took to the field to piece together a miracle. Shuman orchestrated a drive that consisted of 8 completions for 88 of the 93 yards, three 4th and long conversions, and the TD pass to cap the drive and seal their first Round 1 win since 2010. This young man seems to will his team to win each and every week, and the Cats will need that and more this week against Grayson.
Despite having a difficult time track down more particulars on his evening, Demetrius Davis did record 3 TDs for Coffee against Warner Robins. Coffee’s run game has been and will continue to be an integral part of their success this year.
Round 1, as expected, produced no changes to our Top 5 Teams. Colquitt, Bainbridge, Fitzgerald, and Coffee all coasted against their low-seeded opponents, Clinch had the week off with the rest of single A. Round 2 isn’t projecting to be much different for any of these teams, however, it is playoff football, so anything could happen. As I am sure the coaches are preaching relentlessly in the locker rooms, you can’t look past any team at any point. It’s one-and-done from here on out, so taking any team lightly could be the final mistake of any of these teams’ 2015 seasons.But from our perspective, I don’t see it happening! The coaches are too good, the players are too determined, and the stage is too big. My prediction: Top 5 Teams remain unchanged next week.
* Our criteria is NOT creating hypothetical matchups amongst teams in an effort to crown a champion; that is settled on the field within each respective division, from A to AAAAAA. Since high school, unlike college, crowns multiple champions per year, our Top 5 is meant to highlight great teams who are excelling within their schedules, regardless of classification. It would be unreasonable and unfair to eliminate teams in lower classifications from our Top 5 simply because of that fact. We can only hold teams accountable to whether or not they are impressively performing against the teams that they are scheduled to play. In short, our criteria is based upon projecting performances and the likelihood of championships, regardless of classification.
