Georgia State Report
1. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.)
The Vikings dominated from start to finish in their 75-14 thrashing of Woodland on Friday night. Lowndes set a school record for most points scored in a game. The running game was balanced and the defense was stingy as usual. ESPNU 150 LB and Florida State recruit, Telvin Smith (6-4, 198), returned an interception for a touchdown and added a 33-yard touchdown reception on offense. Lowndes welcomes 2008 state runner-up Peachtree Ridge to Martin Stadium in a showdown for 5A supremacy.
2. Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Head Coach Mickey Conn's team enjoyed the bye week. The Rams opened the season with a 14-10 win over Camden County in the Corky Kell Classic at the Georgia Dome. Grayson returns to action Friday night in a home contest against Warner-Robins.
3. Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.)
The Wildcats were idle this weekend. Next up is an interstate match-up with First Coast of Jacksonville at Gilman Stadium.
4. North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.)
On Saturday night the North Gwinnett Bulldogs stunned three-time defending Alabama 6A state champion Prattville, 14-11, in the Progressive Football Challenge. The sellout crowd of close to 10,000 at Tom Robinson Memorial Field saw a defensive battle in a game that featured some impressive offensive weapons. The Bulldogs book end offensive tackles Juwan James (6-6, 305) and Austin Shepherd (6-5, 315), both Alabama commits, controlled the line of scrimmage for junior QB CJ Uzomah (6-5, 215) and the offense. Uzomah hooked up with senior TE Cody Gower for a pair of touchdown passes and provided the 'Dawgs with their only points. The defense did the rest in particular the DL as they sacked Prattville senior QB Sam Gibson, eight times on the night. In the secondary, senior CB Eric Wright (5-7, 145) was effective in run support and locked down the perimeter on the boundary side of the field. Wright's ability as a sure tackler in space gave North Gwinnett defensive coordinator Mo Dixon an added a luxury when mixing up his blitz packages and leaving his cornerbacks in man coverage. When asked about his team's performance, head coach Bill Sphire said, "You don't win this game with a pre-game speech or one week of preparation, this has been since January. We have building for this since January and we came out tonight and did it."
Florida State Report
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
It was over when the Raiders stepped on the field and overwhelmed Upper Arlington of Cincinnati, 52-7, on ESPN in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series presented by Burger King. Aquinas had a couple of question marks heading into the season on offense with the graduation losses of Ohio State signee WR Duron Carter, Connecticut signee WR Dwayne Difton, and QB Ryan Becker. The Raiders used a strong rushing attack paced by senior RB Giovanni Bernard's (5-9, 195) 112 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns. Junior QB Jake Rudock (6-2, 175) was an efficient 7 for 10 passing through the air and connected with ESPNU 150 WR/DB LaMarcus Joyner (5-8, 165) on a 31-yard touchdown strike. Rudock's performance and Joyner's big play ability helped ease some of the concerns for the Raiders. Their convincing win showed some pundits the "mythical" national champions are still the team to beat.
The rest of the Florida high schools kickoff official play this coming weekend.
ESPN RISE Georgia/Florida Performer of the Week
Calhoun (Ga.) senior WR and ESPNU 150 member Da'Rick Rogers (6-2, 205) racked up 204 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns in a 31-28 win over rival Dalton. Rogers hauled in a 67-yard touchdown reception early in the first quarter to give the Yellow Jackets the lead and added a 97-yard kickoff return for a score.
