Questions. Always questions.
No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian lost to an out-of-state opponent, but should the Spartans slide in the polls? No. 2 Cedar Grove cruised to an easy victory against Columbia, but should the defending champions move to No. 1? No. 3 Peach County slammed Perry with 40 unanswered points, but should the Trojans move back into the No. 1 spot?
Any of the teams could be considered the best in Class AAA as we head toward Week 5.
-- For the second consecutive season, GAC lost to Colorado's Valor Christian, this time, 28-22. Joe Davis gave the Eagles a 28-19 lead on a 52-yard touchdown reception with 7:25 remaining. With 51.4 seconds left in the game, GAC's Sean Henderson made the final of his three field goals, but the ensuing onside kick was knocked out of bounds.
GAC coach Tim Hardy, however, did not bemoan the loss. He thinks it will help his team down the line.
“How good is it to play good people?” Hardy told Adam Krohn, who covered the game for the AJC. “You can go play county whoever and win 57-2 and not learn anything about yourself. These are the games we need to play.”
-- No. 3 Cedar Grove shut out Columbia 33-0 to move to 3-0. The Saints head into region play next week against Lovett. Xavier Dennis passed for two touchdowns, to Jadon Haselwood and Trevon Richardson, and rushed for one. Haselwood also returned a punt for a score. Darrell Neal scored the other rushing touchdown.
-- Moving a bit south, No. 2 Peach County got back on track after falling to Class AAAAA Warner Robins 38-35 last week. The Trojans took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter before Perry tied the game. Then Peach scored 40 unanswered points to move to 2-1.
“It felt good,” Peach’s Kearis Jackson, a UGA commitment, told the Macon Telegraph. “Losing by a field goal, most of it was mental mistakes last game. So I think we did better this game.”
The key for the Trojans was to convert turnovers into points.
“I stressed that,” Peach coach Chad Campbell told the Telegraph. “We hadn’t had a turnover this year. We hadn’t caused a turnover this year, and that was one of our main focuses of getting the ball and letting the offense do something with it.”
Peach County plays Mary Persons on Friday .
-- And a bit farther south, No. 7 Jenkins defeated Liberty County 43-41 Thursday night, avenging a 32-21 loss last season. Quarterback Javonte Middleton was 13-of-26 passing for 276 yards and three touchdowns. Treshawn Douse had five catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Tyrone Scott had three catches for 88 yards and a score. Ameen Stevens rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Fred Stringer anchored the defense with eight tackles, one forced fumble and one interception. Aaron Mike had four tackles for loss; Daniel Jordan made seven tackles with a forced fumble, and Taurus Simmons had four tackles and two sacks.
The Warriors face Johnson-Savannah next week in the region opener.
Here's how the rest of the Top-10 fared:
-- No. 4 Crisp County (3-0) rested this week and faces Rutland next week.
-- No. 5 Dawson County (2-0) rested this week and faces West Hall next week.
-- No. 6 Calhoun (2-1) rested this week and faces Coahulla Creek next week.
-- No. 8 Bremen (3-0) defeated Trion 35-14 and will face Murray County next week.
-- No. 9 Sonoraville (2-1) lost to Dalton 41-21 and will face Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe next week.
-- No. 10 Lovett (1-2) rested this week and will face No. 3 Cedar Grove in region play next week.
