AAAAA Championship (Sat. 7:30pm @ McEachern) [TV: GPB]

VS.

Roswell

McEachern (5-AAAAA)Won 20-14, (OT)
Lassiter (6A-AAAAA)Won 21-14
Kell (6A-AAAAA)Won 31-13
Walton (6A-AAAAA)Won 21-7
Wheeler (6A-AAAAA)Lost 3-14
Chattahoochee (6B-AAAAA)*Won 24-10
Alpharetta (6B-AAAAA)*Won 23-0
Milton (6B-AAAAA)*Won 20-14
Northview (6B-AAAAA)*Won 14-0
Centennial (6B-AAAAA)*Won 27-17
Collins Hill (7-AAAAA)Won 31-28
Brookwood (8-AAAAA)Won 10-9
Houston County (1-AAAAA)Won 42-21
Tift County (1-AAAAA)Won 24-10
Peachtree Ridge (7-AAAAA)McEachern HS

Roswell has made it to the state championshio without looking like a state contender for most of the year. The record is quite impressive but they have not dominated any team and lost by double digits to Wheeler who was eliminated in the first round. There is not one major college prospect on the team and they don't do anything flashy. They just do everything very solid. The best performance of the year was saved for the dome last week and no it wasn't the devil walk. It was the Hornet offense who ran the ball for consistent yardage and used play-action waggles to complete medium yardage pass plays. The defense practically did not give up a Touchdown against a high-powered Tift offense, and Special teams were flawless outside of one Kickoff coverage. Roswell reached #1 in the state early in the year, but after its loss to Wheeler vanished from the experts eyes. They might have squeaked by two of their playoff opponents but bulldozed the two Region 1 teams they played. They haven't done anything pretty, but in high school style points don't matter.

Peachtree Ridge

Shiloh (8-AAAAA)Won 28-0
Grayson (8-AAAAA)Won 9-0
Collins Hill (7-AAAAA)*Lost 3-7

South Forsyth (7-AAAAA)*Won 28-0

Norcross (7-AAAAA)*Lost 3-6
Forsyth Central (7-AAAAA)*Won 27-20
North Gwinnett (7-AAAAA)*Lost 20-38
Mill Creek (7-AAAAA)*Won 21-13
North Forsyth (7-AAAAA)*Won 63-0
Duluth (7-AAAAA)*Won 31-0
Wheeler (6A-AAAAA)Won 17-3
Campbell (5-AAAAA)Won 16-14
Stephenson (2-AAAAA)Won 12-9
Warner Robins (1-AAAAA)Won 13-7
Roswell (6B-AAAAA)McEachern HS

I once thought that Peachtree Ridge was by far and away the biggest surprise in the state, no matter what classification. But after seeing this team in person, and the players on the roster, it might be more accurate to say that this team just underachieved in the regular season. They finished 4th in Region 7 losing to 2 top-10 teams (N. Gwinett and Norcross) and Collins Hill who was knocked out in the 1st round losing to... Roswell. Not a win over a good team all season until they peaked at the best possible time. National prospect Cameron Heyward, son of the late "Ironhead", has gotten all the attention and is a cog in the middle of the defense. But what has made this team good are the skill players on the outside. QB Zach Graham is the most exciting player competeing in any state championship game this weekend. He is about 6'5 190 and passes better than he runs, but is quite adequate when he decides to tuck it. He has been offered by the likes of Arkansas, Boston College, and South Carolina. A lot of schools would like his service for football, but recently he decided to sign with Ole Miss to play Small Forward. Graham makes the offense go, but the athletes around him help. WR Phillip Davis is going to Navy, WR Sidney Haynes is going to Central Florida, and RB Chris Douglass will most likely choose a small 1-A program or a major 1-AA program(Yeah I said it). Roswell has a solid kicking game, but I'll side with the team that has Kevin Butler's blood kicking.

* I was personally hoping that it would be the two teams that lost in the dome last week playing for it all. Eventhough its two North Atlanta schools it should be a great matchup. I think it will come down to turnovers and possibly a late kick. I think Roswell is the better team but thanks to a little research by Larry C., I'm always going to take the team with a BC connection, even if its only a little.

Peachtree Ridge 24-23