The View from the Booth

Had a great time at Adams Stadium Saturday night. Several hundred fans showed up to watch Lakeside take on Druid Hills on a pleasant evening that managed to stay relatively cool and rain-free.

The varsity squads played the first three quarters, at the end of which the Red Devils led the Vikings 28-12. Coaches cycled JV players in during the final quarter. There were no marching bands and only one school – Lakeside – brought cheerleaders, but it was football and it got everyone fired up for this week’s start of the regular season.

QB Kyle Simmons, RB Deandre Byrd and WR Jaquan Johnson were big contributors for Druid Hills while QB Nick Alexander, RB’s Kellyen Walker and Jeremiah Hester and WR Bradley Earnest carried the load for the Vikings.

Special shout-out to Lakeside RB Addison Wooten who made one of the most outstanding one-handed, over-the-shoulder catches I’ve ever seen on any level of football. Late in the 3^rd quarter Alexander heaved the ball 40 yards straight downfield. Running a streak route, Wooten was well covered, but at the last minute separated himself from the defender, reached out and grabbed the ball with one hand as he fell into the end zone. The touchdown pulled the Vikings to within one score of the Red Devils late in the scrimmage, but they were unable to score again.

Here are recaps/results of other preseason scrimmages involving county teams:

Tucker at Chattahoochee

 This August 10 game was a matchup of the past two AAAA state champions. Chattahoochee used a solid TD drive and 56-yard fumble return to take a 13-0 lead going into the second quarter. The Tigers drove for a score midway through the second period to cut the lead to 13-7 at the half. Juwaan Williams connected with Dominique Sanders for a 68-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and Steven Duffy made the second of two PATs to secure the 14-13 win for Tucker.

North Gwinnett at Stephenson

Stephenson hosted highly ranked North Gwinnett on Friday at Hallford Stadium and came out on the short end of a 14-13 score. The game was tied 7-7 after three quarters of varsity action. Both teams used JV players in the fourth quarter.

North Gwinnett took a 7-0 lead early in the second period as QB Michael Haynes connected with Caleb Scott on a 27-yard TD pass. With a minute to play in the first half the Bulldogs drove to the Jaguars’ 4-yard line where Abdul Mahmoud picked off a pass from Haynes and returned it 97 yards for a TD for the final varsity score.

Lithonia at Salem

Junior RB Clark Jones scored a pair of TDs in leading Lithonia to a 20-7 road win over Salem on Friday. Jones rushed for 81 yards and one TD on six carries while catching two passes for 31 yards and another TD in the game. LB Devon Wallace led the Bulldog defense with seven tackles, one for a loss.

Miller Grove at Westlake

Miller Grove defeated Westlake 13-0 behind 150 yards passing by QB Ken Allen who also scored a touchdown and picked off a pass in the game. On defense, Jonquavious McBride had three tackles and an interception. Lineman Courtney Miggins played on both sides of the ball in the game, grading out 90 percent on offense and contributing five tackles and two QB pressures on defense.

Dunwoody at Alcovy

Dunwoody scored once on the ground and once through the air to take a 13-10 win at Alcovy on Friday. QB Ryan Gaines connected with Tylor Scales for a 50-yard TD pass and Daniel Hinton scampered in from 12 yards out to account for the Wildcat’s scoring. Aaron Alexander had an interception for the Dunwoody defense.

Cedar Grove at M.L. King

The Saints converted a pair of Lion turnovers into TDs in Cedar Grove’s 17-7 victory at Panthersville on Saturday.

Other Results

Wheeler 28, Stone Mountain 0

Arabia Mountain 40, Forest Park 7

Bainbridge 38, Chamblee 11

McNair 6, South Atlanta 6

Therell 7, Towers 0

SW DeKalb at Newton (no score reported)

Clarkston at Meadowcreek (no score reported)

Columbia at Tri-Cities (no score reported)

Six DeKalb Schools Included In AJC Preseason Football Rankings

Kudos to a half dozen schools from DeKalb County ranked in the AJC’s preseason high school football poll.

In Class AAAAA, defending state champion Tucker opens the season as the second ranked team in the state behind Northside-Warner Robins. Tucker’s new Region 6 rival M.L. King is ranked third right behind the Tigers and Stephenson gets the nod at #5.

Marist is ranked fourth in Class AAAA, while St. Pius is ranked fourth and Cedar Grove seventh in Class AAA.

Here’s a link to the AJC article with the complete rankings: http://bit.ly/Pr6Lq6

Cedar Grove’s McCrary Named to 2012 AJC Super 11 Team

DeKalb County landed a player on the this year's AJC’s Super 11 Team. Congratulations to Cedar Grove’s senior QB Johnathon McCrary for the honor.

McCrary, 6’4” and 200 lbs., led Cedar Grove to a 7-4 record in 2011, giving the Saints back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1999. McCrary passed for 2,643 yards and 27 touchdowns last year and has a shot at setting the state record for career passing yardage this season.

McCrary is Cedar Grove’s first Super 11 player since Josh Jarboe in 2007. He is a Vanderbilt commit. 

Here’s the rest of the AJC’s Super 11:

Montravius Adams, 6’4”, 285, DT, Senior – Dooly County

Vonn Bell, 6’1”, 190, S, Senior – Ridgeland

Shamire DeVine, 6’6”, 360, OT, Senior – Tri-Cities (committed to Georgia Tech)

J.J. Green, 5’9”, 170, RB/DB, Senior – Camden County (committed to Georgia)

Tyren Jones, 5’9”, 200, RB, Senior – Walton (committed to Alabama)

Brandon Kublanow, 6’3”, 290, C, Senior – Walton (committed to Georgia)

Carl Lawson, 6’3”, 245, DE, Senior – Milton (committed to Auburn)

Robert Nkemdiche, 6’5”, 275, DE, Senior – Grayson (committed to Clemson)

Eddie Printz, 6’4”, 200, QB, Senior – Lassiter (committed to UCLA)

Demarcus Robinson, 6’3”, 200, WR, Senior – Peach County (committed to Clemson)

DeKalb Players on Preseason GHSF Daily All-State Team

Congratulations to the following DeKalb players named last week to the GHSF Daily Preseason All-State Team:

AAAAA

Yusuf Minor, Senior RB, Tucker

Jordan Dunham, Senior OL, Stephenson

Justin Haymes, Senior OL, Stephenson

Joshua Outlaw, Senior OL, M.L. King

Carlos Garrett, Senior LB, M.L. King

AAAA

Kendall Baker, Junior OL, Marist

David Bellamy, Senior DL, Chamblee

David Johnson, Senior DL, Lithonia

AAA

Johnathon McCrary, Senior QB, Cedar Grove

Bryson Allen-Williams, Junior DL, Cedar Grove

Nick Glass, Junior DB, St. Pius

Everett Nicholas, Senior DB, Cedar Grove

Check back later this week for previews of this coming weekend’s season-opening games involving DeKalb County teams.