2008 Georgia High School Discussion

by **Sonny** on Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:44 am

Thoughts on the GA High School scene so far in 2008?

Seems like some teams are rising up and there are no real super elite teams any more. The playoffs look wide open.

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by **Beta** on Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:23 am

There's a lot of hype about McIntosh because of their offense. They play Alpharetta tonight, which is another school trying to break in that bubble.

Pope plays Lovett this Saturday @ Lovett. Should be a really big (region) game. The winner of this game IMHO will win the region.

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Roswell looked decent, but beatable. #23 Bender is a good attackman but when he's contained the rest of the team's offense seems to falter. #15 at the midfield was a good middie and would cause a lot of problems for teams that can't get that LSM matchup.

Milton is either rebuilding, or Alpharetta is just that good this year. Milton has a ton of Juniors including TJ Kenary (attack), Ben Hostetler (goalie), Kevin Reed (midfield) and a few other defense/middies that are physically capable but didn't get a ton of PT last year on varsity as sophomores.

Lovett looked decent with Owen Green (attack) and North Windchip at midfield and are extremely well-coached...but didn't look too fluid on the field.

Harrison looks pretty solid with a strong middie (#5) but other than that did not look too great. Sophomore in goalie that will be phenomenal his senior year.

Decatur has the athletes, coaching and game-smarts to win...but they need a year or two more with sticks to make their offense work more consistently. So many times they had the right moves/cuts but couldn't not catch/finish the plays. GREAT group of kids too. Definitely one of the more positive group of kids I've coached against.

That's about all I've seen so far.

SportsShooter Portfolio · by **cecilc** on Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:25 am

Beta wrote:There's a lot of hype about McIntosh because of their offense.

Good reason ... they beat Lassiter last Saturday 14-13. But don't discount their defense ....

But I agree with Sonny - there really doesn't seem to be the 3 or 4 teams that are "head and shoulders" above everyone else this season. There does seem to be 8 or 10 schools that will compete with each other all season long for state rankings and area positions ....

Pope is an improved team this year - good defensive team and quick on offense ... but in their "area" they're gonna have to find a way to beat Lovett ...

by **Beta** on Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:13 am

Alpharetta is definitely the team to beat.

Athletic kids and good sticks.

by **Sonny** on Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:15 am

Beta wrote:Alpharetta is definitely the team to beat.

Athletic kids and good sticks.

The AHS vs. Lovett game (near the end of the regular season) should be one of the top games of the year.

by **Sonny** on Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:16 am

Heard Westminster main (all-state) goalie returned two nights ago from his injured thumb.... but the Wildcats lost in 3OT's to Roswell.

Alpharetta going running clock at Lassiter has to be one of the most shocking scores I've heard in a long, long time.

SportsShooter Portfolio · by **cecilc** on Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:58 am

Sonny wrote:Alpharetta going running clock at Lassiter has to be one of the most shocking scores I've heard in a long, long time.

This game was just a total domination and demolition of Lassiter ... Alpharetta was up 8-0 into the 3rd quarter before Lassiter got their first goal. I mean, it got ugly for Lassiter real quick ! And Lassiter had no answer for it ... Alpharetta's ball-hungry guys just would not let Lassiter control the ball ....

If I had to pick a "best" team right now - it would be Alpharetta ....

The Lovett/Alpharetta game later is going to be one that everybody will want to see ....

by **Sonny** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:18 am

About a week and half left in the 2008 GA boys regular season.... Top two teams from each area qualify for the 16-team tournament.

Most of the playoff spots appear to be locked, but there are still a few slots up in the air.

Area 1 - McIntosh/Northgate or Starr's Mill

Area 2 - St. Pius/Decatur

Area 3 - HIES, Westminster, or Pace are all in the running for the 2 slots. (HIES is in the drivers seat. They beat Pace and they are top seed. Could be a three way tie though.)

Area 4 - Alpharetta/Northview

Area 5 - Harrison/Woodward

Area 6 - Milton/Roswell or South Forsyth

Area 7 - Lassiter/Etowah

Area 8 - Lovett/Pope or Walton

Which sets up these potential first round games, based on the tourney bracket:

top half:
St. Pius vs. Etowah
McIntosh vs. Pope/Walton
HIES vs. Roswell/South Forsyth
Harrison vs. Northview

bottom half:
Alpharetta vs. Woodward
Milton vs. Westminster/Pace
Lovett vs. Northgate/Starrs Mill
Lassiter vs. Decatur

by **Beta** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:26 am

top half:
St. Pius vs. Etowah
St Pius. Too much defense, too much midfield and a good attackman (Costas) that Etowah won't be able to handle.
McIntosh vs. Pope/Walton
Pope plays McIntosh next week, should be an interesting precursor to a playoff game...assuming we beat Walton to get into the playoffs. The Walton game is going to be a war.
HIES vs. Roswell/South Forsyth
HIES is friggin stacked. Solid defense, solid attack. Suspect midfield and goalie though.
Harrison vs. Northview
Northview is benefitting from a weak region schedule (minus A-retta)...Harrison in a blowout.

bottom half:
Alpharetta vs. Woodward
Alpharetta is stumbling as of late with close games...but shouldn't be close.
Milton vs. Westminster/Pace
Milton will have a 10 loss season unless they win state. Westminster can overpower them...Pace wouldn't though.
Lovett vs. Northgate/Starrs Mill
Best region champion over the worst region's 2nd place team...the game will be as lop-sided as Buczyk wants it to be.
Lassiter vs. Decatur
Lassiter wins...but Decatur won't roll over. Lamie will put up 5-6 goals.

by **Tim Gray** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:27 am

I watched Pope/Lassiter online this morning. Pope battled back form a 3 goal deficit and won a nice game. They look good. I obviously don't know anything about any of the other teams, but they seem to have a real shot at it all.

by **Beta** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:49 am

Pope was flat and defensively was ball-watching...in combination with Lassiter getting some unusual goals/looks.

6-4 Lassiter at halftime.

Pope got back to getting GB's and playing aggressive on defense.

6-2 Pope in the second half...with one of Lassiter's goals coming off of a 20-25 yard crank.

by **Sonny** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:02 am

Tim Gray wrote:I watched Pope/Lassiter online this morning. Pope battled back form a 3 goal deficit and won a nice game. They look good. I obviously don't know anything about any of the other teams, but they seem to have a real shot at it all.

You can watch that game online here:
http://scoreatl.playonsports.tv/?eventId=4530

by **Sonny** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:44 pm

Mild upset from tonight's games: Pace apparently beat HIES by one.

if Westminster beats Pace, there will be a three-way tie at the top of that Area. Some tiebreaker rules would be needed to see who gets the 2 playoff slots because all three teams beat each other.

by **Sonny** on Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:10 pm

Alpharetta 8, Lovett 5 final from Tuesday night. Was 7 - 0 at the half in favor of AHS.

Also heard that Northview beat Walton by one or two. That is pretty surprising.

Two defacto playoff games remaining this week - Pace vs. Westminster on Thursday and Pope at Walton on Friday.

by **Sonny** on Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:42 pm

Westminster beats Pace 11 - 9 (unofficial final) to claim the last playoff spot in that area. Pace is apparently out of the playoffs, after tiebreaker rules.

Walton vs. Pope on Friday night should be another good one as those battle for the last playoff slot.