Photo by Jon Barash

The great debate over North Georgia vs South Georgia high school football could get another exciting chapter added this season as through the first two weeks of the season, two teams in Class AAAAA seem to be rising above the others, just not yet in the rankings. While two-time defending champion Camden should not be counted out despite returning just three starters, North Gwinnett and Lowndes seem to be on their way to separating from the field.

For the second straight week Lowndes took apart a metro-Atlanta school, this time laying waste to Pebblebrook 47-7. Quarterback Cole Parker threw just six passes in the win, completing five and four of those for touchdowns. The Vikings ran out to a 33-0 halftime lead after going up on South Gwinnett 28-0 through three quarters the week before. What makes the victory even more impressive is that running back Troy Braswell was limited to just 36 yards on nine attempts and both Tyler Hunter and Geraldo Orta were held out to rest injuries. That speaks of the volume of the depth that the Vikings possess this season. The Vikings travel to McEachern this Friday in GPB’s game of the week. Check out the four Score 44 players involved on gpb.org/sports this Friday!

Speaking of depth, North Gwinnett head coach Bob Sphire worries about depth along his offensive line, but he has depth for DAYS in the backfield. At quarterback Scott Hosch and CJ Uzomah can rotate however Sphire wishes them to and at tailback, the Bulldogs can go four deep. Joe Jones at fullback was impressive against Bob Jones (AL) in the Bulldogs 42-20 win. Jones scored once while Donnie Miles notched two scores. Ethan Kilgore also toted the rock in the Thunder-n-Lightning backfield. And freshman Dante Sawyer ran hard, though a 6’3, he might be better suited as an H-Back/TE/receiver.

While Camden certainly has to be dethroned before a new champion can be crowned (and that may be asking a lot after Camden’s 65-14 win over Savannah), the early results certainly flatter the Bulldogs of North Gwinnett and the Vikings of Lowndes. If North Georgia has a shot at recapturing some credibility in the debate, the hopes may be pinned to North Gwinnett.