Evans should get a second victory
As is often the case when a prep football player moves on to a small-college program, former Greenbrier High School standout Will Caywood seems to be a forgotten man.
But there's good reason to not forget about Caywood.
The 6-foot-2, 184-pound quarterback is a redshirt freshman at the State University of West Georgia in Carrollton, and the Braves' coaching staff loves Caywood's potential.
"We feel like Will has great upside. He has a great arm and is a smart kid," West Georgia coach Mike Ledford said.
Ledford is a first-year head coach for the Braves, but has displayed his offensive genius since becoming the team's quarterbacks coach in 1998.
Caywood has seen little playing time this season, although he seems to have a bright future ahead.
Let's not forget what Caywood did at Greenbrier. As a Wolfpack senior, he completed 195 passes for 2,870 yards and 25 touchdowns. Caywood had at least two touchdown passes in ever game he started during his high school career.
Academically, Caywood already is a college star. He has earned dean's list honors and maintains one of the top 10 grade point averages in the West Georgia football program.
The Braves, which started the 2002 season with a 3-2 record, also feature another Columbia County product in Chris Mitchem. The former Lakeside High School player is a redshirt freshman and linebacker for the squad.
Prep power rankings low
On the Georgia Varsity Sports Vent (www.gavsv.com) football power rankings released last week, the news wasn't good for our local teams.
Of the 83 teams in Class AAAA, Greenbrier was ranked 35th, while Lakeside languished at No. 72.
Now these rankings mean absolutely nothing, because this is not an exact science. For instance, Burke County (No. 50) and Hephzibah (54) both ranked out of the top 49.
More telling was Thomson, which is hands-down the best AAAA team in the state. The Bulldogs rolled over their first five opponents by an average margin of 3 points, and Thomson still is checks in at No. 4 in the power rankings.
Thomson's wins over Hart County (AAA) and Washington-Wilkes (AA) may have actually hurt the Dogs - the power rankings do not take into account that Hart County and Washington-Wilkes were highly-ranked in their classifications.
In AAAAA, Evans was ranked No. 68 of 83 teams. Harlem was 30th of 64 teams ranked in AAA. In the Georgia Independent Schools Association power ratings, Augusta Christian was ranked No. 6 out of 16 squads.
Despite the poor power numbers, Columbia County fans have reason to be optimistic.
In my opinion, Harlem still is going to make the state playoffs this season, and Greenbrier also has a good shot at making it to the postseason.
Additionally, the county teams are loaded with underclassmen, which means the next few football seasons are looking good.