Five things: What we learned from week 1 of prep football

It was a busy first full weekend of prep football action around the state and here in north Georgia. Here’s five key things we learned from week 1:

1. Region 7-AAA is for real.

We already knew that Buford was a state power, but plenty of other teams in Region 7-AAA have shown that they are indeed ready for prime time. Teams from the region went 6-1 this weekend, many of the victors facing down programs from larger schools -- including a 31-0 win for White County over Class AAAAAA’s Habersham Central, a 32-20 victory for North Hall over Class AAAA’s Chestatee and Dawson County’s 35-0 defeat of Class AAAA’s Lumpkin County. The Wolves also showed their defense is not to be trifled with this season, suffocating No. 6 Elbert County in a 14-3 in Elberton. On the other side of the equation, Banks County’s offense exploded for 470 yards in a 46-30 win over East Jackson. East Hall also showed plenty of heart in bouncing back from last week’s Dawson loss to move to 1-1 on the season. The playoff race in 7-AAA should prove interesting indeed.


2. Dawson County is for real.

Speaking of 7-AAA, Dawson County is lining itself up as one of the powers in that league and maybe all of north Georgia this season. The Tigers ripped a second straight foe this Friday and have won two games by a combined 77-0. Dawson County is doing it on both sides of the ball so far and is led by an outstanding senior class -- which includes starting quarterback Tyler Dominy. The signal caller, and a handful of the Tigers’ other stars, were part of last year’s Dawson County basketball team that shocked Buford in the state playoffs and so nearly reached the Class AA semifinals. The football team looks like it may be setting itself up for a similar run. Dawson will find even more out about itself this weekend, when the Tigers play host to Class AAAAAA’s North Forsyth.


3. Cedric Harris is in “beast mode.”

We already knew that the Johnson fullback was a handful and that he had the talent to punish opposing defenses, but this is ridiculous. Through two games so far this campaign Harris has been nothing short of dominant, rushing 64 times for 414 yards (an average of 32 carries for 207 yards). He also has three catches for 28 yards, and, most importantly, seven touchdowns. It should come as no surprise from those numbers that the Knights are also 2-0 -- their first such start since 2007. Harris would quickly point out the contributions of his offensive line and also give all the credit to his new head coach in Jason Roquemore, and it’s clear whatever Roquemore is doing is working. A big part of that has been handing the ball to Harris.


4. Commerce has its mojo back in its biggest rivalry

One of the proudest programs in northeast Georgia had gone five straight years without beating its chief rival, so you know how much it meant on Friday when the Tigers amassed 398 yards on the ground in a 22-7 defeat of Jefferson. Commerce knew it had plenty of potential in its offensive backfield and showed it to the rest of the world when Jamal Browner (160 yards) and Terrick Ramsey (103 yards) ran wild against the Dragons. If Commerce can keep that up, the Tigers could be looking at a special season -- something the Tigers are fairly used to.


5. Gainesville and Flowery Branch will be back.

If we’ve learned anything over the past decade or so it’s that Gainesville and Flowery Branch have plenty of talent and coaching -- more than enough to overcome a few early season setbacks. And while both suffered season-opening losses this week, don’t expect either to matter much when region and playoff races begin in the next few weeks. Both the Red Elephants and Falcons faced talented foes and will have taken a few lessons to heart -- that we feel safe in saying they’ll put to good use in 2012.

AREA FOOTBALL SCORES, Aug. 31
Apalachee 21, Lanier 11
Banks County 46, East Jackson 30
Buford 14, Elbert County 3
Commerce 22, Jefferson 7
Dawson County 35, Lumpkin County 0
East Hall 29, Chattooga 21
Gilmer 42, Fannin County 0
Jackson County 21, Winder-Barrow 10
Johnson 36, Oglethorpe County 21
Lakeview Academy 32, Fellowship Christian School 12
Mill Creek 35, Dacula 0
North Forsyth 10, Forsyth Central 7
North Hall 32, Chestatee 20
Northside-Warner Robins 45, Flowery Branch 7
Stephens County 28, Franklin County 7
Union County 17, Towns County 14
White County 31, Habersham Central 0

SEPT. 7 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR AREA TEAMS
Gainesville at Buford
Flowery Branch at West Forsyth
Chestatee at West Hall
Johnson at North Hall
Lumpkin County at White County
North Forsyth at Dawson County
Habersham Central at Stephens County
Banks County at Athens Christian
Fannin County at Union County
Commerce at East Jackson
Jackson County at Jefferson
Rabun County at Hayesville, N.C.
Lakeview Academy at Hebron Christian
Whitefield Academy at Riverside Military
Towns County at Fellowship Christian
Winder-Barrow at Monroe Area
Greater Atlanta Christian at Apalachee
Mill Creek at Brookwood