Score High School Sports Newsletter

NORTH COBB PREVIEW AND THE GEORGIA INVITATIONAL 7-ON-7

Shane Queen's North Cobb Warriors rolled to their best

season in decades last year and look loaded again in 2013.

Check out a preview of the preseason No. 6 Warriors below as

well as a look at the Georgia Invitational 7-on-7 that will be

held today and tomorrow at Lassiter.

In This Issue

Trivia

Class AAAAAA Football Rankings

Best Stories From Around the State

Trivia

Question:

North Cobb QB Tyler Queen is committed to what SEC school?

Today's answer can

be found in the newsletter!

Thursday's Answer:

In week 2, Walton will face Cobb County's Hillgrove for the first time.

SOUTHERN FOOTBALL GUIDE

Check out the 2013 Southern Football Recruiting Guide

CLASS AAAAAA FOOTBALL RANKINGS

1. Norcross

2. Colquitt County

3. North Gwinnett

4. McEachern

5. Lowndes

6. North Cobb

7. Mill Creek

8. Walton

9. Lovejoy

10. Peachtree Ridge

FOOTBALL SCHEDULES

North Cobb

8/30 Starr's Mill

9/13 At Walton

9/20 At Kennesaw Mountain

9/27 At Harrison

10/04 South Cobb

10/11 At Hillgrove

10/18 McEachern

10/25 At Pebblebrook

11/01 Marietta

11/08 Campbell

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Thursday, July 18, 2013

NORTH COBB PREVIEW

By Brian Jones

Warriors want to build on 2012 success

Last year, the North Cobb Warriors made history when they won a playoff game for the first time since 1959 and made an appearance in the Class AAAAAA semifinals. A couple of the Warriors' signature wins were a 49-17 thumping of 2011 state runner-up Walton early in the year and a dominating 42-14 win over Valdosta in the first round of the playoffs.

Last season was a year in which the Warriors were coming off a 5-6 2011 campaign. So what caused the turnaround? The offense was virtually unstoppable all season as they scored 41 points per game. Junior quarterback Tyler Queen, who recently committed to Auburn, spearheaded the spread offense, passing for 2,398 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 918 yards and 19 touchdowns.

"Tyler has a lot of experience," head coach Shane Queen said about his son and QB. "He has started 25 games for us."

Along with Queen, there will be three starters returning on offense including running back J'Vonte Herrod and center Ernie McQuade. Both Herrod and McQuade were All-Region 4-AAAAAA players.

One of the things that concerns Queen is making sure the offensive line is set so Tyler and the rest of the skill players can make the plays they did last year.

"We lost four starters on the offensive line," Shane said. "We have to get the new guys ready before the season starts."

That's not the only position where the Warriors have to rebuild. Nine starters on defense are gone from last year, and it was a unit that pitched two shutouts and surrendered two touchdowns or less in eight games.

"We have some big shoes to fill on defense," Queen said. "Strong leadership is the key to our success."

One of the leaders of the defense will be defensive back Cameron Albright, a North Carolina commit. Albright tallied 43 tackles and four interceptions last year. He also played on offense and recorded 21 receptions for 295 yards and four touchdowns. Another player to watch on defense is linebacker Jalil Kuku who recorded 87 tackles, 9.5 sacks and one interception last year. Kuku can also play running back and received an offer from Kennesaw State back in May.

Cornerback Latrell Gibbs is another Warrior who was offered by KSU in May. Gibbs was a First-Team All-Region corner last year, but he can also play wide receiver and running back. Gibbs has also received an offer from Furman and a non-scholarship offer from Mercer.

The road to the Georgia Dome will not be an easy one for the Warriors this upcoming season. They will host Starr's Mill on Aug. 30 and will travel to Walton the following week. The month of October will get tougher as they will face South Cobb (one of the three teams to beat the Warriors last year) on Oct. 4, Hillgrove the following week and McEachern on Oct. 18.

Queen, who was the Region 4 Coach of the Year in 2012, thinks that if the chemistry is right, the Warriors can be at the Georgia Dome in December.

"The biggest thing for us is to build team unity," Queen said talking about how they can take the next step. "That's how we can build on the success from last season."

LASSITER 7-ON-7 PREVIEW
By Craig Sager II

Lassiter tournament marks end of summer

Lassiter will host the state's biggest 7-on-7 tournament Friday and Saturday. In last year's tourney, a field of the state's top teams were able to end the Trojans' bid for a three-peat. Since Lassiter quarterback Eddie Printz assumed the role of Trojans' starting quarterback, the Trojans were nearly unstoppable in their home tournament. Printz has graduated and moved on to the University of Missouri, and focus will be shifted to new quarterback Will Anderson. The former Wesleyan Wolf transferred to Lassiter for his senior season.

When North Gwinnett hosted the first of Georgia's two summer qualifiers this past June, Anderson and the Trojans received an early exit. After beating North Gwinnett in a 34-8 rout, they were handed a 30-14 defeat from Alpharetta, and shortly after, fell to Olive Branch (Miss.) and Grayson.

The event qualifies the host and winner for the national 7-on-7 tournament in Hoover, Ala., next weekend. Three of this weekend's participants have already earned a place in Hoover, including Lassiter, which makes it in as a qualifier host. North Gwinnett got a bid from hosting last month, and North Cobb will return to Hoover based on its performance in last year's 7-on-7s.

The tournament has been to 10 different cities in between its Georgia stops, and playing for the prestigious National Select 7-on-7 Championship will crown someone as the nation's top team.

Hoover has typically been the most noteworthy out-of-state team to play in the Lassiter Invitational, and ended up beating North Cobb in the championship game to cap a perfect 10-0 record for the tournament last year. Hoover will not be in this weekend's qualifier and Eastside out of South Carolina will be the lone out of state school.

Pool play on Friday determines seeding for a double elimination bracket on Saturday. For the first time, the field extended extend the tournament from 24 teams to 32 this year. Lassiter's neighbor, Kell, will help host the event.

Centennial had a great run last month at the North Gwinnett qualifier and will be a dangerous team this weekend. The Knights finished 5-1 in pool play and had a long run at North Gwinnett. The Knights beat the host Bulldogs 18-13 in the first round and then topped Lassiter 24-15. Mississippi-powerhouse Olive Branch handed them a 34-22 loss in the third round, but Centennial escaped the losers bracket with consecutive wins over GAC and Grayson 16-8.

More than half the field were playoff teams last year and this will likely be the summer's most competitive 7-on-7. Teams have already competed in several tournaments this summer, but this is the last chance to take home a summer trophy and build momentum heading into two-a-days.

Pool A

Cartersville, Centennial, Duluth, Jonesboro, Lassiter-A, North Gwinnett-B, North Paulding, Shiloh

Pool B

Dutchtown, Flowery Branch, Kell, Lassiter-B, Mays, North Gwinnett-A, Northview, Walton

Pool C

Eagle's Landing, Hillgrove-A, Jefferson, Lovejoy-B, Glenn Hills, South Forsyth, Shaw, Wheeler

Pool D

Alpharetta, Cherokee, Eastside-SC, Jackson County, Hillgrove-B, North Cobb, Rabun County, Lovejoy-A