Improvement Tracker: Upsets lift Collins Hill, North Murray, Gordon Central to top after Week 1
Collins Hill upset a third-ranked powerhouse, North Murray beat an 18-point favorite, and Gordon Central ended a 31-game losing streak last week.
Those teams and their coaches are rewarded today with first-place standings in the GHSF Daily’s first Improvement Tracker of the season.
Also best in classification after one week are Hughes, Cedartown, Sandy Creek, Irwin County, Lovett and Stratford Academy, all teams showing signs that they’re back to their more usual strong selves with outstanding opening wins.
The Improvement Tracker, sponsored by Siemens, will be updated each Wednesday and culminate in awards presented to nine head coaches in February at the GACA Falcons Luncheon in Macon. To qualify, teams must have a winning record, make the playoffs and improve on their playoff advancement or seeding from 2023.
Most of this week’s teams high on the Tracker beat favored opponents in week one. North Murray beat Dalton 22-9 after losing to Dalton 35-14 last year. Collins Hill beat Grayson, a 12-point favorite, 20-19. Gordon Central, which hadn’t won a game since 2020, beat Southeast Whitfield 62-0 after losing 19-16 to the same team last season.
Other upsets by teams in this week’s list included Eastside’s 26-15 win over 14-point favorite Newnan, Dublin’s 41-21 victory over nine-point favorite Swainsboro and North Paulding’s 17-6 win over eight-point favorite Parkview.
The Improvement Tracker is based on an objective formula that uses current and historical computer Maxwell Ratings. Improvement from 2023 counts most, but the formula also considers previous years to discourage rewarding traditionally strong teams that simply bounce back from a down year.
The season is early, and the rankings are fluid, so what looks like a good win now might not in coming weeks.
The 2023 winners were Matt Helmerich of Peachtree Ridge, Johnny T. White of Douglas County, Tommy Watson of Harris County, Carl Kearney of Spalding, Heath Webb of Lumpkin County, John Russ of Providence Christian, Cherard Freeman of Bryan County, Jason McEachin of Portal and Kirk Hoffman of Flint River Academy.
Class 6A
+16.35 - Collins Hill (Drew Swick)
+14.81 - Douglas County (Johnny White)
+14.72 - North Paulding (Don Stark)
+14.25 - North Cobb (Shane Queen)
+13.49 - North Gwinnett (Eric Godfree)
Class 5A
+16.65 - Hughes (Daniel Williams)
+12.56 - Gainesville (Josh Niblett)
+9.77 - Newnan (Chip Walker)
+9.16 - Lee County (Dean Fabrizio)
+8.42 - Creekview (Trevor Williams)
Class 4A
+13.76 - Cedartown (Jamie Abrams)
+13.54 - Eastside (Jay Cawthon)
+13.15 - Ware County (Jason Strickland)
+10.78 - Ola (Dustin Adkins)
+8.89 - Kell (Bobby May)
Class 3A
+10.51 - Sandy Creek (Darius Smiley)
+7.32 - Peach County (Marquis Westbrook)
+6.18 - Adairsville (Jon Cudd)
+5.85 - Dougherty (Uyl Joyner)
+5.32 - Monroe Area (Kevin Reach)
Class 2A
+6.81 - North Murray (Preston Poag)
+6.06 - Hart County (Cory Dickerson)
+4.52 – Carver-Atlanta (Darren Myles)
+3.66 – Carver-Columbus (Pierre Coffey)
+3.10 - Sumter County (Will Rogers)
Class A Division I
+10.83 - Gordon Central (Lenny Gregory)
+7.96 - Thomasville (Jonathan DeLay)
+5.93 - Dublin (Roger Holmes)
+5.36 - Towers (Henry Garrett)
+3.73 - Chattooga (Roone Gable)
Class A Division II
+8.09 - Irwin County (Casey Soliday)
+6.10 - Mitchell County (Dondrial Pinkins)
+3.98 - Charlton County (DeMario Jones)
+3.61 - Mount Zion-Carroll (Brad Gordon)
+2.49 - Emanuel County Institute (Chris Kearson)
Class 3A-A private
+4.13 - Lovett (Mike Muschamp)
+3.61 - Fellowship Christian (John Thompson)
+2.57 - Mount Vernon (Terrence Edwards)
+2.07 - Wesleyan (Franklin Pridgen)
+2.05 - Savannah Christian (Baker Woodward)
GIAA
+3.60 - Stratford Academy (Paul Carroll)
+3.42 - Tiftarea Academy (Erik Soliday)
+2.93 - Piedmont Academy (Clint Satterfield)
+2.92 - Augusta Prep (Todd Booker)
+2.22 - Bethlehem Christian (Rodrick Robinson)
