1980 STATE CHAMPIONS
AAAA – LOWNDES COUNTY (14-1) Coach: Joe Wilson; key players: Cedric Jones RB (senior, state back of the year, 2056 yards on 250 carries and 38 TD’s), Eric Thomas QB (all-state), Steve Player WR (all-state), Wayne Wright L (all-state)
Aug. 30 Monroe 41-18 W A team ranked #1
Sept. 5 Tift County 28-6 W Jones 234 rushing, Tift ranked #2
Sept. 12 Colquitt Co. 50-7 W A
Sept. 20 Dougherty 49-0 W H
Sept. 26 Cent. Thomasville 32-6 W A
Oct. 10 Westover 52-27 W H
Oct. 17 Valdosta 8-17 L A Jones 21 TD run in 4th, Valdosta ranked #6
Oct. 24 Bainbridge 42-0 W H team ranked #4 (Griffin #1, WR #2, Val #3)
Oct. 31 Albany 28-7 W A
Nov. 7 Thomasville 33-0 W H Jones 175 yards and 2 TD’s
Nov. 14 Tift County 31-0 W H Jones 4 TD’s (two rushing and two receiving)
Nov. 21 Valdosta 6-0 W A Jones 10 TD run early in fourth
Nov. 28 Warner Robins 39-15 W A Thomas 15/27 for 215 yards and 4 TD’s
Dec. 5 Evans 26-12 W H
Dec. 13 Griffin 28-12 W H Player 2 TD receptions, Jones 132 yards rushing
FINAL RANKING
1. Lowndes Co. 14-1
2. Griffin 14-1 (beat Riverdale 32-0, Fayette Co. 14-10, Pebblebrook 49-0, and Peachtree 21-7)
3. Peachtree 12-1-1 (beat Henderson 28-0, Clarke Central 14-13, and Stone Mountain 20-9)
4. Warner Robins 12-1 (beat Shaw 34-0 and Hardaway 21-14, lost to Lowndes Co.)
5. Valdosta 11-1 (beat Central Thomasville 27-14 and lost to Lowndes Co.)
6. Evans 9-2-1 (beat Bradwell Inst. 20-14 and lost to Lowndes Co.)
7. Marietta 11-1 (beat Douglas Co. 10-0 and lost to Pebblebrook 21-16)
8. Benedictine 10-1 (lost to Bradwell Institute 21-9 on Nov. 14 at Savannah Memorial)
9. Fayette Co. 10-2 (beat Morrow 14-13 and lost to Griffin 14-10)
10. Douglass 10-2 (lost to Stone Mountain 9-6 in overtime)
AJC All-State: Cedric Jones (Lowndes Co. RB, Back of the Year), Robert Vaughn (Griffin, nose guard, Lineman of the Year), Eric Thomas (Lowndes Co. QB), Quinton Lewis (Bradwell Institute QB), Roger Hall (Berkmar QB), Stacey Driver (Griffin RB), Buddy Arnold (Fayette Co. RB), Calvin Jones (Wills RB), Darryl Moore (Clarke Central RB), Dwayne Thompson (Hardaway RB), Todd Roper (South Gwinnett LB), Paul Stokes (Valdosta LB), Jimmy Bone (Hardaway LB), Wayne Wright (Lowndes Co. L), Harry South (Benedictine L), Andy Cheatham (Pebblebrook L), Spencer Nelms (Lakeside L), Ricky Holt (Tift County L), Kerry St. Clair (Griffin WR), Steve Player (Lowndes Co. WR), Terry Ward (Evans DB), Tyrone Kesler (Douglass DB). Honorable mentions include Kevin Butler (Redan K). |
