Lincoln County's Red Devils will start the 2004 season where they ended 2003, ranked #2 to #1 Hawkinsville. The defending state champs received 139 of 140 total possible points in the AP poll, with Clinch County getting the only top-slot vote that H'ville missed.
Hawkinsville's first two games are their toughest of the regular season, as they play always tough Washington County and their new region foe Twiggs County.
The two sets of L. Campbell-coached Red Devils are followed in the AP poll by Clinch County (with a new head coach), Commerce, Trion, Pacelli,
Washington-Wilkes, Landmark Christian, Twiggs County, and Dooly County. Athens Academy and Miller County also received votes. Some of the AP voters need to check their info, as Metter, now in AA, received 10 votes in A.
Other teams of interest include Thomson at #5 in Class AAA and Washington County at #4 in AAA. Buford will try to tie Parkview's state record 46-game winning streak in its first game, as the #1-ranked Wolves go after their 4th consecutive state title.
Click here for the full AP poll from The Augusta
Chronicle.
The August 2004 edition of the Georgia Sports Monthly magazine prominently features a photo from the LC-Trion Dome game on its cover, with several other photos
from the game inside. The magazine includes previews for Class A and each region, and picks their Top 10: Hawkinsville, Lincoln County, Clinch County, Pacelli,Twiggs County, Commerce, Bremen, W-W, Calvary Baptist, and Bowdon. Thomson is #4 and WaCo #5 in their AAA.
The AJC posted their pre-season polls August 16, with Class A topped by Hawkinsville, Lincoln County, Clinch County, Twiggs County, Pacelli, Washington-Wilkes, Commerce, Bremen, Randolph-Clay,
and Landmark Christian. That's three sets of Red Devils in the Top 10, as Randolph-Clay moved down from AA. The fourth set of Red Devils in Class A, Bowdon, will probably be in the Top 10 soon.