The new high school football season is only two games old in Cobb County and to me there have already been two surprises. Not to say that Walton and McEachern winning in the Dome was unexpected, but more the way they won – the Indians rolling over Brookwood and the Raiders surviving in overtime -- caught my attention.

But it begs the question, what other surprises can we expect over the next 11-plus weeks? More to the point, which will be the surprise teams?

Last year Lassiter and Kell and Whitefield caught a number of people by surprise. While these squads won’t be able to sneak up on anyone in 2009, here’s a few teams I believe that will.

1. Pope – The Greyhounds could be this year’s party crasher in 6AAAAA thanks to an offensive line that can dominate its opponents providing holes for running back Marcorus Garrett.

Ball control will be a key for Pope in order to keep the opposing offenses off the field to give a young and inexperienced defense some help.

2. North Cobb – Two years ago the Warriors went 10-0 in the regular season. Last year they slipped to 5-5. This past summer Travis Hawkins led North Cobb to the national championship game of the NFL’s 7-on-7 team, and it adds former Allatoona running back C.J. Best into the mix. If the defense holds its own, the Warriors can be a player in Region 5AAAAA

3. McEachern – Hedging by bets here a little calling this after an impressive first win, but Rajaan Bennett tore up what was supposed to be a decent Brookwood defense for almost 200 yards. This should be a sign of good things to come for the Indians.

Now, what do you think?