Clayton News Daily

By Jeffery Armstrong, Doug Gorman and Anthony Rhoads

Number's game: Most coaches will tell you that they don't pay too much attention to state rankings. For the most part, rankings are nothing more than conversation starters.

However, this year the rankings have been kind to several teams in the southern Crescent.

In the Class AAAAA gabasketball.net coaches' poll, Stockbridge is ranked No. 6., Lovejoy is 11th and Henry County makes its debut in the 15th spot.

In the girls' poll, Jonesboro is eighth and Riverdale 14th. In Class AAAA, the North Clayton girls are ranked 10th.

Raiders on a roll: While the Riverdale girls basketball team has been ranked all season and could be in line for a serious run in the region and state playoffs, the Riverdale boys are putting together a solid string of games.

The Raiders are on a six-game winning streak, including a 63-59 victory over Lovejoy Tuesday. The Raiders are also tied with Lovejoy for first place in the Region 4-AAAAA standings. Riverdale is 13-7 overall and 9-2 in the region.

Going to the GHSA: This is the final yea, Eagle's Landing Christian will play in the Georgia Independent Schools Association. Next year, the Chargers will play in Region 5-A of the Georgia High School Association, which includes Atlanta International, Ben Franklin, Cathedral Academy, DeKalb Arts, Galloway, Greenforest, Landmark Christian, Our Lady of Mercy, Mt. Paran, Mt. Zion-Carroll, Southwest Atlanta Christian, W.D. Mohammed, Whitefield Academy and Yeshiva.

"It's ?lions, tigers and bears ? oh my!'," Bailey said.

Young Lady Bulldog fans: When Doc Gammage took over the Lady Bulldogs mid-season after Edwin Turnipseed suddenly left for a job in Athens, Mt. Zion didn't just inherit a new coach, they also added some new fans.

According to Gammage, his young children have turned into the team's biggest fans.

That's my point (guard): Just before tipoff of last Friday's game at Jonesboro, Morrow Lady Mustangs head coach Yolanda Jenkins said she felt her team would play better n and she was right. The Lady Mustangs came back from a halftime deficit to hand Jonesboro its first region loss of the year. Morrow post player Jordan Greenleaf said better defense and junior point guard Chiquita Coleman had a lot to do with the victory.

"I really look up to Chiquita n I think she's the best player on our team," Greenleaf said. "She controls what we do on the floor."

That's my style: Greenleaf sported an interesting uniform enhancement during the Jonesboro game. She played with only one black sock on in the contest.

"Everybody always wears two high socks or two ankle socks in a game," Greenleaf said. "I just wanted to try something different."