Power Ratings after one week don’t mean very much since they is based upon a ratio of points scored against points allowed. However, it’s a start — what we don’t know yet is how good was the team you beat or the team you lost to.

We can look inside the stats, which I will do in some cases, and see if a team is performing on a winning level or below a winning level. I also talk with football people who have seen games I have not seen. These are people who see Hall County football every week and have for a number of years, and I value their thoughts very much. We are all non-partisans; we love the game and hope the best team wins.

As the season goes on you and I will find the power ratings are more valid, and by the end of the season many times they have found the four best teams in the region and the ones which will go on into the state playoffs from Region 7-AAA.

1. GAINESVILLE (1-0): Average points scored 34, average points allowed 0, Power Rating 34. Rated the No. 2 team in the state by some, the Red Elephants dominated a young Chestatee team. Led by Thomas Sprague and A. J. Johnson, Gainesville’s dominating defense held Chestatee to 2.1 yards per rush, allowed an incredible 1.9 yards per pass attempt, forced seven fumbles, recovered three. The Gainesville running game averaged an impressive 7.7 yards per carry. The 8.3 yards per pass attempt is good, but it’s not great considering Blake Sims passing talents and a group of very good receivers. Teryan Rucker averaged 10 yards a carry and Blake Sims averaged more than 9 yards a carry and completed 65 percent of his passes. Offense solid and defense dominating, not a bad formula for success.

2. NORTH HALL (1-0): Average points scored 20, average points allowed 3, Power Rating 6.67. The people I talked to told me that Johnson outplayed the Trojans, but fumbles and interceptions by Johnson kept North Hall in the game and prevented the Knights from pulling an upset. North Hall averaged 4.2 yards per carry, not bad but below what you expect from most North Hall teams. You would have to give the Johnson defense credit for playing pretty solid run defense. To North Hall’s credit they had no fumbles and only threw one interception. The Trojan defense was clearly difference, intercepting three Johnson passes and forcing six fumbles and recovering one. My two concerns for North Hall — they didn’t demonstrate the kind of running game last Friday we have come to expect and they didn’t seem to have a passing game which could take over if needed.

3. FLOWERY BRANCH (1-0): Average points scored 38, average points allowed 8, Power Rating 4.75. The Branch’s punting game dominated the early part of the game, giving the Falcons a decided edge in field position. Playing on a short field, the Branch’s running game allowed the Falcons to go into the fourth quarter with what was to me a surprising 24-0 lead. With one of the state’s best QBs in Conner Shaw you would have to give the Indians’ pass defense credit in holding the Branch to 5.1 yards per pass attempt. We ordinarily consider 8 yards per pass attempt the breaking point between winning and losing. Using a lot of young players, Flowery Branch’s defense played at a very high level, doing a lot of things championship defenses have to do to win. They allowed 5.4 yards per rush, not bad when you consider the Indians have a number of very skilled runners. The pass defense held Stephens County to 3.2 yards per pass attempt, a great pass defense number. On offense led by sophomore running back Imani Cross (9.8 yards per carry on 18 carries) and Shaw (6 yards per carry), the Falcons dominated the short field provided by its outstanding punting game.

4. WEST HALL (0-1): Average points scored 26, average points allowed 55, Power Rating 0.47. Rolling up some impressive offensive statistics, this seemed like a close game until the fourth quarter, when East Jackson took over and dominated. Shunquez Stephens, one of the North Georgia’s top QBs, threw for 349 yards to lead the offense. Wide receiver Ishmail Nuckles had seven receptions for 167 total yards. West Hall’s impressive passing game opened up some run opportunities for Marquise Young, who averaged almost 14 yards per carry on eight carries.

5. JOHNSON: (0-1): Average points scored 3, average points allowed 20, Power Rating 0.15. Paul Friel always puts a well prepared football team on the field every Friday night. Coming off an injury-plagued season, Johnson finally has some depth and is ready for four quarters of football. The Knights ran for more yards, averaged more yards per rush, passed for more yards and averaged more yards per pass attempt than North Hall, but still lost. North Hall, a team which historically makes few mistakes, used their 4-to-1 turnover advantage to carve out a 20-3 win. Give the Johnson run defense credit, they allowed a really good running team only 4 yards per rush. The Johnson pass defense was as good as it gets, as it allowed the Trojans only 2.9 yards per pass attempt. Few teams lose when they can put up those kind of pass defense numbers. Johnson’s killer was fumbles and interceptions — six fumbles, losing one and three interceptions. Turn the ball over four times and you will lose more than 82 percent of the time.

6. EAST HALL (0-1): Average points scored 0, average points allowed 10, Power Rating 0.10. The Vikings opened up the season a week ahead of everyone else, losing 10-0 to Murray County. East Hall has gone to a new offense (new to them), and frankly, I think it will suit their talents, once they get the intricate execution down. They are running the Wing-T, an offense with a lot of variation, with counters, traps, power sweeps, bootlegs and reverses as part of the mix. Smaller players can block larger, more physical, players because they often have an angle or they are doubleteaming a defender. They have fakes going one way and a trap going the other.

7. CHESTATEE (0-1): Average points scored 0, average points allowed 34, Power Rating 0.03. It’s hard to figure just what a 34-0 loss in the opening game means. It is likely the War Eagles have played their toughest opponent and maybe the best AAA team in the state. The Gainesville defense, with their swarming linebacking corps, totally dominated the War Eagle triple option offense. The War Eagles averaged slightly over 2 yards per carry and average even less — 1.9 yards per attempt — when trying to throw. Both the War Eagles and the Red Elephants lost three fumbles and neither team threw an interception. This is a young Chestatee team which will get better each week. I think we are going to find this young team is going to be pretty good as the season progresses.