What was I thinking?

It is time for the annual "What was I thinking?" column, as in what was I thinking in August when I put Athens Drive in my preseason football top 12?

Why didn't I have Harnett Central, which now is 12-0, in the top 12?

So, here are where my preseason arrows landed. In case you're not into archery, the colors go white, black, blue, red and gold.

WHITE: I picked Athens Drive in the top 12 because I thought its defense would be improved. It finished 4-8 and gave up 33.7 points per game. The Jaguars did play well in an 8-7 playoff loss to Southern Durham.

WHITE: I didn't think West Johnston would be good, but I thought South Johnston would be.

My excuses: A. I didn't realize Lincoln Morton would transfer to West Johnston and pass for 2,121 yards; B. I couldn't imagine West appointing a new coach the week practice started and the team having a great season; C. South Johnston had back several players who helped build a 10-2 record in 2007.

BLACK: Harnett Central was listed as a team to contend with in the Cape Fear Valley 3-A, but I didn't expect an 11-0 regular season. The Trojans have played most of the season without starting quarterback Brian Taylor.

BLUE: The Piedmont Athletic 4-A looked like a close rival to the Cap Seven from top to bottom. The PAC Six had three outstanding teams -- Durham Hillside, Southern Durham and Chapel Hill -- and Durham Jordan was better than most teams.

But top to bottom, the PAC Six record didn't stack up well against the Cap Seven.

BLUE: I expected Justin Dixon at Smithfield-Selma to emerge as one of the most dominant players in the area after rushing for 1,589 yards as a junior. He was great at linebacker but didn't match his offensive output.

BLUE: I thought Leesville Road would be good, but not this good.

RED: The five players other than Dixon in the top six players to watch: Durham Hillside's Desmond Scott, Bunn's Ty Howle, Chapel Hill's Jared McAdoo, Leesville Road's Zach Greene and Durham Hillside's Corey Gattis. All have been outstanding.

RED: Eight of the teams picked in the preseason rankings finished the regular season in the top 12.

Wake Forest-Rolesville and Millbrook were Nos. 1 and 2 in the preseason, and Leesville Road was No. 7. All three schools hovered at or near the top of the rankings all season.

RED: Nine of my top 10 among non-4-A classification teams were pretty good. My top 10 included: South Johnston, Bunn, Oxford Webb, Harnett Central, Erwin Triton, South Granville, Cedar Ridge, Pittsboro Northwood and North Johnston.

CENTER GOLD: The Cap Seven was picked as the league to watch, and all seven teams advanced to the playoffs. More impressive than advancing seven teams: Wake Forest-Rolesville, Millbrook and Leesville Road have been outstanding.

Only Wake Forest-Rolesville and Leesville Road escaped the first round, though.

STILL IN FLIGHT: The unofficial theme of the preseason was that this might be the year veteran coach Earl Smith has a team win a title, or at least get to the title game. That still might happen.