ATLANTA — Even though no teams exit and no new teams enter — eight out of ten positions in Class AA rankings change in this week's Associated Press high school football poll.
No. 8 Fitzgerald plummeted six positions after losing to No. 5 Brooks County and enabling them to jump five slots. No. 9 Appling County falls five after losing to No. 3 McIntosh County Academy thus providing them with a three place boost. No. 6 Jefferson notches up two while No. 2 Pepperell and No. 4 Dublin climb one and No. 10 Henry County drop one. No. 1 Buford and No. 7 Charlton County remain the same.
Class AAAA bids farewell to Dalton and Mays and welcomes No. 9 Evans into the rankings. No. 10 Southwest-DeKalb falls one but the top eight all continue unchanged with Westside-Macon the unanimous No. 1.
No. 8 Walton's loss to unranked Lassiter caused them to drop four slots in the Class AAAAA rankings. No. 6 Coffee County's win over Valdosta provided them with a three position jump — tied with North Gwinnett after they advanced two places. No. 9 Kell advanced one as did No. 4 Northside-Warner Robins and No. 5 Grayson. The top three remain undefeated with Lowndes still No. 1.
No. 10 Athens Academy was penalized the most — with a seven slot drop in Class A — after losing to unranked Wesleyan 17-7. Clinch County moved up two places and took over Athens' position at No. 3. Bowden, Turner County and Savannah Christian Prep each advanced one place to represent Nos. 6-8, respectively. No. 9 Bremen continues as does No. 1 Emanuel County Institute and No. 2 Wilcox County.
In Class AAA, No. 10 Washington County's three-position slide enabled No. 7 Carver-Columbus, No. 8 Carrollton and No. 9 Jackson to move up a slot while the top six continue. Gainesville remains at No. 6.
The Georgia high school Top 10
The Associated Press Georgia high school football poll with first-place votes in parentheses, record, total points, and position last week at right.
Class AAAAA
1. Lowndes (10) 8-0 100 1
2. Camden County 8-0 90 2
3. Newnan 8-0 77 3
4. Northside-Warner Robins 7-1 71 5
5. Grayson 9-0 60 6
6. Coffee County 7-1 41 9
tie North Gwinnett 7-1 41 8
8. Walton 7-1 21 4
9. Kell 7-1 20 10
10. Stephenson 7-1 13
Others receiving votes: Harrison 5, Collins Hill 3, East Paulding 3, Norcross 3, Lassiter 2.
Class AAAA
1. Westside-Macon (10) 8-0 100 1
2. Statesboro 9-0 85 2
3. Sandy Creek 8-0 78 3
4. Marist 8-1 68 4
5. Thomas County Central 7-1 61 5
6. Rome 8-1 49 6
7. Tucker 7-1 41 7
8. Sequoyah 7-1 30 8
9. Evans 8-0 16
10. Southwest-Dekalb 6-2 12 9
Others receiving votes: Mays 3, Villa Rica 3, North Clayton 1, Brunswick 1, Clarke Central 1, Sprayberry 1.
Class AAA
1. Cairo (9) 8-0 99 1
2. Baldwin (1) 8-0 91 2
3. St. Pius X 8-0 76 3
4. Dunwoody 8-0 66 4
5. LaGrange 7-1 57 5
6. Gainesville 8-0 50 6
7. Carver-Columbus 6-2 40 8
8. Carrollton 7-1 27 9
9. Jackson 8-0 15 10
10. Washington County 7-1 12 7
Others receiving votes: Peach County 11, Ridgeland 2, Flowery Branch 2, Burke County 1, Eastside 1.
Class AA
1. Buford (9) 8-0 99 1
2. Pepperell (1) 8-0 82 3
3. McIntosh County Academy 8-0 71 6
4. Dublin 8-1 59 5
5. Brooks County 7-1 46 10
6. Jefferson 8-0 40 8
7. Charlton County 7-1 39 7
8. Fitzgerald 7-1 36 2
9. Appling County 7-1 26 4
10. Henry County 7-1 21 9
Others receiving votes: Westminster 17, Blessed Trinity 6, Callaway 5, Calhoun 3.
Class A
1. Emanuel County Institute (10) 8-0 100 1
2. Wilcox County 8-0 90 2
3. Clinch County 7-1 75 4
4. Lincoln County 7-1 62 6
5. Brookstone 8-0 58 5
6. Bowdon 8-0 46 7
7. Turner County 7-1 35 8
8. Savannah Christian Prep 7-1 28 9
9. Bremen 7-1 21 10
10. Athens Academy 7-1 11 3
Others receiving votes: Whitefield Academy 9, Wesleyan 6, Wilkinson County 5, Johnson County 4.
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All Associated Press members in Georgia are eligible to participate in the high school football poll. Those who voted for this week's poll are: The Daily Tribune News, Cartersville; The Rockdale Citizen; The Daily Citizen, Dalton; The Times, Gainesville; Gwinnett Daily Post; Marietta Daily Journal; The Telegraph, Macon; Rome News-Tribune; The Tifton Gazette; The Valdosta Daily Times.