Football poll: Milton enters top 10, sets up historic North Fulton matchup

Milton defeated third-ranked Archer 21-19 in the Corky Kell Classic on Tuesday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Milton defeated third-ranked Archer 21-19 in the Corky Kell Classic on Tuesday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

No. 1-ranked teams went 6-0 on the opening week of the high school football season to maintain their positions at the top, but there was significant shuffling below in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s rankings.

Here are some highlights:

*Milton upset No. 3 Archer 21-19 on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and entered the Class AAAAAAA rankings at No. 8. Milton will face No. 9 Alpharetta of AAAAAA next week. According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, that will be the first game between ranked North Fulton County opponents since 1984, when North Springs played Riverwood.

*McEachern and Tift County fell out of the AAAAAAA rankings after losing to other ranked teams. No. 2 Colquitt County beat McEachern 41-7. It was McEachern’s most lopsided defeat since losing to Colquitt 57-20 in 2014. Tift lost 40-29 to No. 3 Warner Robins of AAAAA. Foot

*Norcross entered the AAAAAAA rankings after a 42-26 victory over then-No. 5 Mays of AAAAAA. Norcross built a 28-6 first-half lead and weathered four Mays TD passes.

*The top four teams in AAAAAA are from Region 1 - Lee County, Coffee, Northside-Warner Robins and Valdosta.

*Harrison and Lanier joined the AAAAAA rankings after impressive routs of county rivals. Harrison beat Lassiter 48-0, and Lanier beat Peachtree Ridge 47-0.

*Dutchtown is ranked for only the second week in its history, the first since the final rankings of 2010. The Bulldogs enter AAAAAA rankings after a 31-0 victory over Hughes.

*Rockmart joined the AA rankings after a 20-14 victory over Cedartown. The victory was Rockmart’s first over a ranked team since 2008 (Bremen), breaking a 15-game losing streak against the top 10. Rockmart had not beaten a top-10 team from the same classification or higher since beat Cedartown in 1996.

*Pelham is new to the Class A rankings, and ranked for the first time since 2002. The Hornets beat then-No. 5 Macon County 41-0, avenging a pair of recent playoff defeats and beating a ranked opponent for the first time since 2001 (Clinch County).

Class AAAAAAA 

1. (1) Grayson (0-0)

2. (2) Colquitt County (1-0)

3. (4) North Gwinnett (1-0)

4. (5) Walton (1-0)

5. (9) Lowndes (1-0)

6. (6) Marietta (0-1)

7. (10) Parkview (1-0)

8. (NR) Milton (1-0)

9. (3) Archer (0-1)

10. (NR) Norcross (1-0)

Out: No. 7 McEachern, No. 8 Tift County

Class AAAAAA 

1. (1) Lee County (1-0)

2. (2) Coffee (1-0)

3. (4) Northside-Warner Robins (1-0)

4. (7) Valdosta (1-0)

5. (9) Stephenson (1-0)

6. (5) Mays (0-1)

7. (NR) Harrison (1-0)

8. (3) Tucker (0-1)

9. (10) Alpharetta (0-0)

10. (NR) Lanier (1-0)

Out: No. 6 Allatoona, No. 8 Glynn Academy

Class AAAAA 

1. (1) Rome (1-0)

2. (2) Buford (1-0)

3. (3) Warner Robins (1-0)

4. (4) Carrollton (0-0)

5. (5) Stockbridge (0-0)

6. (6) Kell (1-0)

7. (9) Wayne County (0-0)

8. (10) Ware County (1-0)

9. (8) Jones County (1-0)

10. (NR) Dutchtown (1-0)

Out: No. 7 Carver (Atlanta)

Class AAAA 

1. (1) Blessed Trinity (1-0)

2. (2) Marist (0-0)

3. (3) Cartersville (1-0)

4. (4) Mary Persons (1-0)

5. (6) St Pius (0-1)

6. (7) Thomson (0-1)

7. (8) Burke County (0-1)

8. (9) Troup (0-0)

9. (NR) Flowery Branch (1-0)

10. (5) Woodward Academy (0-1)

Out: No. 10 Cedartown

Class AAA 

1. (1) Calhoun (1-0)

2. (2) Cedar Grove (1-0)

3. (3) Greater Atlanta Christian (1-0)

4. (4) Peach County (0-0)

5. (5) Benedictine (1-0)

6. (8) Westminster (1-0)

7. (7) Lovett (0-1)

8. (9) Liberty County (0-0)

9. (6) Jefferson (0-1)

10. (NR) Westside-Macon (1-0)

Out: No. 9 Jenkins

Class AA 

1. (1) Hapeville Charter (0-0)

2. (2) Heard County (1-0)

3. (4) Callaway (0-0)

4. (5) Thomasville (1-0)

5. (6) Brooks County (1-0)

6. (9) Bremen (1-0)

7. (7) Dodge County (1-0)

8. (8) Rabun County (0-1)

9. (9) Fitzgerald (1-0)

10. (NR) Rockmart (1-0)

Out: No. 8 Jefferson County

Class A (Private) 

1. (1) Eagle’s Landing Christian (1-0)

2. (2) Prince Avenue Christian (1-0)

3. (3) Athens Academy (1-0)

4. (4) Mount Paran Christian (0-0)

5. (5) Calvary Day (0-0)

6. (6) Darlington (1-0)

7. (7) Stratford Academy (0-0)

8. (8) Savannah Country Day (0-0)

9. (9) Aquinas (1-0)

10. (NR) Fellowship Christian (1-0)

Out: No. 10 Wesleyan

Class A (Public) 

1. (1) Clinch County (1-0)

2. (2) Irwin County (1-0)

3. (4) Mount Zion (1-0)

4. (6) Charlton County (1-0)

5. (7) Washington-Wilkes (0-0)

6. (8) Manchester (1-0)

7. (9) Dooly County (0-0)

8. (10) Commerce (1-0)

9. (3) Emanuel County Institute (0-1)

10. (NR) Pelham (1-0)

Out: No. 5 Macon County