AA in brief: Benedictine alone atop rankings

As the results on the field dictated, last week's games led to the biggest shakeup in the AA rankings to date. Every team from last week's top 10 either moved up or down in the rankings, and in Model's case it moved out altogether and was replaced by Heard County.

Fitzgerald is no longer the state’s top-ranked team after losing to Tift County, an unranked team from AAAAAAA. It’s worth noting the Purple Hurricane were down 20-7 heading into the fourth and trailed 28-14 with 6:45 remaining before rallying to tie the game.

However, Benedictine was playing at the same high level all season, and the Cadets passed their test earlier this season by beating St. Pius X in Atlanta. So there’s no question they’ve earned their ranking. Of course, the Cadets finished 12-1 last year, with the loss being a blowout to Fitzgerald in the quarterfinals. We’ll see if there’s a resolution to that rivalry in this year’s playoffs, but for now it’s the Cadets who sit at the top.

Jefferson County, Callaway and Rabun County each move up a spot courtesy of the Brooks County Trojans, who fell three spots following a 16-14 defeat to Crisp County, the No. 7 team out of AAA. It’s going to be a tougher road to Atlanta than initially projected after season-ending injuries to their starting quarterback and defensive back.

Dublin, Vidalia and Screven County also moved up a spot with No. 7 Model’s loss to the unranked Pepperell Dragons. That opened the door for the Heard County Braves to return to the rankings at No. 10. It’s been a long road back to the polls for the Braves, who exited from their preseason No. 10 ranking after barely beating perennial bottom feeder South Atlanta in their season opener. They’re coming off a bye that was preceded by a 41-0 win over Temple on Sept. 23, but their ranking could  once again be short lived – they play at Callaway this week.

As for the Dragons, it looks like they’ll have to keep winning and wait for another team to lose to join the top 10. This week the Dragons (4-1, 3-0 R7) take on Rockmart (5-1, 3-0), and a win for either team could put them in the rankings if the Braves lose to Callaway.

Aside from Pepperell and Rockmart, other bubble teams include Toombs County (5-1), Washington County (4-1) and Elbert County (5-1). KIPP Atlanta Collegiate is also 5-1, but has a strength of schedule of (-) 12.5 according to the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings due to its membership in a Region 6 depleted of all private school powerhouses that used to dominate AA.

Here’s a glimpse at the updated rankings, with the previous week’s rankings in parenthesis:

1. (2) Benedictine (6-0)

2. (1) Fitzgerald (4-1)

3. (4) Jefferson County (6-0)

4. (5) Callaway (5-0)

5. (6) Rabun County (4-0)

6. (3) Brooks County (4-1)

7. (8) Dublin (6-0)

8. (9) Vidalia (4-2)

9. (10) Screven County (5-1)