AA in brief: Pepperell makes its awaited rankings debut

By Adam Krohn

Oct 11, 2016

Last week saw almost half the top 10 on bye, but there were changes to the polls as a result of the games that were played. While the new rankings keep Nos. 1-6 intact, they change at No. 7, a spot formerly held by the Fighting Irish of Dublin. They lost to unranked Dodge County, which entered last week with a 2-4 record.

With the Dublin loss, teams ranked 8-10 (Vidalia, Screven County and Heard County, respectively) move up a spot and the Pepperell Dragons debut at No. 10. The Dragons have bolstered a strong resume that was recently accented by a 28-14 road win over then-ranked Model. They're coming off a bye and are on a three-game win streak in which they've outscored the competition 142-24.

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

1. (1) Benedictine (6-0)

2. (2) Fitzgerald (5-1)

3. (3) Jefferson County (7-0)

4. (4) Callaway (6-0)

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

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

7. (8) Vidalia (4-2)

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

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

10. (NR) Pepperell (4-1)

Out: No. 7 Dublin (6-1)

In brief:

One of the AA schools most affected by Hurricane Matthew is the top-ranked Benedictine Cadets, who are located in Savannah. Benedictine will remained closed all week, which it has been since last Wednesday. As of yesterday the school was without power, and their home game this week with Toombs County will now be a road game at Toombs. It was supposed to be the Cadets' homecoming. They're going to try and hold practice today for those who can attend. Perhaps they did catch a small break in having a bye last week.
Speaking of the Benedictine-Toombs County game, Toombs County athletic director Bill Benton spoke with ToombsNow about moving the game to Toombs.
The Model and Pepperell communities are mourning the loss of 16-year-old Kobe Thomas, a star basketball player for the Dragons last season who was slated to play for the Blue Devils this season. Here's a short video of Thomas posted in his memory.
To view AA's statistical leaders according to MaxPreps, go here.
The K.I.P.P. Atlanta Collegiate Warriors beat South Atlanta 26-14 to improve to 5-1. As a result they have been nominated for FOX High 5 Sports' Team of the Week. You can vote for the Warriors here.
FOX High 5 Sports has also nominated this week's Rockmart-Pepperell matchup for its Game of the Week. Vote here.