AA in brief: Should Fitzgerald, Benedictine share top ranking?

This week's rankings come to us with no changes in Nos. 1-9, with Fitzgerald at the top as it has been all season. As discussed on Saturday, No. 10 Dodge County was removed from the rankings after its loss to a winless school from the state's smallest classification.

Replacing Dodge County at No. 10 is the Screven County Gamecocks (3-1) from Region 4. The Gamecocks' only loss came in their season opener at the hands of Bluffton (South Carolina) by a score of 32-25. For context, Bluffton is currently 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class AAA - The Palmetto State only has four classifications. The Gamecocks have since won three straight, outscoring Wade Hampton (South Carolina), AAAAA's Statesboro and region opponent Butler 102-44.

The Gamecocks' inclusion in the rankings leaves the Temple Tigers (4-0) hanging as the only undefeated team that remains unranked. Other than that, there's not much to debate about the rankings. Maybe the argument could be made that Fitzgerald and Benedictine should share the top ranking, given the Cadets' road win over AAAA's then-No. 6 St. Pius a few weeks ago. Both teams have played like the state's best.

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

1. (1) Fitzgerald (3-0)

2. (2) Benedictine (4-0)

3. (3) Brooks County (3-0)

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

5. (5) Callaway (4-0)

6. (6) Rabun County (2-0)

7. (7) Model (4-0)

8. (8) Dublin (4-0)

9. (9) Vidalia (3-1)

10. (NR) Screven County (3-1)

Out: No. 10 Dodge County (1-3)

In brief:

• Banks County RB Clayton Dykehouse, Heard County RB/CB Cal'Von Harris, Model RB/CB Chris Dublin, Vidalia LB/RB Nate McBride all were honorable mentions for GHSF Daily's Top Performances for last week. Rockmart's line was named "Offensive Line of the Week" while Elbert County's offensive line earned "Lines of distinction" honors.
• There are a handful of AA schools nominated for Game of the Week coverage. You can vote for Coosa vs. Pepperell or Rabun County vs. West Hall as WSB-TV's Sports Zone Game of the Week. Coosa-Pepperell is also up for Fox 5's High5 Sports Game of the Week, as is the Temple-Heard County game.
• Speaking of Pepperell: first rule about Fight Club: Don't talk about Fight Club. The Pepperell Dragons violated that rule with their Fight Club-themed promotion of last week's game at Gordon Central, but it must've worked anyway because the Dragons marched to a 69-0 win. The Dragons are now 2-1.
• Recruit Georgia's David Ewalt profiled Fitzgerald's JD King ahead of last week's Hurricane-Rockdale County game. Markeylon Lundy and Lecitus Smith were Fitzgerald's Players of the Game for their contributions in the Purple Hurricane's win over Rockdale.
• Here's a video and feature on Rabun County QB Bailey Fisher by accessWDUN's Morgan Let. Fisher was accessWDUN's Player of the Week last week.
• AAA's Dougherty has rule that its sports teams can't travel more than an hour on a school night. As a result, its game with Spencer was moved from Friday night to 10 a.m. on Saturday. Dougherty was successful in delaying the game's start, but couldn't avoid the inevitable as Spencer won 28-14.
• Toombs County is off to a 3-1 start after its 41-7 win over Bryan County. Here's the Toombs Now Locker Room Show and broadcast from that game.
• Thomasville was trailing Worth County 21-10 heading into the fourth quarter but rallied for its first win of the season.
• David Lee of the Augusta Chronicle profiled Washington County's offensive line in his Prep Rewind Notebook.
• Kristina Wilder of the Rome News-Tribune profiled Model coach Gordon Powers' fundraising efforts for cancer research.