Class AA brought some exciting football to its fans in Week 2, with big wins from ranked teams Fitzgerald, Rabun County, Thomasville and Jefferson County. The top 7 remains unchanged from last week, with Hapeville Charter holding on to its No. 2 spot despite its 21-20 loss to Thompson (Alabama) and Thomasville standing pat at No. 7, though its 41-7 win over then-ranked Thomas County Central made a case for a boost in the polls.
Pepperell's 35-7 loss to Ridgeland bumped the Dragons out of the top 10 from the No. 8 spot, allowing Brooks County and Jefferson County to each move up while the idle Dodge County Indians makes their debut at No. 10. The Indians beat Vidalia 14-13 in their opener on Aug. 18.
Here's a glimpse at the updated rankings, with the previous week's rankings in parenthesis:
1. (1) Benedictine (1-0)
2. (2) Hapeville Charter (1-1)
3. (3) Fitzgerald (1-1)
4. (4) Screven County (1-0)
5. (5) Rabun County (1-0)
6. (6) Callaway (1-0)
7. (7) Thomasville (2-0)
8. (9) Brooks County (1-0)
9. (10) Jefferson County (2-0)
10. (NR) Dodge County (1-0)
- In Week 1, Thomasville kicker Carl Blackmore set a school record with a 53-yard field goal. Last week against Thomas Count Central, he broke his own record with a 57-yard field goal . Blackmore was profiled in the USA Today's " Outside the box with Cam Smith ."
- Speaking of long field goals, Rabun County's Andrew Barnes kicked a 50-yarder .
- Rabun County's Austin Jones won Blitz's Play of the Week for his role in this trick play that resulted in a touchdown. Jones also won Blitz's Fan Vote Player of the Week with 101 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on offense and 17 tackles and two pass breakups on defense.
- Rabun County's all-around effort in its season opener was discussed in WDUN's weekly " 5 things ."
- The Spencer Greenwave Owls opened their season with a rare win over Carver-Columbus in the Heritage Bowl by a 28-18 score. It was their first win over Carver since 1998 in a series that Carver leads 41-13-1.
- The Hapeville Charter Hornets suffered a 21-20 road loss to an Alabama school after leading 17-0, but appear to be taking it in stride as they gear up for next week against Pace Academy.
- Here are highlights from Toombs County's 38-6 win over Twiggs County. Complete coverage can be found here .
- Laney lost 38-12 at Aquinas, but the game was special nonetheless. The same matchup 50 years earlier marked the first integrated high school football game in Georgia and the two programs were recognized for that during the game . Laney beat Aquinas 30-0 in 1967 and went 5-0 against them through 1975. The series resumed in 2016, with Aquinas winning 19-18.
- Though Pepperell is out of the top 10, the Dragons still have their season ahead of them and are looking ahead at a great shot to make the postseason for a third consecutive year.
- David Almeda of the Thomasville Times Enterprise discusses Thomasville in the aftermath of its big win over TCC in the Rose City Rumble.
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Credit: Adam Krohn
Credit: Adam Krohn