Irwin County and Athens Academy are the new No. 1 teams in Class A, Holy Innocents’ is at an all-time high, and Calhoun is out of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution rankings for the first time since 2008.
Irwin County, ranked No. 1 among Class A public schools, defeated previous No. 1 Clinch County 14-0 in a Region 2-A game Friday night. Irwin also beat Clinch in regular-season games in 2017 and 2018, only to lose to Clinch in the state finals. The same scenario also played out in 2015.
In the Class A private rankings, Athens Academy is No. 1 for the first time since 1979.
The Spartans moved up from No. 2 after previous No. 1 Eagle’s Landing Christian lost to Holy Innocents’ 42-41 in overtime. ELCA, the four-time reigning Class A private-school champion, had been ranked No. 1 for 48 straight weeks of polling since 2015. Also ended were ELCA’s 59-game winning streak in region games and 41-game winning streak against Class A opponents.
The victory also was historic for Holy Innocents’, which leaped to No. 2 in the rankings from No. 10. That marks the highest ranking in school history. It was Holy Innocents’ first victory over a top-five opponent, ending an 18-game losing streak in those games. Holy Innocents’ also had been the most recent to defeat ECLA in a region game in 2009 when the Golden Bears prevailed 35-13.
Also historic in this week’s poll is the absence of Calhoun, which had been ranked every week since the final poll of 2008. Calhoun Friday lost to unranked North Murray 31-7 in a Region 6-AAA contest. Calhoun had been ranked for 147 consecutive polling weeks and had been 119-0 in games that count in region standings since 2001.
Class AAAAAAA
- (1) Grayson (4-0)
- (2) Lowndes (5-0)
- (3) McEachern (4-0)
- (4) Marietta (3-1)
- (5) Colquitt County (3-1)
- (6) Hillgrove (4-0)
- (7) Milton (2-2)
- (8) Parkview (2-1)
- (9) North Gwinnett (3-1)
- (10) Archer (3-1)
Class AAAAAA
- (1) Valdosta (5-0)
- (2) Dacula (4-0)
- (3) Coffee (5-0)
- (4) Harrison (5-0)
- (6) Lee County (4-1)
- (7) Allatoona (3-1)
- (9) Dalton (4-0)
- (8) Lanier (4-0)
- (NR) Glynn Academy (2-1)
- (5) Houston County (4-1)
Out: No. 10 Northside-Warner Robins
Class AAAAA
- (1) Buford (4-0)
- (3) Carrollton (4-0)
- (2) Bainbridge (4-0)
- (5) Jones County (5-0)
- (6) Dutchtown (5-0)
- (4) Warner Robins (3-1)
- (8) Stockbridge (4-0)
- (7) Rome (2-2)
- (NR) Griffin (4-0)
- (10) Kell (3-1)
Out: No. 9 Wayne County
Class AAAA
- (1) Cartersville (4-0)
- (2) Marist (4-0)
- (4) Woodward Academy (4-0)
- (5) Blessed Trinity (3-1)
- (6) Sandy Creek (4-0)
- (7) Cairo (3-1)
- (8) Flowery Branch (3-0)
- (9) Burke County (3-1)
- (3) Troup (3-1)
- (NR) North Oconee (5-0)
Out: No. 10 West Laurens
Class AAA
- (1) Peach County (3-1)
- (2) Cedar Grove (2-2)
- (4) Pierce County (4-0)
- (5) Greater Atlanta Christian (3-1)
- (6) Hart County (4-0)
- (7) Appling County (4-0)
- (9) Crisp County (3-2)
- (8) Lovett (3-1)
- (10) Liberty County (1-0)
- (NR) Jefferson (2-1)
Out: No. 3 Calhoun
Class AA
- (1) Rockmart (4-0)
- (2) Hapeville Charter (2-1)
- (3) Callaway (3-1)
- (4) Dublin (3-0)
- (5) Rabun County (4-0)
- (8) Swainsboro (3-1)
- (9) Fitzgerald (4-1)
- (7) Brooks County (1-3)
- (6) Washington County (3-1)
- (10) Douglass (4-0)
Class A (Private)
- (2) Athens Academy (3-0)
- (10) Holy Innocents' (4-0)
- (1) Eagle's Landing Christian (3-1)
- (3) Darlington (4-0)
- (4) Wesleyan (4-0)
- (5) Prince Avenue Christian (3-1)
- (6) Aquinas (4-0)
- (7) Fellowship Christian (4-0)
- (8) North Cobb Christian (4-0)
- (9) Calvary Day (2-1)
Class A (Public)
- (2) Irwin County (3-0)
- (1) Clinch County (3-1)
- (3) Pelham (4-0)
- (5) Mitchell County (3-1)
- (4) Marion County (3-1)
- (6) Commerce (3-1)
- (8) Bowdon (3-0)
- (9) Wilcox County (4-0)
- (7) Trion (3-1)
- (NR) Lincoln County (2-2)
Out: No. 10 Johnson County
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