Roswell cashed Friday’s victory over No. 2 Walton into a ticket back into the Class AAAAAAA football rankings this week. And Milton got pulled back in on Roswell’s coattails. Yet Walton stayed ahead of both in what’s become a yarn knot in the highest classification this season.
The logic to the AJC’s football rankings go something like this:
Roswell, now at No. 6, has beaten No. 5 Walton and No. 10 Milton, but lost to unranked Wheeler earlier this month and must be held accountable for all results.
Walton has beaten defending champion North Gwinnett, which fell to No. 8 because the Walton loss is a little less forgivable after Roswell beat the Raiders.
And now Milton’s loss to Roswell is not so bad. And Miltn’s other loss came to No. 3 Parkview. Both of Milton’s losses are by two points. Milton also beat Archer, which dropped out of the rankings despite winning easily last week.
Also making big jumps in the high class were Hillgrove, to No. 4, and Marietta, to No. 5. They play each other this week, probably for the Region 3-AAAAAAA title. With Walton losing, Hillgrove and Marietta join No. 1 Colquitt County, No. 2 Grayson and No. 3 Parkview as teams that have quality wins and no losses to teams outside the top three, or which are not nationally ranked. Yes, Marietta has lost four games, but all competitively against nationally ranked opponents.
Make sense? It’s too early for sense. Only the playoffs can sort that out, and those are two weeks away.
In other classes, Valdosta dropped to No. 9 in AAAAAA after absorbing its most-lopsided loss in history – 63-7 to No. 1 Lee County.
Pickens moved into the top 10 of AAAA at No. 8, marking only the second time in history the Dragons have been ranked. Pickens spent a week in the top 10 in 2014. Pickens defeated previous No. 10 Ridgeland 31-21 in a Region 6-AAAA game that clinched a first-ever region title for Pickens. Pickens is now 3-26 all-time against the top-10. One of the other wins was against Ridgeland, in 2016.
The biggest jump of any school was Heard County’s dash to No. 3 in Class AA. Heard was ranked No. 2 in preseason but dropped after suffering consecutive blowouts against No. 1 Hapeville Charter and No. 2 Rockmart. Heard on Friday beat No. 2 Callaway 13-10.
Greene County also joined the Class A public-school rankings after a 36-28 victory over Aquinas, which was No. 5 in the private-school rankings.
Class AAAAAAA
1. (1) Colquitt County (8-0)
2. (3) Grayson (6-2)
3. (4) Parkview (8-0)
4. (6) Hillgrove (8-0)
5. (8) Marietta (4-4)
6. (2) Walton (7-1)
7. (NR) Roswell (7-1)
8. (5) North Gwinnett (7-2)
9. (10) Tift County (6-2)
10. (NR) Milton (6-2)
Out: No. 7 Lowndes, No. 9 Archer
Class AAAAAA
1. (1) Lee County (8-0)
2. (2) Creekview (8-0)
3. (4) Tucker (6-2)
4. (5) Douglas County (7-1)
5. (6) Northside-Warner Robins (4-4)
6. (7) Sequoyah (7-1)
7. (8) Allatoona (6-2)
8. (9) Stephenson (7-1)
9. (3) Valdosta (5-4)
10. (10) Coffee (7-2)
Class AAAAA
1. (1) Rome (9-0)
2. (2) Buford (6-2)
3. (4) Warner Robins (8-1)
4. (5) Dutchtown (8-0)
5. (6) Jones County (7-1)
6. (3) Stockbridge (7-1)
7. (7) Ware County (6-2)
8. (8) Wayne County (9-0)
9. (9) Southwest DeKalb (8-0)
10. (10) Kell (6-2)
Class AAAA
1. (1) Blessed Trinity (8-0)
2. (2) Mary Persons (8-0)
3. (3) Troup (8-0)
4. (4) St. Pius (8-1)
5. (5) Cartersville (9-0)
6. (6) Eastside (8-0)
7. (8) Marist (8-1)
8. (NR) Pickens (9-0)
9. (7) Flowery Branch (6-2)
10. (10) Ridgeland (5-3)
Out: No. 9 Burke County
Class AAA
1. (1) Calhoun (8-0)
2. (2) Cedar Grove (8-1)
3. (3) Monroe Area (9-0)
4. (4) Peach County (6-2)
5. (5) Westminster (5-3)
6. (6) Greater Atlanta Christian (7-2)
7. (7) Benedictine (7-1)
8. (9) Dawson County (7-1)
9. (8) Jefferson (7-2)
10. (10) Pace Academy (5-4)
Class AA
1. (1) Hapeville Charter (7-1)
2. (3) Rockmart (8-0)
3. (NR) Heard County (6-2)
4. (2) Callaway (7-2)
5. (4) Bremen (7-1)
6. (5) Rabun County (7-1)
7. (8) Brooks County (6-2)
8. (9) Dublin (8-1)
9. (10) Dodge County (8-1)
10. (6) Washington County (7-1)
Out: No. 7 Vidalia
Class A (Public)
1. (1) Irwin County (8-0)
2. (2) Clinch County (7-1)
3. (3) Commerce (8-0)
4. (4) Pelham (8-0)
5. (5) Marion County (8-0)
6. (6) Charlton County (6-2)
7. (7) Mount Zion (Carroll) (8-1)
8. (8) Schley County (7-1)
9. (9) Mitchell County (6-1)
10. (NR) Greene County (6-2)
Out: No. 10 Dooly County
Class A (Private)
1. (1) Eagle's Landing Christian (7-1)
2. (2) Athens Academy (8-0)
3. (3) Prince Avenue Christian (7-1)
4. (4) Fellowship Christian (8-0)
5. (6) George Walton Academy (7-1)
6. (7) Savannah Christian (7-1)
7. (8) Mount Paran Christian (6-2)
8. (9) Calvary Day (7-1)
9. (10) Darlington (7-1)
10. (5) Aquinas (7-1)
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