By Kyle Sandy
Things are starting to settle in for a moment in Class AAAAAAA as the Top 7 remains unchanged. The most impressive wins of the week belong to No. 1 Norcross (75-67 Berkmar) and No. 3 Wheeler (53-42 1ANo. 1 Greenforest). No. 5 Westlake won a sluggish game against Class A-Private No. 4 Southwest Atlanta Christian 75-63 without point guard Jamie Lewis who is out 6 weeks with a foot fracture.
Without three integral pieces including star forward KJ Buffen (broken ankle 6-8 weeks), Class AAAAAA No. 1 Gainesville hasn’t made any excuses and remain undefeated. The Red Elephants beat Class 4A No. 5 St. Pius (48-43), Milton (70-61) and Lee, AL (46-44). Bailey Minor has dumped in 53 points over his last two games to power the offense. No. 6 Alpharetta is now 7-0 and hosts 5-0 Pope in a Region 7 showdown.
There’s major shakeup in Class AAAAA after last week’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams lose. Columbia fell to Southwest DeKalb at home 62-51 while Cedar Shoals was knocked off by Duluth in overtime. The result is Buford slotting in at No. 1 while Southwest DeKalb moves up five spots to No. 2. Southwest DeKalb’s wins over Collins Hill and Columbia sparkle in Class AAAAA. Buford’s top ranking gets put to the test right away as they travel to No. 3 Cedar Shoals on Tuesday.
In their first true test of the season, Class AAAA No. 2 Upson-Lee handed Class A-Public No. 2 Crawford County just its second home loss since 2014, 77-66. No. 3 Henry County lost to Fayette County, but New Orleans-signee Damion Rosser is now back healthy. He went for 18 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in a 62-59 win against No. 10 North Clayton.
Cedar Grove sits at No. 3 in Class AAA after beating Lovett 48-35 and Liberty County’s loss to Brunswick. The Saints should be getting some help as football players such as 6-foot-8 center Jelani Woods are expected back to the hardwood. Islands moves up three spots to No. 7 and will host No. 8 Jenkins on Tuesday in a potential “changing of the guard” game if the Sharks can take a bite out of the perennial Savannah power. Lovett drops out and is replaced by No. 9 Calhoun who has allowed 19 points in each of their two victories this season.
Class AA sees Dublin slip one spot after losing to Twiggs County and Truetlen. Due to Callaway not playing a game yet, the Irish don’t fall out of the Top 3. They picked up a huge 57-56 win over Class A-Public No. 1 Wilkinson County to remain ranked highly. The biggest surprise in Class AA is the play of No. 5 Glenn Hills and Vidalia. The Indians are now unranked after a 1-3 start. New to the poll is No. 8 Therrell. Sophomore Anthony Edwards has led the attack as the Panthers have earned wins over Hiram (49-42), Mays (76-71) and Rockdale County (61-48).
The only movement in Class A-Private sees Christian Heritage replaced at the bottom of the poll by No. 10 Our Lady of Mercy. Whitefield Academy moves up a spot to No. 9 after a 60-57 win over Grady. No. 2 North Cobb Christian romped Stratford Academy 57-38, but it’s still not enough to unseat No. 1 Greenforest. No. 3 St. Francis went to Hall County and came away with a 67-64 win over No. 6 Lakeview Academy.
Calhoun County rises to No. 3, jumping Turner County in Class A-Public. The Cougars drilled Randolph-Clay 74-50. Idle No. 9 Lincoln County, No. 10 Hancock Central and No. 7 Hawkinsville are replaced by No. 6 Twiggs County, No. 8 Treutlen and No. 10 Schley County.
Class AAAAAAA
1. Norcross (6-0)
2. Newton (6-0)
3. Wheeler (3-1)
4. Pebblebrook (4-2)
5. Westlake (4-1)
6. McEachern (3-0)
7. Collins Hill (5-1)
8. Tift County (5-1)
9. Duluth (5-1)
10. Shiloh (3-3)
Class AAAAAA
1. Gainesville (5-0)
2. Jonesboro (3-1)
3. South Paulding (4-0)
4. Langston Hughes (4-3)
5. Heritage-Conyers (5-1)
6. Alpharetta (7-0)
7. Dacula (4-1)
8. Brunswick (4-0)
9. Allatoona (1-2)
10. Tri-Cities (7-1)
Class AAAAA
1. Buford (5-0)
2. Southwest DeKalb (6-1)
3. Cedar Shoals (4-1)
4. Columbia (4-2)
5. Eagle’s Landing (3-1)
6. Fayette County (3-0)
7. Miller Grove (2-2)
8. Riverwood (7-1)
9. Warner Robins (1-1)
10. New Hampstead (4-2)
Class AAAA
1. Sandy Creek (3-1)
2. Upson-Lee (7-0)
3. Henry County (5-3)
4. Thomson (1-0)
5. St. Pius X (3-2)
6. Westover (3-1)
7. Richmond Academy (6-1)
8. LaGrange (3-1)
9. Perry (5-1)
10. North Clayton (1-3)
Class AAA
1. Westside-Macon (1-1)
2. Pace Academy (2-1)
3. Cedar Grove (1-0)
4. Liberty County (3-2)
5. Greater Atlanta Christian (3-1)
6. Morgan County (2-1)
7. Islands (3-1)
8. Jenkins (2-3)
9. Calhoun (2-0)
10. Redan (4-2)
Class AA
1. South Atlanta (2-0)
2. Monticello (5-2)
3. Dublin (1-2)
4. Callaway (0-0)
5. Glenn Hills (4-0)
6. Thomasville (2-3)
7. Butler (3-1)
8. Therrell (3-0)
9. Chattooga (2-0)
10. Toombs County (5-1)
Class A-Private
1. Greenforest (4-2)
2. North Cobb Christian (5-1)
3. St. Francis (5-0)
4. Southwest Atlanta Christian (1-3)
5. Holy Innocents’ (2-2)
6. Lakeview Academy (4-1)
7. Tattnall Square (0-0)
8. Aquinas (0-0)
9. Whitefield Academy (1-1)
10. Our Lady of Mercy (5-1)
Class A-Public
1. Wilkinson County (2-1)
2. Crawford County (3-1)
3. Calhoun County (4-0)
4. Turner County (1-0)
5. Quitman County (6-1)
6. Twiggs County (4-0)
7. Taylor County (1-1)
8. Treutlen (2-0)
9. Manchester (2-1)
10. Schley County (3-0)
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