High school football rankings: South Georgia county rivals move into top 5

Lowndes and Valdosta — county rivals that are 6-0 simultaneously for the first time since 1996 — jumped inside the top five of the Class 6A rankings after beating top-10 opponents in region play last week.

Lowndes moved up one place to No. 4 after beating No. 9 Colquitt County 31-14 in a Region 1-6A game.

Valdosta jumped three places to No. 5 after beating previous No. 10 and undefeated Camden County 63-19. Valdosta had more than 600 yards of total offense in the game.

Lowndes and Valdosta have not been ranked in the top five at the same time since 2020, when Valdosta played in the second-highest classification. Lowndes and Valdosta will play each other Oct. 31.

Hillgrove is new to the Class 6A ratings after a 5-0 start, replacing Camden County. Hillgrove’s average score is 44-3, but it has come against the 54th-toughest schedule out of 56 teams in Class 6A.

Dropping the most in the rankings were Stephenson and Prince Avenue Christian.

Stephenson, previously No. 5 in Class 3A, lost to unranked North Clayton 42-41 and fell out. North Clayton was a 14-point underdog despite its 5-1 record.

Prince Avenue lost to 24-point underdog Hart County 31-28 in the largest upset of the weekend, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings.

Prince Avenue dropped to No. 6 in Class 3A-A Private. Prince Avenue has spent only one other previous week ranked outside the top five since 2000, and that was a one-week stay at No. 6 in 2021.

Class 6A

1. (1) Grayson (6-0)

2. (2) Buford (5-0)

3. (3) Carrollton (6-0)

4. (5) Lowndes (6-0)

5. (8) Valdosta (6-0)

6. (4) McEachern (5-0)

7. (6) Douglas County (4-2)

8. (7) North Gwinnett (5-1)

9. (9) Colquitt County (4-2)

10. (NR) Hillgrove (5-0)

Out: No. 10 Camden County (5-1)

Class 5A

1. (1) Hughes (6-0)

2. (2) Thomas County Central (6-0)

3. (3) Milton (5-1)

4. (4) Gainesville (5-1)

5. (5) Houston County (6-0)

6. (7) Roswell (4-1)

7. (6) Lee County (3-2)

8. (8) Rome (3-2)

9. (9) Sequoyah (5-1)

10. (10) Northgate (6-0)

Class 4A

1. (1) North Oconee (6-0)

2. (2) Creekside (6-0)

3. (3) Cartersville (6-0)

4. (4) Benedictine (3-2)

5. (5) Ware County (5-1)

6. (6) Marist (4-1)

7. (7) Central-Carrollton (6-0)

8. (8) Blessed Trinity (4-2)

9. (9) Cambridge (5-1)

10. (10) Cass (6-1)

Class 3A

1. (1) Sandy Creek (5-0)

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

3. (3) Calhoun (3-2)

4. (4) Jefferson (5-1)

5. (6) North Hall (6-0)

6. (7) LaGrange (5-1)

7. (8) Troup (5-0)

8. (9) Jenkins (4-1)

9. (NR) West Laurens (6-0)

10. (NR) Westside-Augusta (5-0)

Out: No. 5 Stephenson (5-1), No. 10 Cherokee Bluff (4-2)

Class 2A

1. (1) Carver-Columbus (6-0)

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

3. (3) Carver-Atlanta (6-0)

4. (4) Morgan County (6-0)

5. (5) Rockmart (5-1)

6. (6) Callaway (4-2)

7. (7) Burke County (5-1)

8. (8) Sumter County (6-0)

9. (9) Hapeville Charter (1-4)

10. (NR) North Murray (5-0)