AJC Varsity preseason football rankings: 4 reigning champs start No. 1

Four reigning champions and four teams that have not won titles this decade are No. 1 in the AJC Varsity preseason football rankings three days ahead of the season’s first games.

Buford, Thomas County Central, Sandy Creek and Carver of Columbus are those defending championships.

Less recent title winners starting No. 1 are Cartersville, Heard County, Lincoln County and Calvary Day.

The 2025 champions not starting No. 1 are Creekside, Worth County, Bowdon and Hebron Christian.

Creekside and Worth County moved up in classification, and Bowdon and Hebron Christian have new coaches and graduated key players.

In Class 7A, Buford is coming off a consensus national championship. The Wolves graduated nine Power 4 signees, among the most for a school in state history, but they are projected to have six or seven more this season.

Buford’s top contenders are expected to be 2025 runner-up Carrollton and 2024 champion Grayson.

Thomas County Central, a two-time champion this decade, must contend with Creekside and 2025 runner-up Gainesville in Class 6A.

Thomas County Central graduated four first-team AJC all-state players but added quarterback Aidan McPherson, who made all-state with Rome last season. He will be throwing to an all-state wide receiver, Jabari Watkins, an Arkansas commit.

Creekside’s promotion left no reigning champions in Class 5A, which is headed by Cartersville.

Cartersville is seeking its first state title since 2016, when its quarterback was Trevor Lawrence. Cartersville has five players on the AJC’s preseason Class 5A all-state team. They include 5-star wide receiver Madoxx Davis.

Sandy Creek, No. 1 in Class 4A, returns quarterback Caleb Hill and three others who made preseason all-state.

Carver of Columbus, the No. 1 team in Class 3A, has won state titles the past two seasons. The Tigers are joined in 2A by 2025 Class A Division I champion Worth County and runner-up Toombs County.

Worth’s and Toombs’ promotions leave Class 2A (formerly A Division I) difficult to forecast.

Heard County got the nod at No. 1 as the Braves, semifinalists last season, return 13 all-region players, including Memphis-committed quarterback Ethan Tisdale.

Tisdale passed for more than 2,500 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 with 50 total touchdowns in 2025. Heard’s most recent state title came in 2018.

South Georgia teams Fitzgerald, Thomasville, Swainsboro and Dublin should be strong contenders.

In Class A, four-time champ Bowdon is No. 2 behind Lincoln County, the 2025 runner-up. Lincoln County most recently won a championship in 2006.

Bowdon graduated 5-star receiver Kaiden Prothro, now at Georgia. Bowdon’s former coach, Rich Fendley, is at Rockmart. Bowdon promoted assistant Jamie Abrams.

Another new coach trying to defend a title is Hebron Christian’s Quentin Davie. Hebron has won the Private division the past two seasons. Graduated are 2,000-yard rusher Devon Caldwell and Private defensive player of the year Max Steve.

Calvary Day, the 2025 runner-up seeking its first state title, has seven preseason all-state players, the most among teams in any classification. Those include quarterback James Mobley, a three-year starter with 68 career touchdown passes.

The first games are Wednesday, a Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic doubleheader with South Gwinnett vs. Lanier and No. 5 North Gwinnett vs. No. 3 Grayson in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Classification names are different this season. Instead of classes 6A to A Division II, the seven classes go from 7A to A

Private schools in 4A and below are ranked in Class 4A-2A Private because they complete for a single state championship separate from public schools.

Class 7A

1. Buford (15-0)
2. Carrollton (14-1)
3. Grayson (12-1)
4. Douglas County (9-4)
5. North Gwinnett (12-2)
6. McEachern (10-1)
7. Valdosta (12-2)
8. Colquitt County (9-3)
9. Lowndes (10-2)
10. Harrison (10-2)

Class 6A

1. Thomas County Central (15-0)
2. Gainesville (12-3)
3. Creekside (15-0)
4. Milton (8-4)
5. Hughes (12-1)
6. Lee County (8-4)
7. Roswell (12-2)
8. Houston County (10-2)
9. Jackson County (11-2)
10. Kell (11-3)

Class 5A

1. Cartersville (12-1)
2. Benedictine (11-3)
3. Marist (12-2)
4. North Oconee (12-1)
5. Central (Carrollton) (12-1)
6. Jefferson (13-2)
7. Blessed Trinity (7-5)
8. LaGrange (11-3)
9. Lithonia (10-3)
10. Warner Robins (7-5)

Class 4A

1. Sandy Creek (15-0)
2. Cairo (10-3)
3. Troup (10-2)
4. Stephenson (11-2)
5. Peach County (10-2)
6. Calhoun (9-3)
7. North Hall (11-1)
8. West Laurens (13-1)
9. Douglass (9-4)
10. Monroe Area (9-3)

Class 3A

1. Carver (Columbus) (15-0)
2. Toombs County (13-2)
3. Worth County (15-0)
4. Sumter County (12-2)
5. Burke County (11-3)
6. Rockmart (11-2)
7. Appling County (8-4)
8. Hapeville Charter (10-5)
9. Carver (Atlanta) (12-1)
10. Pierce County (9-3)

Class 2A

1. Heard County (13-1)
2. Swainsboro (9-3)
3. Fitzgerald (9-4)
4. Thomasville (8-4)
5. Dublin (9-3)
6. Bleckley County (9-3)
7. Pepperell (9-5)
8. Brooks County (7-6)
9. Rabun County (10-3)
10. Dodge County (7-4)