NATIONAL RANKINGS

Corky Kell games having big impact on GHSA teams’ national rankings

North Gwinnett, Roswell soar in national polls after opening-game wins.

North Gwinnett wide receiver Christian Jackson (center right) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against Grayson in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

By Chip Saye

45 minutes ago

Most of the national high school football ranking services did not update their preseason rankings after a light schedule during the opening week of the season, but the ones that did rewarded the winners of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic and punished the losers.

Grayson, which lost to North Gwinnett 37-22 last week after trailing 37-0 in third quarter, took the biggest tumble. The Rams fell from No. 13 to No. 59 in the MaxPreps poll, from No. 19 to No. 47 in the Massey Ratings and from No. 12 to out of the Top 25 in USA Today’s rankings.

North Gwinnett, on the other hand, moved up 39 spots to No. 38 in MaxPreps and up 42 spots to No. 15 in the Massey Ratings.

Roswell, which defeated Walton 32-20 last week, went from outside the Top 100 to the No. 55 spot in the Massey Ratings. Brookwood, a 52-7 winner of Cambridge, moved from outside the Top 100 to No. 90 in the Massey Ratings.

Buford, the consensus national champion in 2025, remains the highest-rated Georgia team in nine of the 10 polls. The Wolves open the season Saturday against Gainesville, which is ranked by four polls and has a high of No. 18 in NationalHSFB.com.

Here is where Georgia teams stand in several national polls. The numbers on the left are this week’s rankings; the numbers in parentheses are last week’s rankings. If there are no numbers in parentheses, the poll was not updated after last week’s games.