AJC Varsity rankings: 3 teams enter Top 10 for 1st time this season

Dougherty, Model and Schley County are in the Top 10 of AJC Varsity’s football rankings for the first time this season, and Worth County, a reigning champion, is back in.

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Newton, Valdosta and Heard County defended their high rankings with victories over Top 10 challengers last week.

Dougherty, as a 29-point underdog, beat former No. 4 Cairo 26-23 in Class 4A to take first place in Region 1. The Trojans are now No. 7. Cairo is No. 8. Cairo is the highest-ranked opponent Dougherty has beaten since 2005.

Model, which was off last week, took advantage of former No. 9 Berrien losing to unranked Brooks County in Class 2A and took Berrien’s spot. It is Model’s first appearance in a Top 10 since 2016.

Schley County, a Class A school, beat Chattahoochee County 55-14 and entered the rankings, at No. 10, for the first time since the 2024 preseason poll. Trion is out after losing to No. 8 Bowdon.

Worth County, the preseason No. 3 team in Class 3A, reentered the rankings at No. 10 after beating former No. 7 Crisp County 49-19. Crisp dropped out. Worth County (4-3) won Class A Division I last season.

In some of the best wins among Top 10 teams, No. 3 Newton beat No. 10 Grayson 38-27, No. 4 Valdosta beat former No. 7 Colquitt County 52-44 in Class 7A and No. 1 Heard County beat then No. 4 Bremen 33-13 in Class 2A. Those winners held their spots.

For Newton, the victory — after trailing 24-7 in the third quarter — was the team’s fifth over a Top 10 team this season. Only 18 other teams in GHSA history have beaten as many ranked opponents in a regular season.

Valdosta showcased one of the state’s offenses, putting up 703 total yards, in beating Colquitt, the only team that beat Valdsota in the regular season last year.

Moving up one place in the rankings to No. 2 was Thomasville, which beat previous No. 2 Jeff Davis 28-25 in a Class 2A game.

Three weeks remain in the regular season.

Class 7A

1. (1) Buford (7-0)
2. (2) Carrollton (8-0)
3. (3) Newton (8-0)
4. (4) Valdosta (7-0)
5. (5) Lowndes (7-0)
6. (6) Westlake (6-1)
7. (8) Brookwood (7-1)
8. (9) North Gwinnett (6-1)
9. (7) Colquitt County (5-3)
10. (10) Grayson (4-4)

Class 6A

1. (1) Thomas County Central (8-0)
2. (2) Creekside (6-1)
3. (3) Lee County (7-1)
4. (4) Gainesville (6-2)
5. (5) Milton (6-1)
6. (6) Coffee (6-1)
7. (7) Hughes (6-1)
8. (8) Jackson County (7-0)
9. (9) Sequoyah (6-1)
10. (10) East Paulding (7-0)

Class 5A

1. (1) Cartersville (8-0)
2. (2) Blessed Trinity (8-0)
3. (3) Marist (5-2)
4. (4) Tucker (7-0)
5. (5) North Oconee (7-1)
6. (6) Benedictine (6-1)
7. (7) Mays (7-0)
8. (8) Jefferson (6-2)
9. (9) LaGrange (6-2)
10. (10) Cass (7-1)

Class 4A

1. (1) Sandy Creek (7-0)
2. (2) Peach County (7-0)
3. (3) Troup (7-0)
4. (5) Monroe Area (7-0)
5. (6) Stephenson (7-1)
6. (7) Douglass (4-3)
7. (NR) Dougherty (6-1)
8. (4) Cairo (7-1)
9. (8) North Hall (5-2)
10. (9) Northwest Whitfield (6-1)

Out: No. 10 Howard (4-3)

Class 3A

1. (1) Toombs County (7-0)
2. (2) Appling County (7-0)
3. (3) Pierce County (6-1)
4. (4) Northeast (6-1)
5. (5) Columbia (5-2)
6. (6) KIPP Atlanta Collegiate (6-1)
7. (8) Hapeville Charter (4-3)
8. (9) Hart County (7-1)
9. (10) Rockmart (5-2)
10. (NR) Worth County (4-3)

Out: No. 7 Crisp County (4-2)

Class 2A

1. (1) Heard County (7-0)
2. (3) Thomasville (7-1)
3. (5) Dublin (6-1)
4. (2) Jeff Davis (6-1)
5. (6) Bleckley County (7-1)
6. (7) Commerce (7-0)
7. (4) Bremen (6-1)
8. (10) Social Circle (6-1)
9. (NR) Model (6-1)
10. (8) Fitzgerald (5-3)