The usual Class 3A suspects played well during the first week of the high school football season, but two top 10 teams – then No. 5 Oconee County and then No. 10 Monroe Area – lost games in Week 1.

Oconee entered the season ranked fifth but lost to North Oconee, the No. 2-ranked program from Class 4A, 16-13. The Warriors fell to No. 8 in the new 3A poll. Monroe Area was ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll but lost to unranked Class 5A Loganville, 45-39, and dropped out of the top 10.

Now for the good news.

Wesleyan, which joined Class 3A from the former Class A Private after reclassification, was not ranked in the preseason poll but beat Mount Vernon 31-7 and entered the top 10 at No. 10. Ben Brown was 14-of-19 passing for 162 yards and two touchdowns and scored a touchdown to lead with Wildcats.

Top-ranked Cedar Grove defeated Class 4A then-No. 7 Bainbridge, 30-14, sending the Bearcats sliding to No. 9 in the 4A poll. Cedar Grove trailed 7-0 early but scored 30 unanswered points to take control of the game. E.J. Colson was 11-of-18 passing for 156 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Saints.

No. 2-ranked Crisp County beat Dooly County 17-6; No. 3 Carver-Columbus defeated Hardaway 41-10; No. 4 Carver-Atlanta defeated South Cobb, and No. 5 Calvary Day climbed up one spot in the rankings after a 49-6 victory against Islands.

Sandy Creek is ranked No. 6 after a 38-27 victory against Newnan. The Patriots climbed from No. 7 in the new poll. Peach County moved up one spot to No. 7 after defeating Baldwin 50-20. Dougherty, ranked ninth, beat Westover 28-21.

Class 3A Top 10 with results from Week 1

1. (1) Cedar Grove (1-0); defeated Bainbridge 30-14

2. (2) Crisp County (1-0); defeated Dooly County 17-6

3. (3) Carver-Columbus (1-0); defeated Hardaway 41-10

4. (4) Carver-Atlanta (1-0); defeated South Cobb 22-6

5. (6) Calvary Day (1-0); defeated Islands 49-6

6. (7) Sandy Creek (1-0); defeated Newnan 38-27

7. (8) Peach County (1-0); defeated Baldwin 50-20

8. (5) Oconee County (0-1); lost to Class 4A No. 2 North Oconee 16-13

9. (9) Dougherty (1-0); defeated Westover 28-21

10. (NR) Wesleyan (1-0); defeated Mount Vernon 31-7

Out: No. 10 Monroe Area; lost to Loganville 45-39

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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