Cedar Grove remained the No. 1 Class 3A football team in the AJC rankings despite losing to a Florida team Saturday night. The Saints were beaten 50-42 by Monarch, which plays in a Florida classification for its largest schools.
No. 2 is Calvary Day, which features Tennessee-committed quarterback Jake Merklinger but has never been ranked No. 1 and lost to Cedar Grove 30-0 last season.
No. 3 is defending champion Sandy Creek, which returned only a handful of starters and began the season No. 6 but is 2-0 with victories over Newnan and Greenwood, S.C., by margins bigger than last season. Cedar Grove and Sandy Creek split two games last season, with Sandy Creek winning in the championship game, and play each other Oct. 20.
Twenty-one ranked teams lost last week, but almost all were to larger, higher-ranked or out-of-state opponents.
The out-of-state teams were particularly difficult as Western of Florida beat then-No. 6 Milton 14-10, and McCallie of Tennessee defeated No. 3 Woodward Academy, causing those Georgia teams to drop a little.
But No. 1 Buford of Class 7A and No. 2 Creekside of 5A beat out-of-state teams to hang on to their rankings. Buford beat North Carolina’s Mallard Creek 10-7 after trailing 7-0 at halftime, and Creekside beat New Jersey’s St. Peter’s Prep 34-15 in a game between teams with top-200 national rankings.
Class 7A
1. (1) Buford (2-0)
2. (2) Colquitt County (2-0)
3. (3) Mill Creek (2-0)
4. (4) Walton (2-0)
5. (5) Carrollton (1-1)
6. (7) Parkview (2-0)
7. (8) Westlake (2-0)
8. (6) Milton (1-1)
9. (9) Norcross (1-1)
10. (NR) Grayson (1-1)
Out: No. 10 Brookwood (1-1)
Class 6A
1. (1) Hughes (2-0)
2. (2) Gainesville (2-0)
3. (4) Houston County (2-0)
4. (5) Lee County (2-0)
5. (6) Roswell (2-0)
6. (3) Woodward Academy (1-1)
7. (7) Rome (2-0)
8. (8) Thomas County Central (2-0)
9. (9) Northside-Warner Robins (2-0)
10. (10) Marist (1-1)
Class 5A
1. (1) Ware County (2-0)
2. (2) Creekside (2-0)
3. (3) Warner Robins (0-1)
4. (4) Coffee (2-0)
5. (5) Cartersville (2-0)
6. (6) Jefferson (2-0)
7. (7) Jones County (1-1)
8. (8) Hiram (2-0)
9. (9) Calhoun (1-1)
10. (10) Clarke Central (2-0)
Class 4A
1. (1) Benedictine (2-0)
2. (2) North Oconee (1-0)
3. (3) Troup (2-0)
4. (4) Bainbridge (1-1)
5. (5) Perry (0-1)
6. (6) Wayne County (2-0)
7. (7) Holy Innocents’ (2-0)
8. (8) Burke County (1-0)
9. (NR) Baldwin (2-0)
10. (NR) Stephenson (2-0)
Out: Cedartown (0-2), Westminster (1-1)
Class 3A
1. (1) Cedar Grove (1-1)
2. (2) Calvary Day (1-0)
3. (5) Sandy Creek (2-0)
4. (7) Stephens County (2-0)
5. (6) Savannah Christian (2-0)
6. (3) Carver-Atlanta (1-1)
7. (8) Monroe Area (2-0)
8. (4) Thomasville (1-1)
9. (9) Carver-Columbus (2-0)
10. (10) Dougherty (2-0)
Class 2A
1. (1) Fitzgerald (2-0)
2. (2) Appling County (1-1)
3. (3) Thomson (1-1)
4. (4) Callaway (1-0)
5. (6) Pierce County (1-0)
6. (8) Rockmart (1-1)
7. (5) Fellowship Christian (1-1)
8. (7) Cook (1-1)
9. (NR) North Cobb Christian (2-0)
10. (9) Athens Academy (1-1)
Out: No. 10 Putnam County
Class A Division I
1. (1) Prince Avenue Christian (2-0)
2. (2) Swainsboro (2-0)
3. (5) Irwin County (1-1)
4. (6) Bleckley County (2-0)
5. (9) Trion (2-0)
6. (7) Brooks County (0-2)
7. (10) Dublin (1-0)
8. (3) Rabun County (1-1)
9. (4) Elbert County (1-1)
10. (NR) Mount Vernon (2-0)
Out: Lamar County (1-1)
Class A Division II
1. (1) Schley County (1-0)
2. (2) Manchester (1-0)
3. (5) Early County (2-0)
4. (9) Macon County (2-0)
5. (3) Bowdon (0-2)
6. (8) Aquinas (2-0)
7. (4) Clinch County (1-1)
8. (7) McIntosh County Academy (1-1)
9. (NR) Greene County (2-0)
10. (NR) Jenkins County (2-0)
Out: No. 6 Johnson County, No. 10 Telfair County
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