The eight No. 1-ranked teams maintained their positions as did most other teams in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution football rankings after a weekend of few major upsets.

The biggest surprise was Paulding County’s 22-20 victory over No. 9 Douglas County in a Class 6A game. Douglas County dropped out of the rankings, replaced by Houston County, which beat No. 7 Veterans of Class 5A. Paulding County hadn’t beaten a ranked opponent since 2001.

Five other teams joined the rankings. The most conspicuous is Cherokee Bluff, a 3-year-old school in Hall County that made the rankings for the first time at No. 10 in Class 3A. The Bears are 6-0 coming off a 35-7 victory over West Hall.

Class 7A

1. (1) Lowndes (5-0)

2. (2) Grayson (6-0)

3. (3) Colquitt County (4-0)

4. (4) Brookwood (6-0)

5. (5) Norcross (6-0)

6. (6) Cherokee (6-0)

7. (7) Roswell (5-0)

8. (8) East Coweta (5-1)

9. (9) North Gwinnett (5-2)

10. (10) North Cobb (4-1)

Class 6A

1. (1) Lee County (5-1)

2. (2) Buford (4-1)

3. (3) Valdosta (1-2)

4. (4) Lovejoy (6-0)

5. (5) Richmond Hill (5-1)

6. (6) Westlake (4-1)

7. (7) Allatoona (5-0)

8. (8) Dacula (3-2)

9. (10) Carrollton (3-1)

10. (NR) Houston County (5-2)

Out: No. 9 Douglas County

Class 5A

1. (1) Ware County (5-0)

2. (2) Blessed Trinity (2-0)

3. (3) Warner Robins (4-1)

4. (4) Cartersville (5-1)

5. (5) Calhoun (5-1)

6. (6) Coffee (5-1)

7. (8) Ola (5-0)

8. (9) Starr’s Mill (5-1)

9. (10) St. Pius (4-1)

10. (7) Veterans (4-2)

Class 4A

1. (1) Marist (4-0)

2. (2) Jefferson (5-0)

3. (5) Carver-Columbus (4-0)

4. (4) Stephenson (2-0)

5. (3) Benedictine (5-2)

6. (7) Flowery Branch (3-2)

7. (9) Bainbridge (2-3)

8. (10) Islands (3-0)

9. (NR) Cedartown (3-2)

10. (NR) Baldwin (2-0)

Out: No. 6 Northwest Whitfield, No. 8 Hapeville Charter

Class 3A

1. (1) Cedar Grove (3-0)

2. (2) Crisp County (5-0)

3. (3) Oconee County (6-0)

4. (4) Peach County (4-1)

5. (5) Greater Atlanta Christian (5-0)

6. (6) Appling County (5-0)

7. (7) Rockmart (4-1)

8. (8) Pierce County (4-1)

9. (10) Sandy Creek (2-2)

10. (NR) Cherokee Bluff (6-0)

Out: No. 9 Westminster

Class 2A

1. (1) Callaway (4-0)

2. (2) Fitzgerald (6-0)

3. (3) Rabun County (5-1)

4. (6) Bleckley County (5-1)

5. (7) Haralson County (5-0)

6. (8) Thomasville (3-3)

7. (9) Toombs County (4-1)

8. (10) Cook (4-2)

9. (5) Early County (3-1)

10. (4) Lovett (3-2)

Class 1A (Public)

1. (1) Metter (6-0)

2. (2) Irwin County (4-2)

3. (3) Brooks County (5-1)

4. (4) Commerce (5-1)

5. (5) Dublin (4-1)

6. (6) Macon County (4-1)

7. (8) Pelham (2-1)

8. (9) Washington-Wilkes (5-0)

9. (10) Wilcox County (5-1)

10. (NR) Chattahoochee County (5-0)

Class 1A (Private)

1. (1) Athens Academy (6-0)

2. (2) Prince Avenue Christian (5-1)

3. (3) Eagle’s Landing Christian (3-3)

4. (4) Fellowship Christian (5-0)

5. (5) Wesleyan (4-2)

6. (9) Aquinas (7-0)

7. (NR) Christian Heritage (4-1)

8. (7) North Cobb Christian (4-1)

9. (6) Trinity Christian (4-2)

10. (NR) Savannah Christian (6-1)

Out: No. 8 Holy Innocents', No. 10 Darlington

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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)

Credit: NYT