List: GHSA teams that beat a No. 1 then lost to an unranked opponent
Alabama went from high to low in a hurry the past two weeks by beating a No. 1 team, then losing to an unranked team the next week. (Georgia was No. 1 in the coaches’ poll; Vanderbilt was unranked). Here are the 18 GHSA teams over the past 40 years that have beaten a No. 1 team, then lost to an unranked team the next week. Most of these unranked teams weren’t exactly Vanderbilt. In fact, 2018 Bainbridge, 2015 Westminster, 2012 Gainesville, 2006 Peachtree Ridge and 1996 Brookwood were eventual state champions in disguise. The 2018 and 2015 examples were semifinal victories and finals losses. The most comparable scenario to Alabama’s might be that of 2022 Calhoun. After beating No. 1 Cartersville, Calhoun lost to Hiram, which entered 3-3 and was 1-9 the year before, when beaten by Calhoun 63-17. Hiram finished 5-5, though was building on what would be a 9-3 finish the next year. Cartersville made the Class 5A semifinals in 2022, and Calhoun made the quarterfinals.
2022: Calhoun (5A) d. Cartersville 50-48, l. to Hiram 44-34
2021: Sandy Creek (3A) d. Cedar Grove 40-35, l. to Dawson County 36-27
2018: Warner Robins (5A) d. Rome 45-28, l. to Bainbridge 47-41
2015: Blessed Trinity (3A) d. Calhoun 12-7, l. to Westminster 38-31
2014: North Gwinnett (6A) d. McEachern 52-49, l. to North Cobb 36-29
2012: Ware County (5A) d. Northside-Warner Robins 24-17, l. to Gainesville 49-13
2012: Brookwood (6A) d. Lassiter 24-21, l. to Mill Creek 56-21
2010: Whitewater (4A) d. Northside-Warner Robins 28-21, l. to Ware County 21-13
2007: Turner County (A) d. Wilcox County 14-6, l. to Hawkinsville 21-12
2006: Warner Robins (5A) d. Norcross 14-3, l. to Peachtree Ridge 13-7
2005: M.L. King (3A) d. Carrollton 22-14, l. to Hart County 18-14
2001: Laney (3A) d. Washington County 15-13, l. to Westside-Augusta 13-2
2000: Calhoun (2A) d. Cartersville 28-13, l. to Chattooga 31-7
1996: Parkview (4A) d. Marietta 20-14, l. to Brookwood 14-7
1991: Cedartown (3A) d. Carrollton 29-7, l. to Villa Rica 16-10
1990: Brooks County (2A) d. Mitchell County 29-22, l. to Waycross 46-8
1989: Thomas County Central (3A) d. Thomasville 20-17, l. to Westover 22-13
1984: Bleckley County (2A) d. Dooly County 17-14, l. to Early County 24-9
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
Todd Holcomb covers high school sports across the state. He rejoined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025 and has worked with the AJC in varying capacities since 1985. He is a co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
