Reigning state champions Milton, Pierce County, Prince Avenue Christian and Bowdon are ranked No. 1 to start a football season that should be more unpredictable because of reclassification. Also No. 1 are Buford, Benedictine, Jefferson and Toombs County.
Buford is No. 1 in Class 6A, now the highest classification with the GHSA’s elimination of 7A. The Wolves have won 13 state titles this century but none in the highest class. They have 10 seniors committed to Power 5 Conference schools but must replace quarterback Dylan Raiola, now at Nebraska.
Buford will open the season Friday night at Milton, the No. 1 team in 5A. Milton won 7A last season but dropped in class. Milton returns 18 of 22 starters, including Super 11 picks Luke Nickel and C.J. Wiley Jr., the state’s best quarterback-receiver combination. Milton is ranked in the top 10 of most national polls.
Joining Milton in Class 5A this season are 2023 6A champion Thomas County Central and 5A champion Coffee.
Here is the schedule of Georgia high school football games for Week 1
Benedictine is No. 1 in 4A, the class the Cadets won in 2021 and 2022, but there is no clear favorite. Defending champion Perry starts No. 5, while runner-up Stockbridge is No. 2. Marist, a Class 6A semifinalist, moved down in class and starts No. 3.
Jefferson, another 2023 semifinalist dropping two classes, begins No. 1 in wide-open 3A. The defending champion, Cedar Grove, is ranked No. 9 with a new coach, Roderick Moore, and significant roster turnover.
Pierce County in 2A and Bowdon in A Division II will be defending their titles.
Toombs, seeking its first state title, is No. 1 in Class A Division I. Only three teams in this class (Fitzgerald, Dublin and Heard County) have won state titles over the past 20 years.
Private schools in Classes 3A to A will have their own championship playoff this season, though they will play with public schools during region play. They are ranked separately in a 3A-A private division and not in their regular-season classes. The No. 1 team there is Prince Avenue Christian, which won A Division I the past two seasons. No. 2 is Savannah Christian, the 3A runner-up to Cedar Grove in 2023.
The season begins Wednesday with a Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic doubleheader at Kell High School, where No. 8 Douglass will play No. 3 LaGrange in a Class 3A game, followed by Kell against North Atlanta.
Class 6A
1. Buford
2. Carrollton
3. Grayson
4. Douglas County
5. Colquitt County
6. Walton
7. Mill Creek
8. Camden County
9. Westlake
10. Newton
Class 5A
1. Milton
2. Gainesville
3. Woodward Academy
4. Lee County
5. Thomas County Central
6. Hughes
7. Rome
8. Coffee
9. Houston County
10. Roswell
Class 4A
1. Benedictine
2. Stockbridge
3. Marist
4. Cartersville
5. Perry
6. North Oconee
7. Ware County
8. Creekside
9. Warner Robins
10. Blessed Trinity
Class 3A
1. Jefferson
2. Sandy Creek
3. LaGrange
4. Calhoun
5. Bainbridge
6. Mary Persons
7. Lumpkin County
8. Douglass
9. Cedar Grove
10. Troup
Class 2A
1. Pierce County
2. Appling County
3. Rockmart
4. Callaway
5. Stephens County
6. Carver-Columbus
7. Burke County
8. Thomson
9. Cook
10. Hapeville Charter
Class A Division I
1. Toombs County
2. Commerce
3. Swainsboro
4. Fitzgerald
5. Rabun County
6. Thomasville
7. Dublin
8. Northeast
9. Elbert County
10. Bleckley County
Class A Division II
1. Bowdon
2. Brooks County
3. Manchester
4. Irwin County
5. Schley County
6. Clinch County
7. Bryan County
8. Greene County
9. Trion
10. Telfair County
Class 3A-A private
1. Prince Avenue Christian
2. Savannah Christian
3. Hebron Christian
4. Fellowship Christian
5. Trinity Christian
6. Calvary Day
7. Greater Atlanta Christian
8. Wesleyan
9. Aquinas
10. North Cobb Christian
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