Lamar County, a Class AA team with three players who are committed to Georgia Tech, is ranked No. 1 for the first time in its history in this week’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution high school football rankings.
Room at the top was made when previous No. 1 Calhoun lost to Class AAAA Carrollton 42-7, ending Calhoun’s 49-game winning streak in regular-season games.
Lamar County, a rural Georgia school about an hour south of Atlanta, is led by quarterback Lance Austin, running back Lawrence Austin and wide receiver Qua Searcy. All three also play defensive back, their projected position at Georgia Tech.
Lamar County is coached by Franklin Stephens, who led Tucker to state titles in 2008 and 2011.
It was a tough week for three metro Atlanta teams that had been ranked in the top five.
M.L. King’s 22-game winning streak in Region 6-AAAAA games was ended Saturday in a 36-28 loss to Mays at Lakewood Stadium. Mays’ first-year coach is Corey Jarvis, who was 40-9 as M.L. King’s first coach from 2005 to 2009.
Also beaten were No. 5 North Cobb of AAAAAA by Hillgrove and No. 5 Marist of AAAA by Lovett in two overtimes.
New teams in the rankings this week are Valdosta, Hillgrove and Coffee (AAAAAA), Creekside (AAAAA), Statesboro (AAAA), Macon County (AA) and Irwin County and Pace Academy (A).
Pace, which started varsity football in 2008, is ranked for the first time. The Knights are 3-0.
Gone from the rankings are Norcross, North Cobb and Marietta in AAAAAA), M.L. King in AAAAA, Marist in AAAA, Thomasville in AA and Johnson County and Wilcox County in A.
Class AAAAAA
1. (1) North Gwinnett (3-0)
2. (2) McEachern (3-0)
3. (3) Colquitt County (3-1)
4. (4) Lovejoy (2-1)
5. (7) Mill Creek (3-0)
6. (8) Camden County (3-1)
7. (9) Peachtree Ridge (3-0)
8. (NR) Valdosta (3-0)
9. (NR) Hillgrove (3-0)
10. (NR) Coffee (3-0)
Class AAAAA
1. (1) Tucker (3-0)
2. (2) Stephenson (3-0)
3. (3) Northside-Warner Robins (3-0)
4. (5) Kell (3-0)
5. (6) Gainesville (2-1)
6. (7) Thomas County Central (3-1)
7. (8) Allatoona (3-0)
8. (9) Warner Robins (2-0)
9. (10) Ware County (2-1)
10. (NR) Creekside (3-0)
Class AAAA
1. (1) Sandy Creek (2-0-1)
2. (2) Carrollton (3-0)
3. (4) Stockbridge (3-0)
4. (6) Monroe Area (3-0)
5. (7) Griffin (3-0)
6. (3) Burke County (1-1)
7. (8) Wayne County (3-0)
8. (9) Mary Persons (3-0)
9. (NR) Statesboro (3-0)
10. (10) Westside-Macon (2-1)
Class AAA
1. (1) Buford (3-0)
2. (2) St. Pius (3-0)
3. (3) Cartersville (3-0)
4. (6) Washington County (3-0)
5. (5) North Hall (3-0)
6. (4) Carver-Columbus (2-1)
7. (7) Callaway (2-0)
8. (8) Jefferson County (3-0)
9. (9) Hart County (3-0)
10. (10) North Oconee (1-1)
Class AA
1. (2) Lamar County (3-0)
2. (5) Lovett (3-0)
3. (4) Greater Atlanta Christian (4-0)
4. (3) Jefferson (2-1)
5. (6) Washington-Wilkes (3-0)
6. (1) Calhoun (2-1)
7. (7) Vidalia (3-0)
8. (8) Brooks County (2-1)
9. (9) Benedictine (3-0)
10. (NR) Macon County (2-0)
Class A
1. (1) Eagle’s Landing Christian (3-0)
2. (2) Landmark Christian (4-0)
3. (3) Lincoln County (1-1)
4. (4) Aquinas (2-0)
5. (5) Savannah Christian (1-0-1)
6. (6) George Walton Academy (2-1)
7. (7) Prince Avenue Christian (2-1)
8. (8) Seminole County (3-0)
9. (NR) Irwin County (2-0-1)
10. (NR) Pace Academy (3-0)
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