Seven of eight defending state champions will start the 2018 high school football season ranked No. 1.
The exception comes in Class AAAAAAA, where North Gwinnett will begin at No. 4 after the Bulldogs won their first-ever state championship in 2017.
Grayson, ranked in the top 10 of a couple of national preseason polls, will begin in the No. 1 position. The Rams have 10 of the top 100 senior college prospects in Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite ratings. Those include No. 2 Wanya Morris, a five-star offensive lineman committed to Tennessee; No. 3 Owen Pappoe, an AJC Super 11 linebacker and five-star recruit committed to Auburn; and No. 9 Kelvin Harris, a defensive end/linebacker committed to Alabama.
North Gwinnett isn’t going away, though. The team has a 1,000-yard rusher, Tyler Goodson, and 1,000-yard receiver, Josh Downs, and Division I pledges in the secondary, Warren Burrell (Tennessee) and Quinton Newsome (Nebraska).
Defending champions that will start at No. 1 are Lee County (AAAAAA), Rome (AAAAA), Blessed Trinity (AAAA), Calhoun (AAA), Hapeville Charter (AA), Eagle’s Landing Christian (A private) and Clinch County (A public).
The 2018 season begins Thursday with four games, the first of 171 involving Georgia teams this week.
Nine games match ranked teams. They are Marietta at Rome, Allatoona at Cartersville, Buford vs. Tucker (Georgia State Stadium), Lovett at Greater Atlanta Christian, Tift County at Warner Robins, Woodward Academy at Westminster, Bremen vs. Rabun County (at Georgia Southern), Burke County vs. Benedictine (at Georgia Southern) and Colquitt County vs. McEachern (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).
Class AAAAAAA
- Grayson
- Colquitt County
- Archer
- North Gwinnett
- Walton
- Marietta
- McEachern
- Tift County
- Lowndes
- Parkview
Class AAAAAA
- Lee County
- Coffee
- Tucker
- Northside-Warner Robins
- Mays
- Allatoona
- Valdosta
- Glynn Academy
- Stephenson
- Alpharetta
Class AAAAA
- Rome
- Buford
- Warner Robins
- Carrollton
- Stockbridge
- Kell
- Carver-Atlanta
- Jones County
- Wayne County
- Ware County
Class AAAA
- Blessed Trinity
- Marist
- Cartersville
- Mary Persons
- Woodward Academy
- St. Pius
- Thomson
- Burke County
- Troup
- Cedartown
Class AAA
- Calhoun
- Cedar Grove
- Greater Atlanta Christian
- Peach County
- Benedictine
- Jefferson
- Lovett
- Westminster
- Liberty County
- Jenkins
Class AA
- Hapeville Charter
- Heard County
- Rabun County
- Callaway
- Thomasville
- Brooks County
- Dodge County
- Jefferson County
- Bremen
- Fitzgerald
Class A (Private)
- Eagle's Landing Christian
- Prince Avenue Christian
- Athens Academy
- Mount Paran Christian
- Calvary Day
- Darlington
- Stratford Academy
- Savannah Country Day
- Aquinas
- Wesleyan
Class A (Public)
- Clinch County
- Irwin County
- Emanuel County Institute
- Mount Zion
- Macon County
- Charlton County
- Washington-Wilkes
- Manchester
- Dooly County
- Commerce
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