Dalton Academy (13-2, 6-0) is ranked No. 3 in Class A Division I and leads the Area 7-Division I standings entering a key Area match against league-No. 2 Trion (9-2, 5-1) Friday to help finalize the Area standings before the playoffs.
The team won its first state championship in 2022 before reclassifying from Class A Public to Class A Division I when the GHSA dissolved the Public/Private split and created Division I and II. A trio of players have combined for a majority of the Pumas’ production – combining for 56 of team’s 76 goals and 41 of the team’s 64 assists.
Sophomore Joe Gonzalez leads the squad with 26 goals and 16 assists. Senior Dani Perez adds 16 goals with 10 assists and senior Andy Reynoso has 14 goals and 15 assists. Senior Roani Ramirez adds four goals with 10 assists behind the front-runners.
The Pumas are coming off a 1-0 loss to Class 4A Southeast Whitfield (9-4, 5-0) Wednesday, the team’s second loss of the season. The first loss was to Class 5A No. 4 Cass 4-1 on Feb. 16, the second match of the season. Trion is coming off a 4-3 loss to Division I Darlington (8-2-2, 4-1) and is entering the regular season finale against Dalton Academy.
Player Spotlight
-- Senior Chris Sanchez is helping Woodland-Cartersville to an 8-4 record overall and a 1-3 record in Area 7-5A. The team competes in the difficult Area 7 alongside No. 3 Dalton (11-3-1, 4-1), No. 4 Cass (10-2-1, 4-0) and No. 8 Calhoun (9-4-2, 3-1), each hanging Woodland (1-3) a loss. Sanchez leads the team with 26 goals and four assists per match ahead of senior Joel Alberto (8 goals, 10 assists) and senior Emilio Gonzalez (6 goals, 5 assists). The Wildcats face Hiram (2-13-4, 0-4) in an area match Thursday before facing out-of-class competition against North Paulding on April 11 and Bremen on April 12.
See the full boys rankings below.
Class 7A
1. South Forsyth
2. Lambert
3. Discovery
4. Hillgrove
5. Milton
6. Grayson
7. Pebblebrook
8. Archer
9. Collins Hill
10. Peachtree Ridge
Class 6A
1. River Ridge
2. Johns Creek
3. North Atlanta
4. Sequoyah
5. Lassiter
6. Sprayberry
7. North Forsyth
8. Veterans
9. Marist
10. Blessed Trinity
Class 5A
1. McIntosh
2. Clarke Central
3. Dalton
4. Cass
5. Centennial
6. Greenbrier
7. Kell
8. Calhoun
9. Chattahoochee
10. Heritage-Conyers
Class 4A
1. Johnson-Gainesville
2. Westminster
3. Cedar Shoals
4. Starr’s Mill
5. Whitewater
6. Druid Hills
7. East Hall
8. Pace Academy
9. Bainbridge
10. Clarkston
Class 3A
1. Savannah Country Day
2. Columbus
3. Wesleyan
4. Hebron Christian
5. Oconee County
6. Bremen
7. Coahulla Creek
8. Pike County
9. Richmond Academy
10. Thomasville
Class 2A
1. Model
2. Toombs County
3. Union County
4. Walker
5. Jeff Davis
6. Tattnall County
7. Callaway
8. East Jackson
9. Pierce County
10. Gordon Central
Class A Division I
1. Atlanta International
2. Paideia
3. Dalton Academy
4. Whitefield Academy
5. Tallulah Falls
6. East Laurens
7. Rabun County
8. Mount Vernon
9. Metter
10. Woodville-Tompkins
Class A Division II
1. Georgia Military
2. Lake Oconee Academy
3. Aquinas
4. Dooly County
5. Atkinson County
6. Lincoln County
7. Christian Heritage
8. Macon County
9. Portal
10. Towns County
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