Lowndes and North Cobb reentered the Class 7A rankings this week, Lambert made it for the first time in 10 years, and Grayson dropped eight spots to No. 10 after the sixth week of the high school football season.
Lowndes, playing at home in Valdosta, defeated previous No. 2 Grayson 24-14 to make up for its road loss the previous week to East Coweta. Lowndes was the preseason No. 8 team and now sits at No. 9 with a 3-2 record. The Vikings’ other loss is to American Heritage, a top-25 national team from Florida.
Grayson entered the Lowndes game with six top-25 national rankings and a 4-0 record. Grayson’s best wins are against top South Carolina teams.
North Cobb, the preseason No. 4, defeated previous No. 9 Milton 21-7 and got back in at No. 8. North Cobb lost Sept. 16 to unranked Northside-Warner Robins 20-17 in overtime. The Warriors’ resume includes victories over Westlake and Marietta and a last-minute loss to No. 1 Buford 21-17.
New to the rankings this week is Lambert, which defeated East Coweta 31-24 on Friday. Lambert’s schedule so far has been relatively mild, but the Longhorns benefited indirectly from East Coweta’s Sept. 16 victory over Lowndes coupled with Lowndes’ win over Grayson on Friday. Lambert, a Forsyth County school, is 5-0 for the first time since 2012 and ranked for the first time since 2011.
Kennesaw Mountain, another 5-0 team, dropped out from No. 10 despite a 60-6 victory over South Cobb. Kennesaw Mountain hasn’t played a top-10 team this season but will have its chances next month when the Mustangs play No. 5 Walton and No. 8 North Cobb in region play.
In other classes, two-time defending Class 5A champion Warner Robins fell out of the rankings for the first time since 2017. Warner Robins is 2-4 after a 28-8 loss to No. 8 Houston County of Class 6A. All four losses are to currently ranked teams.
Class 7A
1. (1) Buford (5-0)
2. (3) Colquitt County (5-0)
3. (4) Mill Creek (5-0)
4. (5) Carrollton (6-0)
5. (6) Walton (3-1)
6. (8) Valdosta (6-0)
7. (NR) Lambert (5-0)
8. (NR) North Cobb (3-2)
9. (NR) Lowndes (3-2)
10. (2) Grayson (4-1)
Out: No. 7 Parkview, No. 9 Milton, No. 10 Kennesaw Mountain
Class 6A
1. (1) Hughes (5-0)
2. (2) Lee County (4-1)
3. (3) Roswell (4-1)
4. (4) Woodward Academy (4-1)
5. (5) Gainesville (5-0)
6. (6) Rome (4-1)
7. (7) Thomas County Central (5-0)
8. (8) Houston County (5-0)
9. (9) Marist (3-2)
10. (10) Blessed Trinity (4-1)
Class 5A
1. (1) Cartersville (5-0)
2. (2) Ware County (4-0)
3. (3) Creekside (3-2)
4. (4) Dutchtown (5-0)
5. (5) Kell (5-0)
6. (6) Loganville (6-0)
7. (7) Coffee (4-1)
8. (8) Calhoun (3-2)
9. (9) Jefferson (3-2)
10. (NR) Eastside (4-1)
No. 10 Warner Robins
Class 4A
1. (1) Cedartown (5-0)
2. (2) North Oconee (4-0)
3. (3) Perry (4-1)
4. (4) Troup (5-0)
5. (6) Burke County (5-0)
6. (7) Benedictine (3-2)
7. (5) Starr’s Mill (4-1)
8. (8) Whitewater (4-1)
9. (9) Bainbridge (2-4)
10. (10) Wayne County (4-1)
Class 3A
1. (1) Cedar Grove (3-2)
2. (2) Carver (Atlanta) (3-1)
3. (3) Calvary Day (4-0)
4. (4) Sandy Creek (5-1)
5. (6) Oconee County (3-2)
6. (7) Peach County (3-2)
7. (5) Crisp County (3-2)
8. (8) Dougherty (5-0)
9. (9) Stephens County (4-1)
10. (10) Mary Persons (4-1)
Class 2A
1. (1) Fitzgerald (5-0)
2. (2) Pierce County (5-0)
3. (3) South Atlanta (4-0)
4. (4) Cook (4-1)
5. (5) Thomson (3-1)
6. (6) Eagle’s Landing Christian (2-3)
7. (7) Putnam County (4-1)
8. (8) Columbia (4-1)
9. (9) Northeast (3-2)
10. (10) Rockmart (2-2)
Class A Division I
1. (1) Prince Avenue Christian (4-0)
2. (2) Swainsboro (5-0)
3. (3) Rabun County (5-0)
4. (4) Bleckley County (5-0)
5. (5) Brooks County (4-1)
6. (6) Irwin County (4-1)
7. (7) Whitefield Academy (4-1)
8. (9) Darlington (5-0)
9. (10) Elbert County (5-0)
10. (NR) St. Francis (4-1)
Out: No. 8 Lamar County
Class A Division II
1. (1) Early County (6-0)
2. (2) Clinch County (5-1)
3. (3) Bowdon (4-1)
4. (4) Johnson County (4-0)
5. (5) Washington-Wilkes (4-1)
6. (6) Charlton County (3-2)
7. (7) Schley County (3-2)
8. (8) Dooly County (2-2)
9. (9) Aquinas (4-1)
10. (10) McIntosh County Academy (4-1)
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