The high school football landscape has changed more in the past year than it ever has and the rankings throughout the year will reflect that.
The classes are normal from Class 6A to Class 4A and all programs in the respective classes will play in their respective state championship playoff bracket at the end of the season.
However, in Classes 3A and down, there is a new classification made up of the private schools from multiple classes, reflected in the polls as Class A-3A Private.
There are 24 teams in the Class A-3A Private rankings pool and throughout the regular season, those teams will compete in their respective classes (3A through A) before the playoffs where they will compete in a bracket populated by power rankings.
Those teams are — Aquinas, Athens Academy, Calvary Day, Christian Heritage, Darlington, Fellowship Christian, Greater Atlanta Christian, Hebron Christian, Holy Innocents’, King’s Ridge Christian, Landmark Christian, Lovett, Mount Paran Christian, Mount Pisgah Christian, Mount Vernon, North Cobb Christian, Prince Avenue Christian, Providence Christian, Savannah Christian, Savannah Country Day, St. Francis, Walker, Wesleyan and Whitefield Academy.
The state’s new highest class — Class 6A – features Region 2 opponents Carrollton and Douglas County leading the poll with three Gwinnett-based teams rounding out the top five with Grayson, Buford and North Gwinnett.
Last year’s state runner-up Walton returns at No. 6 and has a new cast of playmakers in former Woodward Academy running back Lucas Farrington and former Carrollton receiver Christian Ward to keep the offensive firepower at a high capacity. Three South Georgia teams made the top 10 with Valdosta, Colquitt County and Camden County and Westlake squeezed it way into the top 10 at No. 9.
In Class 5A, No. 1 Milton remains at the top spot heading into the season. They have one of the best offensive trios in the state in Luke Nickel, CJ Wiley, and Ethan Barbour. That doesn’t include three-star TE Ryan Ghea or their underrated slot WR Tristan Payne. The Eagles also have young talented guys looking to emerge in new roles this season in Grant Haviland and Jordan Carrasquilo. No. 2 Hughes will look to replace their former star QB Prentiss Air Noland but will have another talented QB Christian Langford ready to fill his shoes. Hughes will also have one of the best offensive lines in the state with Tavaris Dice (Auburn commit) and Dontrell Glover leading the way. No. 3 Gainesville is one of the top teams in the state regardless of classification and under head coach Josh Niblett has only lost two games and has made deep runs. The Red Elephants will be led by their stout defensive stars Xavier Griffin and Julius Columbus (Duke commit). No. 4 Thomas County Central and No. 5 Coffee are staples in middle Georgia and are premier programs. Both state champions lost a lot of talent but will surely have something to say this season. No. 6 Houston County will be led by Memphis QB commit Antwann Hill who looks to finish his prep career strong. Hill threw 31 touchdowns last season. No. 7 Woodward Academy returns a lot of their talent from their state-champion runner-up team including four-star WR Josiah Abdullah, and three-star WR Jerome Bettis Jr (Notre Dame commit). No. 8 Rome will be led by their do-it-all linebacker Jaedon Harmon (Alabama commit) and will replace some significant pieces including QB Reece Fountain (East Tennessee State) and safety Joe Wilkinson (Clemson). No. 9 Lee County is a team you can never sleep on, especially when they have one of the best running backs in the country in Ousmane Kromah. When it gets to mid-November and you have a guy you can give the ball to 25-30 times without tiring out, you feel pretty good about your chances to win. No. 10 South Paulding is a major sleeper heading into next season but has a QB (Kade Wigginton) to keep an eye on as the season starts to ramp up.
Class 4A is likely the most competitive classification in the state when it comes to the number of recent state champions and powerhouses that have either moved down from Class 5A or up from Class 3A to join its already stacked group of teams. Region 6 has four ranked teams with Perry, Warner Robins, Ware County and Benedictine and its two other teams New Hampstead and Wayne County were both ranked last season and have an opportunity to make deep playoff runs.
No. 1 Sandy Creek looks like a team on a collision course with a state championship berth. A lot of their team was young last year, and the Patriots returned four-star RB Amari Latimer, four-star CB Dalen Penson, and three-star EDGE Evan Harvey. The Patriots are talented on both sides of the ball and could be dangerous in 2024. No. 2 LaGrange looks like a team poised to take a step forward under head coach Matt Napier and has been a playoff team each season he has been a coach. No. 3 Douglass-Atlanta has four-star cornerback Jontae Gilbert, who is one of the best in the country and three-star OL Xavier Canales. The Astros are brewing with young talent, and this could be the season they make a run. No. 4 Oconee County is led defensively by three-star LB Zack Weeks, who is the little brother of Whit Weeks at LSU. The Warriors are always a well-coached team and could emerge as a contender. No. 5 Lumpkin County had its best team in program history, winning 12 games and making it to the quarterfinals while locking up its first-ever region title. The Indians have one of the better athletes in the state in Cal Faulkner who combined for 2,675 yards and 37 touchdowns. No. 6 Monroe Area hasn’t missed the playoffs under head coach Kevin Reach and has won two region championships (2018,2021) under him. No. 7 Jefferson made its deepest run in the postseason since 2020. Dragons LB Max Brown will look to fill in his big brother’s shoes Sammy Brown (Clemson) but he has already carved out a name for himself. Some are pondering whether he will eclipse his brother’s accolades and be an even better linebacker. That is how good the Brown household is at football. No. 10 Cedar Grove is a team that has to be in the preseason rankings, especially after having a dominant era under former head coach John Adams (Georgia State) winning two championships in three years. You could make the argument it should be three. The Saints lost so much of their talent including QB EJ Colson (UCF), WR Devin Carter (Douglas County), CB Lakhi Roland (Maryland), and LB Wesley Brown (Temple). It’s tough to put them as the No. 1 team after losing so much, but the Saints will always be a tough team and a factor.
Class 2A is headlined by defending state champion Pierce County and No. 2 Burke County, which was bumped down from Class 4A in the latest reclassification shuffle.
In Class A, Division I No. 1 Toombs County made a deep playoff run in 2023 and has one of the best athletes in the country returning in Lagonza Hayward. Hayward is elite on both sides of the ball finishing with 727 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he had 48 tackles and three interceptions. Toombs County will be a team to beat this year. No. 2 Fitzgerald made a deep run to the state semifinals. No. 3 Dublin will return Xavier Bostic who led the team with 15 total touchdowns and a second-round playoff finish. No. 4 Swainsboro will be replacing their star athlete Demello Jones (Georgia) who was a problem last season and put on a show in the state championship game. No. 6 Bleckley County has won two region championships in the past three years and has won more than nine games in the last three years. The Royals return all-state player Kam Everett next season. No. 10 Bremen went 9-3 in 2023 and had their best season since 2020 making it to the second round of the playoffs.
The new Class A-3A Private division is led by No. 1 Prince Avenue Christian and No. 2 Savannah Christian, No. 3 Hebron Christian, No. 4 Fellowship Christian and No. 5 Calvary Day to round out the top 5. No. 7 Greater Atlanta Christian will have a new quarterback at the helm in Denzel Watkins but will lean on playmaker Gabe Daniels (Syracuse commit) as a main receiving option. No. 10 Aquinas They have one of the best defensive players in the class of 2027, Jaden Wuerth. As a true freshman last year he finished with 139 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks. The Fighting Irish are also loaded offensively with QB Jim Franklin and Jack Rhoades returning both were all-state selections a season ago.
Class 6A
1. Carrollton
2. Douglas County
3. Grayson
4. Buford
5. North Gwinnett
6. Walton
7. Valdosta
8. Colquitt County
9. Mill Creek
10. Camden County
Class 5A
1. Milton
2. Hughes
3. Gainesville
4. Thomas County Central
5. Coffee
6. Houston County
7. Woodward Academy
8. Rome
9. Lee County
10. South Paulding
Class 4A
1. Perry
2. Warner Robins
3. North Oconee
4. Ware County
5. Cass
6. Cartersville
7. Benedictine
8. Blessed Trinity
9. Central-Carroll
10. Creekside
Class 3A
1. Sandy Creek
2. LaGrange
3. Douglass-Atlanta
4. Oconee County
5. Lumpkin County
6. Monroe Area
7. Jefferson
8. Peach County
9. Bainbridge
10. Cedar Grove
Class 2A
1. Pierce County
2. Burke County
3. Rockmart
4. Columbia
5. Carver-Columbus
6. Callaway
7. Thomson
8. Appling County
9. Cook
10. Stephens County
Class A Division I
1. Toombs County
2. Fitzgerald
3. Dublin
4. Swainsboro
5. Model
6. Bleckley County
7. Bremen
8. Commerce
9. Rabun County
10. Thomasville
Class A Division II
1. Bowdon
2. Schley County
3. Irwin County
4. Telfair County
5. Macon County
6. Manchester
7. Clinch County
8. Dooly County
9. Johnson County
10. Metter
Class A-3A Private
1. Prince Avenue Christian
2. Savannah Christian
3. Hebron Christian
4. Fellowship Christian
5. Calvary Day
6. Wesleyan
7. Greater Atlanta Christian
8. Trinity Christian
9. North Cobb Christian
10. Aquinas
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