
Though there's not a lot movement in the polls this week, there are a lot of new teams receiving votes, including Region 8-AA unbeatens East Jackson and North Oconee.
Through eight weeks and seven games, none of 8-AA's top tier (including No. 7 Jefferson) have faced a AA team capable of winning in the playoffs. But all three are undefeated and winning by convincing margins, so I can understand why some voters might view them as worthy of a top-10 spot.
In AAA, it's a different story.
Among the "others receiving votes" are Franklin County and Creekview. In case you're not familiar with their resumes, let's take a look...
Frankin County (4-2, 3-0 Region 8-AAA)
Notable wins: 21-14 vs. Commerce
Losses: 10-6 vs. White County; 41-0 vs. Gainesville
The Lions are on a four-game winning streak and folks in Carnesville have reason to be happy - they've got a shot at their first playoff berth in three years and their first winning record since 2000.
But they have yet to beat a team with a winning record and they lost to a White County team that looks like the third or fourth-best team in its 7-AAA subregion.
Creekview (5-1, 1-1 7A-AAA)
Notable wins: 38-35 vs. Flowery Branch; 13-7 vs. Sequoyah
Loss: 45-21 vs. North Hall
The Grizzlies have a better resume than Franklin County, but if you're going to vote for them, how can you overlook the team that blasted them by more than three touchdowns?
Which brings us to North Hall.
The Trojans didn't receive any votes in the wake of their 37-34 win over previous No. 7 Flowery Branch last weekend - and that includes a no-vote from yours truly, so I can't and won't find fault with voters who didn't find room for them in the top 10.
But I would like to hear the reasoning that led voters to rank Franklin County and Creekview ahead of the Trojans.
My votes/notes are listed below. If you want to hear the reasoning that led me to them, hit me with a comment below.
And here's a link to this week's AP poll.
Class A
Team, rank, previous
1. Wesleyan (1)
2. Savannah Christian (2)
3. Johnson County (3)
4. Lincoln County (4)
5. Wilkinson County (5)
6. Seminole County (7)
7. Twiggs County (8)
8. Holy Innocents' (9)
9. Greenville (10)
10. Emanuel County Institute (-)
ON THE CUSP: Treutlen. The Vikings lost their first game last week to a young and improving ECI team. I had them at No. 6 before the loss, and now as the top team on the outside looking in.
Class AA
1. Calhoun (1)
2. Fitzgerald (2)
3. Buford (3)
4. Jefferson County (4)
5. Jefferson (5)
6. Lovett (6)
7. Charlton County (7)
8. Thomasville (-)
9. Chattooga (8)
10. Armuchee (10)
ON THE CUSP: Pepperell and Westminster. Peperell has two wins over Class AAAA competition to its credit, and its only loss was by one point to my No. 10 Armuchee.
Westminster started 0-2, falling to a couple of pretty good AAA teams (my No. 10 Carrollton and Woodward Academy). Since then they've won four straight, including an upset of Lovett.
Class AAA
1. Gainesville (1)
2. Carver-Columbus (2)
3. Peach County (4)
4. St. Pius X (3)
5. Washington County (5)
6. LaGrange (6)
7. Baldwin (7)
8. Jackson (8)
9. Burke County (10)
10. Carrollton (-)
ON THE CUSP: North Hall and Grady. The Trojans are knocking on the door. Their only two losses came against Buford and Gainesville, and during their three-game winning streak, they're beating teams with a combined winning percentage of .684. The only reason they haven't cracked the top 10 while other two-loss teams (like Baldwin in AAA) have is due to the margin by which the Trojans lost -- 28 points to Buford and 43 to Gainesville.
Baldwin's losses were both competitive and came against equally formidable competition (Carver-Columbus and Peach County). The Braves also have a quality win over Burke County.
Grady hasn't had much for competition (.289 opponents combined winning percentage), but it's hard to find any fault with their results. Through six games, the Grey Knights have given up more than 7 points only once, including three shutouts, and are outscoring opponents by and average of 34.5-4.2.
Class AAAA
1. Westside-Macon (1)
2. Griffin (2)
3. Soutwest DeKalb (3)
4. Hillgrove (4)
5. Marist (6)
6. Tucker (7)
7. North Clayton (5)
8. Sandy Creek (8)
9. Apalachee (9)
10. Hiram (10)
ON THE CUSP: Thomas County Central. If not for a 13-9 loss to Thomasville in Week 1, the Yellow Jackets could be deep into top 10. Yes, Thomasville is a rival, but it's also a AA school. Since then, though, TCC has won five straight and is giving up about six per game.
Class AAAAA
1. Northside-Warner Robins (1)
2. Grayson (2)
3. Lowndes (3)
4. ML King (4)
5. Stephenson (5)
6. North Gwinnett (6)
7. Newnan (7)
8. Camden County (8)
9. Peachtree Ridge (9)
10. McEachern (10)
ON THE CUSP: Roswell, Lassiter, Collins Hill, Walton. They're all unbeaten, but nobody in the AAAAA top 10 is losing. And when they do it seems to be in a close game with a highly ranked opponent.
Collins Hill could force its way in this week with a win over Peachtree Ridge, while Roswell, Lassiter and Walton will duke it out in the last three weeks of the season.
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