We're going to do something a little different this week.

Each week since I started this little blog in the name of greater transparency, there have always been plenty of storylines involving local teams ranked in or near  top 10. Buford, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Jefferson and North Hall have been frequent visitors and Commerce and Habersham Central have dropped in on more than one occasion.

But for the second straight week, Buford and Flowery Branch are the only teams in our coverage area to crack their respective polls. Unless Gainesville's able to reel off a winning streak (Monroe Area on Oct. 15 looks like the biggest challenge) that may not be changing for a while. 

To break up the monotony, we're going to rank the local teams this week. I'll include my official ballot for The Associated Press poll below.

The Very Unofficial Times' Top 10

1. Flowery Branch (4-0)
2. Buford (3-1)

- There's quite a bit of separation between the top two and the rest, as evidenced by Buford's blowout win over Gainesville on opening weekend. Flowery Branch gets the nod for the top spot due to its balanced, explosive offense. Despite heavy losses from the offensive skill positions, the Falcons haven't missed a beat. No doubt, the fact that four of five of last season's starters on the offensive line are back is a big reason why.

3. Gainesville (2-1)
4. North Hall (1-2)
5. White County (3-1)
6. Lumpkin County (2-1)
7. Jefferson (2-1)

- What's most interesting about this group is the seeming lack of separation, compounded by the fact that three of them (North Hall, White and Lumpkin) all compete in the same subregion. Toss in fellow contenders Stephens County, Franklin County and Chestatee, and 8-AA North is going to get interesting when subregion play begins on Oct. 1.

Gainesville took solid, if not overly convincing wins against North Hall and White, while Jefferson fell to North Hall by three points. 

Lumpkin bullied its way to a 2-0 start over inferior competition, but proved its legitimacy (especially on defense) in a 10-3 loss to unbeaten Monroe Area. Prior to Friday's win, the Purple Hurricanes had outscored their first two opponents by a total score of 118-13.

8. Chestatee (2-1)
9. West Hall (2-2)
10. Commerce (1-3)

- Chestatee is on a roll after an opening-week loss to West Hall, which, meanwhile, has given up 45 points twice in back-to-back losses.

Led by quarterback Scott Chewning and an emerging corps of playmakers on both sides of the ball, the War Eagles have scored 104 points in their last two games. 

Things at Commerce probably aren't as bleak as the record may make them seem. The Tigers lost in competitive games to Class AA Jefferson and Class AAA Franklin County. In their first game against a Class A opponent, they defeated Washington-Wilkes, 41-34, last week.

This week's AP ballot:

Rank, team, previous

1. Charlton County (1)
2. Wesleyan (2)
3. Clinch County (3)
4. Savannah Christian (4)
5. Wilcox County (5)
6. Johnson County (6)
7. Lincoln County (7)
8. Eagle's Landing Christian (8)
9. Aquinas (9)
10. Emanuel County Institute (10)

1. Carver-Columbus (1)
2. Buford (2)
3. Calhoun (3)
4. Cook (4)
5. Jefferson County (5)
6. Fitzgerald (6)
7. Dublin (7)
8. Thomasville (8)
9. Lovett (9)
10. Swainsboro (10)

1. Sandy Creek (1)
2. Peach County (2)
3. Cairo (3)
4. Baldwin (4)
5. Carrollton (5)
6. St. Pius X (6)
7. Cartersville (8)
8. Woodward Academy (9)
9. Eastside (10)
10. LaGrange (7)

1. Northside-Warner Robins (1)
2. Tucker (4)
3. Clarke Central (3)
4. Griffin (2)
5. Kell (5)
6. Hiram (7)
7. Marist (8)
8. Flowery Branch (9)
9. Starr's Mill (-)
10. Thomas County Central (6)

1. Camden County (1)
2. North Gwinnett (2)
3. Peachtree Ridge (3)
4. Stephenson (4)
5. McEachern (5)
6. Lowndes (7)
7. Valdosta (5)
8. Norcross (9)
9. South Gwinnett (10)
10. Grayson