It didn't take as long as I thought it would for Gainesville to make its return to the Georgia Prep Football Top 10.

The ninth-ranked Red Elephants began the year at No. 6, based largely on the fact that they finished last season at No. 2. Their massive losses on both sides of the ball, coupled with a massive loss against Buford to open the season, dropped them out of the rankings until this week.

Since the loss to Buford, Gainesville has won four straight, including back-to-back wins over playoff contenders White County and North Hall. But as much as the Red Elephants have done, their return to the top 10 has just as much to do with what other teams have failed to do.

After St. Pius X at No. 6, the lower half of the Class AAA poll has been in flux all season (in the last four weeks, eight different teams have occupied the No. 7-10 spots). If Gainesville is to have the staying power the bulk of those teams didn't, the next two weeks are going to be crucial.

This week brings Oconee County, followed by a showdown with No. 10 Monroe Area. Gainesville will be expected by many to win with ease at Oconee, but I'm not looking for a blowout. The Warriors (1-4, 0-1 8B-AAA) have lost four straight, but each of those have been reasonably competitive, and each loss came against a potential playoff team.

The Red Elephants will need to overcome the urge to look ahead to next week's game against the Purple Hurricanes (likely for a berth in the region championship game) and handle business on Friday night.

Elsewhere, Flowery Branch (No. 6 in Class AAAA) and Buford (No. 2 in Class AA) remain the only other ranked teams around here. And currently, I don't see any other teams threatening to join them.

The winner of Friday night's White County-North Hall game can start to build a case, but the Trojans' ugly loss to St. Pius X is going to prevent many voters from throwing much support behind North Hall until it knocks off a ranked team. But rankings aside, the game has huge implications for 8-AAA; the winner will still have contend with Stephens County (4-1, 1-0), but will also be in the driver's seat for a spot in the region championship game.

This week's ballot:

Class A

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. Marion County (9)
10. Darlington (10)

BIG GAME: No. 1 Charlton County vs. No. 5 Wilcox County. Should be Charlton's biggest test until it faces No. 3 Clinch County on Nov. 5. Wilcox County is the defending state champ and boasts one of the state's top athletes in QB Nick Marshall. Charlton County, led by QB Chris Milton, has yet to score fewer than 41 points since dropping down from Class AA this season.

Class AA

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

BIG GAME: Hart County at Elbert County. Neither team is ranked (though Elbert isn't far from it), but it's one of the state's best rivalries, and both teams are jockeying for position in 8-AA's loaded South subregion. Hart County has already absorbed a loss from North Oconee, and may need a win Friday to secure the No. 2 seed for the region play-in game. Meanwhile, Elbert still has control of its destiny, and is closing in on an Oct. 29 matchup with No. 10 North Oconee.    

Class AAA

1. Sandy Creek (1)
2. Peach County (2)
3. Cairo (3)
4. Baldwin (4)
5. Carrollton (5)
6. St. Pius X (6)
7. Woodward Academy (8)
8. Gainesville (10)
9. Butler (-)
10. Perry (-)

BIG GAME: No. 4 Baldwin vs. No. 10 Perry. This week's best chance to knock off one of the 'big 6' falls to Perry. Baldwin has shown some vulnerability this year, eking out six- and seven-point wins over Burke County and Mary Persons, respectively. Perry's only loss came via a 10-9 decision against Class AAAA Houston County in the season opener.

Class AAAA

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

BIG GAME: No. 2 Tucker vs. Mays. Tucker gets another test, and unbeaten Mays gets a chance to prove it belongs in the top 10. A low-scoring slugfest is a strong possibility; Tucker is coming off back-to-back shutouts, while Mays is giving up 6.4 points per game.

Class AAAAA

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

BIG GAME: No. 6 Lowndes vs. No. 7 Valdosta. Another big-time rivalry game. Valdosta scores in bunches (37.4 ppg), but has been hit or miss on defense (three shutouts, three games allowing 28 or more). Lowndes has logged two straight shutouts, but struggled in its last game, a 3-0 win over Ware County two weeks ago.