There’s a new team atop the rankings in Class 7A and it’s someone accustomed to being there.

The Mill Creek Hawks, the reigning state champion, jumped from No. 4 to No. 1 after their 31-24 win over Buford, who had been ranked No 1 in 7A and as high as No. 6 in the nation. The win came on a rainy night before a national TV audience.

Mill Creek

Sportsmanship showed on Friday when Mill Creek and Buford exchanged handshakes after a hard-fought game.

“It’s a crosstown rivalry,” said Mill Creek coach Josh Lovelady. “All these kids grew up playing against each other. It’s Gwinnett County football. It wasn’t a rivalry because we’d only played one time. Now it’s 1-1 and it’s a rivalry in my eyes.”

The other No. 1 teams remained the same: Gainesville in 6A, Carrollton in 5A, Benedictine in 4A, Calvary Day in 3A, Thomson in 2A, Prince Avenue Christian in Class A Division I and Schley County in Class A Division II. Click here to view rankings. 

Another interesting scenario is developing in Region 3-2A, which has three teams in the top 10 –No. 4 Appling County, No. 6 Pierce County and No. 7 Toombs County. Each has a loss and a win against the other program and all decisions have been by three points, leaving them tied.

However, none of those three teams are in first place. That honor belongs to Vidalia (5-2), who will settle things by playing the trio of ranked teams over the final three weeks.

“Does anyone know the tiebreaker off the top of their head, because it’s in the blender,” said GPB’s Jon Nelson. “Vidalia can control everything in the region by the time we’re done, but those other three have knocked each other around.”

Class 7A

  1. Mill Creek
  2. Colquitt County
  3. Buford
  4. Carrollton
  5. Walton
  6. Newton
  7. Norcross
  8. Westlake
  9. Grayson
  10. North Cobb

Also receiving votes: Parkview, East Coweta, Osborne

Class 6A

  1. Gainesville
  2. Thomas County Central
  3. Lee County
  4. Roswell
  5. Douglas County
  6. Houston County
  7. Hughes
  8. Rome
  9. Marist
  10. Woodward Academy

Also receiving votes: North Atlanta

Class 5A

  1. Cartersville
  2. Creekside
  3. Coffee
  4. Jefferson
  5. Ware County
  6. Kell
  7. Calhoun
  8. Greater Atlanta Christian
  9. Hiram
  10. Warner Robins

Also receiving votes: Jones County, Arabia Mountain, Northgate

Class 4A

  1. Benedictine
  2. North Oconee
  3. Perry
  4. Spalding
  5. Bainbridge
  6. Central Carroll
  7. Troup
  8. Burke County
  9. Holy Innocents’
  10. Stockbridge

Also receiving votes:  Starr’s Mill, Cairo, Wayne County

Class 3A

  1. Calvary Day
  2. Cedar Grove
  3. Stephens County
  4. Mary Persons
  5. Savannah Christian
  6. Morgan County
  7. Lumpkin County
  8. Sandy Creek
  9. Bremen
  10. Carver Columbus

Also receiving votes: Upson-Lee, Monroe Area,

Class 2A

  1. Thomson
  2. Northeast
  3. Callaway
  4. Appling County
  5. Fitzgerald
  6. Pierce County
  7. Toombs County
  8. Rockmart
  9. Fellowship Christian
  10. Cook

Also receiving votes: Columbia, North Cobb Christian, Vidalia

Class A Division I

  1. Prince Avenue Christian
  2. Swainsboro
  3. Trion
  4. Elbert County
  5. Bleckley County
  6. Lamar County
  7. Commerce
  8. Rabun County
  9. Bryan County
  10. Mount Vernon

Also receiving votes: Bacon County, Jasper County

Class A Division II

  1. Schley County
  2. Jenkins County
  3. Bowdon
  4. Clinch County
  5. Manchester
  6. Greene County
  7. Early County
  8. Telfair County
  9. Macon County
  10. Aquinas

Also receiving votes: Portal