Class AAAAAA
1. Grayson (2-0)
2. Wheeler (1-0)
3. Norcross (3-0)
4. Newton (3-0)
5. Walton (1-0)
6. Pebblebrook (2-1)
7. Etowah (2-0)
8. McEachern (1-2)
9. Buford (0-0)
10. Lambert (0-0)
Class AAAAA
1. Milton (0-0)
2. Tri-Cities (1-1)
3. Woodward Academy (1-0)
4. Langston Hughes (1-1)
5. Lee County (2-0)
6. Winder-Barrow (3-0)
7. Habersham Central (2-0)
8. Gainesville (1-0)
9. Alexander (1-0)
10. Riverwood (1-0)
Class AAAA
1. Pace Academy (0-0)
2. North Oconee (0-1)
3. Kell (2-0)
4. Eagle’s Landing (2-0)
5. McDonough (1-1)
6. St. Pius X (0-1)
7. Maynard Jackson (1-1)
8. Westminster (3-0)
9. Marist (1-2)
10. Central-Carrollton (2-0)
Class AAA
1. Cedar Grove (1-1)
2. Westside-Augusta (2-0)
3. Cross Creek (1-0)
4. Dougherty (1-1)
5. Sandy Creek (0-0)
6. Pickens (1-0)
7. Cherokee Bluff (1-0)
8. Baldwin (0-0)
9. Upson-Lee (1-0)
10. Johnson-Savannah (0-0)
Class AA
1. Carver-Columbus (2-0)
2. Columbia (2-1)
3. Butler (2-0)
4. South Atlanta (0-0)
5. Spencer (0-0)
6. Westside-Macon (0-0)
7. Thomson (0-0)
8. Hart County (0-0)
9. Union County (1-1)
10. Franklin County (1-1)
Class A D-I
1. Southwest-Macon (1-0)
2. BEST Academy (2-0)
3. Putnam County (3-0)
4. Model (0-0)
5. Jasper County (0-0)
6. Toombs County (0-0)
7. Temple (0-0)
8. Rabun County (1-0)
9. Swainsboro (0-0)
10. Banks County (1-1)
Class A D-II
1. Savannah (1-1)
2. Warren County (0-0)
3. Manchester (0-0)
4. Calhoun County (0-0)
5. McIntosh County Academy (0-0)
6. Mitchell County (1-0)
7. Randolph-Clay (0-0)
8. Macon County (0-0)
9. Jenkins County (0-0)
10. Mt. Zion-Carrollton (0-0)
Class 3A-1A Private
1. Holy Innocents’ (0-0)
2. Greenforest (1-0)
3. North Cobb Christian (0-0)
4. Darlington (1-0)
5. St. Francis (1-1)
6. GAC (3-0)
7. Paideia (1-2)
8. Lovett (2-0)
9. King’s Ridge (1-1)
10. Mt. Vernon (1-0)
Two weeks into the season we have another new top ranked team, this time coming in Class 2A. The Sandy’s Spiel Tip-Off Classic provided fans in attendance with an early favorite for Game of the Year coming in the main event while the On The Radar Tip-Off Classic and Powder Springs Showcase pitted multiple Top 10 teams against one another.
In Class 6A, No. 1 Grayson left no doubt, clobbering Class 5A No. 2 Tri-Cities 93-54 at the On The Radar Tip-Off Classic as Caleb Holt tallied 21 points and 6 steals. No. 3 Norcross stomped Private No. 9 King’s Ridge 72-40 before surviving No. 6 Pebblebrook 80-77 at home at the OTR Tip-Off Classic. No. 4 Newton edged Alcovy 58-48 on the road and escaped Peachtree Ridge 60-58 at OTR as Marcus Smith II scored a layup at the buzzer to put a cap on his 22-point night. Over at the Powder Springs Showcase, No. 8 McEachern lost 69-56 to newly ranked Class 5A No. 9 Alexander, dropping a spot. Up two places is No. 7 Etowah who destroyed last week’s Class 4A No. 4 McDonough 86-58 at the Powder Springs Showcase, Alex Young posting 22 points and 10 rebounds while Cooper Heller pitched in 16 points.
Class 5A No. 2 Tri-Cities beat last week’s Class 4A No. 6 Maynard Jackson 84-68 but fell to Class 6A No. 1 Grayson 93-54 at OTR, Georgia Southern-signee Sean Van Dorn with 13 points. No. 4 Langston Hughes secured their first win by beating Chapel Hill 60-49 at the Powder Springs Showcase as Addison Dyer exploded for 25 points. No. 5 Lee County held serve, outlasting last week’s Class 3A No. 3 Dougherty in overtime on the road, 67-63. In possibly the Game of the Year, No. 7 Habersham Central rallied past Class 4A No. 2 North Oconee at the Sandy’s Spiel Tip-Off Classic, winning 77-75 in double overtime as birthday boy Enzo Combs spun and kissed a left-handed layup off the glass as time expired to put a cap on his 27 points. Josiah McCurry dominated in the overtime periods, scoring 15 of his 22 points as the Raiders fouled out four Titans. Habersham Central sent the game to overtime on a tip-in from Judge Wilbanks at the buzzer and closed on a 7-2 run to force double overtime. Woodstock (0-2) is out of the Top 10, stilling figuring out chemistry against tough competition as they were upset at Cherokee 60-58 then routed in the second half by Class 4A No. 3 Kell at the Powder Springs Showcase 79-57. No. 9 Alexander debuts with a 69-56 win against Class 6A No. 8 McEachern at the Powder Springs Showcase as Torian Greene tallied 22 points.
The top three in Class 4A remain unchanged. No. 2 North Oconee seemingly had Class 5A No. 7 Habersham Central beat multiple times at the Sandy’s Spiel Tip-Off Classic, leading for nearly the entire game but succumbing in double overtime 77-75. With Khamari Brooks missing in action due to football, the shorthanded Titans battled foul trouble with four players eventually disqualified, most importantly Justin Wise who finished with a game-high 30 points but fouled out at half court in double overtime inexplicably, likely due to mental fatigue. No. 3 Kell romped last week’s Class 5A No. 10 Woodstock 79-57 at the Powder Springs Showcase while No. 5 McDonough got ambushed by Class 6A No. 7 Etowah 86-58 to drop a spot. No. 4 Eagle’s Landing rises three spots with a 63-55 win at Dutchtown while No. 6 St. Pius X sinks a position with a 72-70 loss against Central Gwinnett at the On The Radar Tip-Off Classic, the Golden Lions trying to stay afloat while they await the return of Harris Reynolds who had elbow surgery in early August. No. 7 Maynard Jackson suffered an 84-68 loss at Class 5A No. 2 Tri-Cities. No. 9 Marist lost two nailbiters, beaten 72-69 by Private No. 6 GAC and falling at debutant No. 8 Westminster 64-63 as Kyle Coleman drilled a three at the buzzer in support of Nico Searl (23) and Zade Elshihabi’s (22) combined 45 points.
In need of a bounce back game after getting throttled by Wheeler, Class 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove delivered, going on the road to pound last week’s Class 2A No. 1 Columbia 61-39 as Manny Green had 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals while Javonte Floyd hung 14 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks. No. 2 Westside-Augusta netted a pair of wins at the RM21 Invitational, a 97-38 dunkfest against Lakeside-Evans before a gritty 66-63 win over Shiloh. No. 3 Cross Creek rises a spot with a 56-50 win at Grovetown as Frashad Tisby scored 12 points. No. 4 Dougherty lost an overtime heartbreaker at home against Class 5A No. 5 Lee County 67-63. No. 7 Cherokee Bluff climbs two spaces after Boston Kersh unleashed 30 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in a 76-61 win over Class 2A No. 10 Franklin County.
There is a new number one in Class 2A after No. 2 Columbia dropped 61-39 to Class 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove. No. 1 Carver-Columbus takes over pole position following an 87-31 blowout of Creekside Christian. No. 3 Butler picked up two wins at the RM21 Invitational defeating Sumter County (69-38) and Shiloh (48-37). No. 9 Union County suffered a 67-62 loss to Calvary Day at the Sandy’s Spiel Tip-Off Classic, Houston Henry with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. No. 10 Franklin County holds tight after losing 76-61 to Class 3A No. 7 Cherokee Bluff.
Class A D-I saw No. 1 Southwest-Macon tip off their season with a 71-50 win against Laney while No. 2 BEST Academy pummeled Washington 102-43. No. 8 Rabun County ran circles around Highlands, NC 78-37, Huey Blalock the ring leader with 22 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. No. 10 Banks County battled Private No. 4 Darlington at the Sandy’s Spiel Tip-Off Classic but ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, beaten 66-49. Kolby Watson had 25 points and 12 rebounds, scoring the 1,000th point of his career in the process. Woodville-Tompkins (1-1) is a casualty, losing their rematch at South Effingham 77-73, Jonathon Pickering’s 38 points not enough to save the day. Shooting into the poll making their debut in style is No. 3 Putnam County. The War Eagles made a statement this week, drilling quality programs on the road in Jones County (67-49), Groves (74-57) and Monroe (72-54).
There wasn’t a ton of action in Class A D-II as just two teams played, but there were significant results. No. 1 Savannah lost 58-55 to Greenbrier at the RM21 Invitational while Early County (0-2) lost at Bainbridge 46-35 and at Valdosta in the Titletown Tip-Off Classic to drop out of the poll. No. 6 Mitchell County replaces the Bobcats after beating Dodge County 54-44.
There is movement in the middle of the Class 3A-1A Private rankings. No. 4 Darlington pulled away from Class A D-I No. 10 Banks County 66-49 at the Sandy’s Spiel Tip-Off Classic as Brent Bell poured in 22 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals while netting three threes. No. 5 St. Francis is up one place with a 73-42 win against Lakeside-Atlanta while No. 6 GAC climbs two spots with a win over last week’s Class 4A No. 8 Marist 72-69. No. 7 Paideia slides two positions with tough losses, beat on the road twice falling at Decatur 59-54 and at Mays in overtime 71-60. No. 9 King’s Ridge holds their rank following a 72-40 loss at Class 6A No. 3 Norcross.