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Class AAAAAAA
- Newton (23-0)
- McEachern (21-0)
- Pebblebrook (15-6)
- Norcross (18-5)
- Berkmar (18-6)
- Wheeler (17-6)
- Westlake (14-9)
- Lambert (20-3)
- Tift County (21-2)
- Mountain View (17-7)
Class AAAAAA
- South Paulding (22-1)
- Gainesville (22-1)
- Jonesboro (18-4)
- Alpharetta (23-1)
- Lakeside-Evans (17-4)
- Langston Hughes (16-6)
- Glynn Academy (15-8)
- Richmond Hill (18-4)
- Alexander (17-6)
- Dacula (16-7)
Class AAAAA
- Buford (20-2)
- Cedar Shoals (20-3)
- Warner Robins (20-3)
- Miller Grove (15-7)
- Columbia (15-6)
- Fayette County (17-6)
- Union Grove (18-5)
- Riverwood (18-4)
- Carrollton (14-7)
- Maynard Jackson (17-6)
Class AAAA
- Upson-Lee (23-0)
- Henry County (17-5)
- Americus-Sumter (18-4)
- Sandy Creek (15-6)
- LaGrange (20-3)
- Cartersville (16-4)
- Richmond Academy (19-4)
- Eastside (14-8)
- St. Pius X (16-7)
- Thomson (11-8)
Class AAA
- Westside-Macon (18-3)
- Liberty County (15-5)
- Pace Academy (13-8)
- Jenkins (16-7)
- Morgan County (17-5)
- Greater Atlanta Christian (18-5)
- East Hall (16-6)
- Cedar Grove (12-5)
- Dougherty (15-5)
- Islands (15-7)
Class AA
- South Atlanta (20-1)
- Dublin (18-4)
- Laney (17-6)
- Banks County (17-4)
- Thomasville (14-7)
- Butler (14-6)
- Chattooga (20-1)
- Josey (16-6)
- Monticello (16-7)
- Heard County (18-4)
Class A-Private
- Greenforest (18-5)
- North Cobb Christian (20-3)
- St. Francis (20-3)
- Aquinas (19-1)
- Southwest Atlanta Christian (15-7)
- Lakeview Academy (17-5)
- Tattnall Square Academy (15-5)
- Whitefield Academy (15-7)
- Holy Innocents’ (14-6)
- Tallulah Falls (21-1)
Class A-Public
- Calhoun County (18-1)
- Treutlen (21-0)
- Wilkinson County (17-5)
- Quitman County (17-3)
- Clinch County (18-4)
- Lincoln County (14-5)
- Turner County (17-6)
- Wilcox County (15-6)
- Randolph-Clay (15-4)
- Central-Talbotton (14-5)
Things are starting to return to normalcy in Class AAAAAAA. Lowndes (18-4) and Roswell (18-4) couldn’t last a week in the ever competitive Top 10. A 71-40 win over Camden County wasn’t enough to save the Vikings from falling out after a 61-46 loss to Madison County, FL. The Hornets were stung by Etowah, 51-46. No. 8 Lambert held up their end of the bargain, beating Milton 95-86. Replacing Lowndes and Roswell are No. 9 Tift County and first-time poll entry in school history, No. 10 Mountain View. Tift County rocked Colquitt County 60-40 on the road and added a 77-54 win over Coffee. The Bears may be just 6-5 in Region 6, but their overall record and their latest 53-48 win at Collins Hill is enough to give Mountain View a shot. Over in Region 2, Wheeler moves up two spots to No. 6 after beating No. 7 Westlake 78-63 at home. The Wildcats then faltered at the Cobb Civic Center against No. 3 Pebblebrook, squandering a 14-point lead and losing 80-77. Collin Sexton scored 35, an encore from his 53-point Senior Night performance against rival Campbell in a 104-88 victory.
In Class AAAAAA, No. 1 South Paulding has continued to find ways to win the close game. They edged No. 9 Alexander 52-50 on Friday and won at New Manchester 67-63. No. 2 Gainesville is the most talented team in the state in their classification, but there’s always something threatening to hold back the Red Elephants. This time it’s combo guard Xavier Bledson bruising his tailbone. Even without Bledson, like he has all year long, head coach Benjie Wood has found a way to keep his team focused and has leaned on their exceptional depth to win games using a “next man-up” approach. Gainesville escaped Top 10 returnee No. 10 Dacula 63-59 on the road. With Bledson out, Mike White and Kajuan Hale picked up the slack combining for 30 points. The biggest movers this week are No. 4 Alpharetta, No. 5 Lakeside-Evans and No. 7 Glynn Academy. Langston Hughes’ bad 60-52 loss at Mays has dropped the Panthers two spots while Richmond Hill sinks three spots to No. 8, paving the way for the Raiders, Panthers and Terrors to climb. Glynn Academy is debuting for the first time this year. They are red hot in Region 2, winning seven straight including a 60-57 victory over Richmond Hill and a 71-63 win against Brunswick, paced by Durand Green’s 39 points. South Cobb (18-5) exits the poll after a 74-61 loss against Harrison. Things don’t get any easier this week as they travel to Dalton (17-4) on Tuesday with first-place up for grabs in Region 6.
Alex Jones poured in 37 points to keep No. 1 Buford undefeated in Region 8-AAAAA, leading the Wolves to a 74-61 win over Flowery Branch. No. 4 Miller Grove gets its golden sticker victory, beating region rival No. 5 Columbia 63-58 behind Tae Hardy’s 28 points and big man Kevin Paige’s 14. Fayette County tumbles to No. 6 after an upset loss at Starr’s Mill, 69-59. Stockbridge (15-9), New Hampstead (15-6) and Eagle’s Landing (15-6) all depart from the rankings. The Phoenix and Eagles haven’t quite lived up to their lofty expectations just yet. New Hampstead was upset at Ware County 59-57 while Eagle’s Landing’s slide in Region 4 continued, losing to Jones County 55-53. New Region 4 leader, Union Grove, is back in the Top 10 at No. 7. No. 8 Riverwood also reappears. In for the first time this season is No. 9 Carrollton. The Trojans are winners of eight straight and host Cass in a big Region 7 showdown with a share of first-place in the balance.
Baldwin (14-8), Perry (18-5) and Salem (15-7) all fall out from the Class AAAA rankings, the Braves losing back-to-back games, the Panthers upset at Dooly County 55-53 and the Seminoles losing to both No. 2 Henry County (55-52) and Druid Hills (63-54). Moving back in are familiar faces No. 8 Eastside, No. 9 St. Pius X and No. 10 Thomson. Now forget about everything else and focus in on Region 5. It goes: No. 4 Sandy Creek, No. 5 LaGrange and No. 6 Cartersville. Try to follow the bouncing ball. LaGrange beat Cartersville on Tuesday 67-52. Cartersville beat Sandy Creek at home on Friday 94-88 in overtime. The Patriots bounced back the next day and blew out the Grangers 85-63. Everything looks right as the Patriots remain at No. 4, LaGrange only falls two spots after a 22-point loss and Cartersville moves up two spots after splitting with the two best teams in the region.
Don’t look now but No. 2 Liberty County is officially surging in Class AAA. The defending Class AAAA champions are now fully healthy and are taking no prisoners along the way. The Panthers crushed Brantley County 101-56 and got revenge against Brunswick 71-56. Will Richardson is a star and senior Davion Mitchell (Auburn) has taken a backseat after having to carry the load his first three seasons. Richardson splashed in nine three-pointers en route to 35 points against Brantley County while Mitchell netted 24. Against Brunswick, Richardson hung 41 more points as Mitchell added 18. Greater Atlanta Christian falls from No. 2 to No. 6 after No. 7 East Hall and coach Joe Dix masterfully defeated the bigger Spartans 74-57 and now have a share of the Region 7 lead. Central-Macon stumbled at Rutland, losing 58-56 and in the process lose their place in the Top 10. The Chargers are replaced by No. 10 Islands.
Class AA juggernaut No. 1 South Atlanta barely survived Hapeville Charter 66-63. Hapeville is on the precipice of being ranked after winning nine out of their last 10 games, but they must wait at least another week. . Putnam County (16-6) fell to Morgan County 66-55 in a tough fought game. They are replaced by No. 9 Monticello, who hosts the War Eagles on Friday. Augusta’s Region 4 continues to be a mess for more than just the action on the floor. Josey falls two spots to No. 8 after losing to Westside-Augusta 51-48. No. 3 Laney defeated No. 6 Butler 67-64 in overtime. The trading of wins and losses makes the region tough to rank as it is, but it’s nearly impossible to get a proper gauge of what’s going on out East as half the teams in the region don’t understand how to use MaxPreps and input their scores. Who knows what’s going on with Westside? I don’t. It says they are only 6-7 overall which can’t be possible. Maybe they are a good team (5-2 region record) but no one will ever know because their coaching staff isn’t doing their job and aren’t reporting scores. The same goes for Laney, who is missing a handful of results. If you’re in the Augusta area, pass the word on: Do your job so I can do mine.
No. 1 Greenforest is still the team to beat in Class A-Private and cemented that by drilling No. 5 Southwest Atlanta Christian 85-58. No. 6 Lakeview Academy handed No. 10 Tallulah Falls its first loss of the season, 59-51. Holy Innocents’ sinks to No. 9 after being dropped by a much improved Wesleyan team, 72-51. Golden Bears leading scorer Cole Smith has been out with jumper’s knee and hopes to return before the state playoffs.
In Class A-Public, No. 1 Calhoun County took it to No. 4 Quitman County 75-52. The Hornets lost for the second time this year to Eufala, AL 74-65 before their region showdown with the Cougars. After a pair of losses, Quitman County rebounded with a 76-64 win over No. 9 Randolph-Clay. No. 3 Wilkinson County keeps climbing after drilling Twiggs County 85-59, First Presbyterian Day 55-37 and knocking Macon County (15-7) from the poll 72-64. Taylor County (14-4) and Hawkinsville (14-9) are gone as well. Crawford County defeated Taylor County 61-53 and the Vikings turned around and beat the Red Devils 56-49, but it’s not enough to hold onto a spot. All returning are No. 6 Lincoln County, No. 8 Wilcox County and No. 10 Central-Talbotton. The Red Devils of Lincoln County are finally back in the Top 10 after falling out in Week 3 due to not tipping off the season until Dec. 13. Reigning Class A-Public Player of the Year 6-foot-7 Ahmad Rand has received help from Javon Reid and Maciah Gunby along with a handful of talented freshmen.
