Class AAAAAAA
1. Collins Hill (4-0)
2. McEachern (2-1)
3. Woodstock (5-1)
4. Cherokee (7-0)
5. Campbell (4-1)
6. Parkview (4-2)
7. Marietta (3-4)
8. Grayson (3-1)
9. Archer (4-2)
10. West Forsyth (3-2)
Class AAAAAA
1. Westlake (2-0)
2. Buford (5-0)
3. Carrollton (3-0)
4. Kell (4-0)
5. Lovejoy (5-1)
6. Langston Hughes (5-1)
7. Sequoyah (2-2)
8. Rockdale County (5-0)
9. Grovetown (1-0)
10. Cambridge (4-0)
Class AAAAA
1. Forest Park (4-1)
2. Woodward Academy (2-1)
3. Southwest DeKalb (0-0)
4. Cass (4-0)
5. Hiram (6-1)
6. Maynard Jackson (1-1)
7. Griffin (3-1)
8. Loganville (4-1)
9. Tri-Cities (2-0)
10. New Manchester (4-1)
Class AAAA
1. Jefferson (3-1)
2. Troup County (1-2)
3. Luella (6-1)
4. Carver-Columbus (1-2)
5. Marist (4-1)
6. McDonough (3-0)
7. Spalding (2-0)
8. Arabia Mountain (0-0)
9. Baldwin (2-0)
10. Hardaway (3-1)
Class AAA
1. Johnson-Savannah (2-0)
2. Cross Creek (2-0)
3. Beach (2-1)
4. GAC (0-3)
5. Coahulla Creek (5-0)
6. Stephens County (4-1)
7. Lumpkin County (2-3)
8. Sandy Creek (4-1)
9. Westminster (1-1)
10. Douglass (2-1)
Class AA
1. Early County (2-0)
2. Rabun County (3-0)
3. Woodville-Tompkins (5-0)
4. Washington County (0-0)
5. Josey (2-3)
6. Laney (0-0)
7. Northeast-Macon (0-0)
8. Chattooga (1-0)
9. Dade County (3-1)
10. Elbert County (0-0)
Class A-Private
1. Hebron Christian (5-0)
2. St. Francis (4-0)
3. Mt. Paran (4-1)
4. Holy Innocents’ (2-2)
5. Galloway (4-0)
6. Wesleyan (3-0)
7. Greenforest (3-2)
8. ELCA (4-0)
9. Calvary Day (3-0)
10. Tallulah Falls (5-2)
Class A-Public
1. Calhoun County (0-0)
2. Greenville (1-0)
3. Clinch County (0-0)
4. Turner County (4-0)
5. Wilcox County (0-0)
6. GMC (1-0)
7. Lake Oconee Academy (4-0)
8. Dooly County (2-0)
9. Trion (3-1)
10. Mitchell County (0-0)
Now in Week 3 of the GHSA season, things are still being sorted out in multiple classifications. It looks like we have an idea of who some of the favorites are, but many of them are far from stone-cold locks. A handful of recent Top 10 matchups with more on the horizon will help configure the state picture.
In the most recent episode of Spielin’ & Dealin’, I dove into Class 7A and spoke about a sneaking suspicion that our preseason top two weren’t as far ahead of the pack as I first imagined and boy was I right. No. 1 Collins Hill had their hands full with No. 3 Woodstock at the Sequoyah Showcase, slipping past the Wolverines 62-60. The backcourt of Woodstock torched the Eagles as junior Bridget Utberg (26) and sophomore Karson Martin (19) combined for 45 points. A performance like that firmly entrenches Woodstock into state title contender talk. Also joining that discussion is No. 7 Marietta. The Blue Devils have lost three straight games but move up three spots. How? They fell 61-59 to No. 2 McEachern after leading 35-26 at the half. Marietta would then lose 55-42 at No. 5 Campbell who jumps three spots, and would conclude their week with another nail-biting loss to Class A-Private No. 1 Hebron Christian 57-56. That’s two losses by three total points to two of the top 10 teams in the entire state. Michigan State-signee Lauren Walker has been feast or famine thus far for the Blue Devils. When she has good games, Marietta is a state title contender. She must improve on her 32% shooting, but she posted 23 points and 11 rebounds vs. McEachern and had 22 points and 7 boards against Hebron. Elsewhere in the state, No. 4 Cherokee rode 6-foot-3 Furman-signee Kate Johnson to two wins, beating Class 6A No. 7 Sequoyah 63-58 behind Johnson’s 29 points and then winning at Class 3A No. 7 Lumpkin County 58-43 with Johnson netting 14 points. No. 8 Grayson drops three spots after getting housed by Class 6A No. 5 Lovejoy 72-30. No. 6 Parkview climbs three positions. The Panthers lost 69-58 to Class 6A No. 2 Buford before defeating Johns Creek 80-65. Samford-signee Sussy Ngulefac posted 23 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists while Nadya McCown (16), Joze Baker (15), Cassie Mesh (12) and Birmingham-Southern-commit Lilly Hart (11) all reached double-digits. No. 10 West Forsyth falls four spots after losses to Class A-Private No. 1 Hebron Christian 59-39 and No. 7 Greenforest 57-49, but the good news is that last year’s leading scorer Calie Thrower has returned from injury. Also dropping was No. 9 Archer, who fell two spots. They won at Newton 49-41 before losing 44-40 to Norcross. Knocking on the door of returning to the Top 10 is North Paulding (5-1). If the Wolfpack can score a winning week, its likely they could find their way back in the state picture, but it won’t be easy. They visit No. 2 McEachern and No. 5 Campbell before hosting Class 5A No. 5 Hiram on Friday.
Things are very crowded below No. 1 Westlake in Class 6A. No. 2 Buford defeated Class 7A No. 6 Parkview 69-58 and are starting to get healthy. No. 5 Lovejoy trades spaces with No. 6 Langston Hughes after the Wildcats devoured Class 7A No. 8 Grayson 72-30 behind freshman Bryanna Preston’s 20 points. The two meet in Fairburn on Tuesday. Langston Hughes has their hands full the entire week in fact as they also host No. 1 Westlake before battling Class 4A No. 7 Spalding on Saturday at the Queens of the Hardwood Classic. No. 7 Sequoyah suffered two losses this week but don’t lose ground. They pushed both Class 7A No. 4 Cherokee (63-58) and No. 3 Woodstock (63-59 OT) to the brink before earning a 63-50 win over Walton in a last-second game at the Sequoyah Showcase. No. 8 Rockdale County rises a spot after two nice wins on the road over Brookwood (60-50) and Newton (55-39).
Class 5A No. 1 Forest Park was dealt a 59-52 loss at Class A-Private No. 4 Holy Innocents’ but still has a stranglehold atop the classification. The biggest movement came in the middle of the pack as No. 5 Hiram surges three spots following wins over Douglas County (54-45), Paulding County (59-14) and No. 10 New Manchester (49-48). 6-foot junior Erial Owens collected 19 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Jaguars. No. 7 Griffin held off Whitewater 54-49 as Samiah Puckett broke out with 16 points and 13 rebounds. No. 8 Loganville cruised in wins over a Kayla McPherson-less Madison County 76-40 and Fannin County 54-33.
No. 1 Jefferson dominated Banks County 78-47 to keep the ball rolling in Class 4A. No. 3 Luella survived a scare from 1-4 Eagle’s Landing 51-47. No. 5 Marist leapfrogs No. 6 McDonough and No. 7 Spalding after beating last week’s Class 3A No. 1 GAC 56-45 in overtime, their third win over a Top 10 team already this season, before losing 56-51 in overtime to Class A-Private No. 5 Galloway. Spalding earned a 58-41 win over Jackson with Elicia Threatt leading the way with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Out of the Top 10 is Druid Hills (0-0) who has seen their preseason roster start to piece apart. Debuting is No. 10 Hardaway. The Hawks took care of Central, AL 71-51. In late November they rallied against Class 6A No. 6 Langston Hughes before falling short 57-51, proving they could hang with some of the best. 5-foot-6 senior JiMia Cobb is the straw that stirs the drink. The lethal shooter is averaging 19.5 points per game.
A “new” number one emerges in Class 3A but if you have been following GHSA basketball for the past decade, they are no stranger to having a target on their back. No. 1 Johnson-Savannah regains the throne after No. 4 GAC continues to replicate last year’s early season struggles against top competition. The Spartans won it all last year after getting hot following a 1-5 start to the year. GAC now sits at 0-3 after losing 56-45 in overtime to Class 4A No. 5 Marist. Prolific scorer Kaleigh Addie hasn’t found her groove just yet. She’s averaging only 12.7 points per game on just 23% shooting. Jumping up is No. 2 Cross Creek. The Razorbacks drilled Class 2A No. 5 Josey 55-39 before beating South Carolina powerhouse North Augusta 37-31 in the Palmetto State. North Carolina A&T-signee Jordyn Dorsey dumped in 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 1 block in the season-opener against Josey. Stuck at No. 3 is Beach, who suffered a shocking loss to potentially Savannah’s latest power, Class 2A No. 3 Woodville-Tompkins 49-45. Dropping out of the poll is Rockmart (0-2) who tumbles all the way from the No. 5 spot. Nothing has changed for the Yellow Jackets thus far this season. They were defeated 74-62 by Sonoraville and 86-79 by Rome as Indiana-signee Keyarah Berry still has been unable to get consistent help. She’s averaging 36.5 points (63% FG), 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals but second-leading scorer Megan Little is connecting at just 30% while averaging 9 points per game. In a deep and competitive Class like 3A, Rockmart will need to find some help for Berry and quickly if they want to replicate last year’s Final Four run in Class 2A. Climbing three spots is No. 5 Coahulla Creek. The Colts have come to play this year with wins over traditional North Georgia powers Ringgold (63-52), North Murray (53-41) and Northwest Whitfield (51-41) this past week. No. 7 Lumpkin County nearly made a major statement in two showdowns with a pair of Class 7A’s most consistent winners. The Indians blew a 29-14 halftime lead against North Forsyth, falling 51-49 as freshman Averie Jones poured in 20 points. Lumpkin County got right back to work against Class 7A No. 4 Cherokee but lost 58-43 as Lexi Pierce (13) and North Georgia-signee Isabel Davenport (12) led the way. Creeping into the rankings at No. 10 is Douglass, the two-time defending Class 2A state champs. The Astros beat Shiloh 53-47 and Heritage-Conyers 43-39. They visit No. 9 Westminster on Tuesday in an important Region 5 tilt.
No. 3 Woodville-Tompkins looks like they are for real in Class 2A. The Wolverines jump five spots after winning at Class 3A No. 3 Beach 49-45. 6-foot-1 freshman Brianna Pelote, current Catawba Indian Bernard’s younger sister, has been a game-changer inside. She posted 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win and is averaging 10.3 points and 9.7 rebounds. 5-foot-7 sophomore Janiyah Heyward is tallying 11.7 points and 10.7 rebounds on average. No. 2 Rabun County edged Class 3A No. 6 Stephens County 65-55 at Currahee Arena behind freshman Lucy Hood’s 18 points and 5 rebounds. The LadyCats now host the Indians for the rematch on Tuesday in Tiger. No. 5 Josey slips one more spot after two more losses but they can’t fall much further thanks to their great strength of schedule. All three defeats have come against Top 10 opponents, their latest to Class 3A No. 2 Cross Creek 55-39 and to Class A-Private No. 2 St. Francis 62-54. Vidalia (2-2) was a casualty this week after a 58-29 loss to Tattnall County sealed their fate. They are replaced by No. 9 Dade County. The Wolverines scored wins over Pepperell (58-31) and Sylvania, AL (70-64) this past week and already hold a 52-48 win over Sonoraville.
There isn’t a ton of movement in Class A-Private, but there sure were a lot of interesting results. No. 1 Hebron Christian picked up wins over Class 7A’s No. 10 West Forsyth (59-39) and No. 7 Marietta (57-56). No. 2 St. Francis defeated Class 2A No. 5 Josey 62-54. No. 4 Holy Innocents’ flexed their muscle with a huge 59-52 win over Class 5A No. 1 Forest Park. No. 5 Galloway went to overtime to knock off Class 4A No. 5 Marist 56-51 behind freshman Tianna Thompson’s 19 points. No. 7 Greenforest defeated Norcross 52-51 and aforementioned West Forsyth 57-49. 6-foot-3 senior L’or Mputu is averaging 19.2 points per game. No. 8 ELCA picked up a pair of blowout wins against Tennessee schools and visits No. 1 Hebron Christian on Tuesday. No. 9 Calvary Day is up one spot after a 64-23 win over Jenkins in which sophomore Hannah Cail (21) and junior Mahkayla Premo (20) combined for 41 points. Out of the poll is Trinity Christian (2-3). They lost 61-60 to Landmark Christian and haven’t been able to recapture last season’s success yet this year. Into the poll is No. 10 Tallulah Falls. The Indians earned wins over Bethlehem Christian (72-21), Towns County (48-44) and Woodland-Stockbridge (58-31) this past week. Though they are 0-2 against Top 10 opponents, they’ve shown they are most certainly in the mix with losses to ELCA (46-40) and Trinity Christian (38-35) on Thanksgiving week. 5-foot-10 senior Katy Corbett leads the way with 11.7 points and 5 rebounds. 5-foot-4 sophomore Veronaya Charlton is scoring 11.3 points a night while 5-foot-7 sophomore Denika Lightbourne is stuffing the stat sheet with 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.9 steals.
Big changes are happening in Class A-Public. Central-Talbotton (0-0) is out of the poll. Last year’s state runner-up and strong favorite to win it all this year has been rumored to be without reigning Class A-Public Player of the Year Bernyla Sparks and now running mate Renijua Johnson. If they really decide not to play, Central is not a Top 10 team. If they come back, the Hawks will shoot back to the top of the poll. No. 2 Greenville blasted Quitman County 84-33. No. 4 Turner County won two blowouts before a narrow 74-72 win over Dougherty. No. 6 GMC started their season with a 42-29 win over First Presbyterian Day. Deandria Stephens piled in 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. No. 7 Lake Oconee Academy is off to a 4-0 start with Chattanooga-signee Destiny McClendon averaging 21.5 points. Out of the poll is ECI (0-1) who lost 31-16 to Treutlen. No. 8 Dooly County and No. 9 Trion surface in the rankings. The Bobcats picked up wins over Treutlen 43-28 and Irwin County 58-47 as junior guard Sha’Nyah Bolden has averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Trion has been a pleasant surprise. They just lost their first game of the season to 2-0 LaFayette 58-57, but have scored wins over Fellowship Christian (54-45), Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (66-35) and Pepperell (66-27). The trio of senior Chloe Murdock, junior Jenna Mosley and freshman Libby Brown have gotten the Bulldogs off to a quick start. They will get a big test this Friday as they host 4-0 Armuchee. Region 6 is completely up for grabs and will start to create a clearer picture as the Indians play 2-1 Bowdon before their meeting with the Bulldogs.