Class AAAAAAA

1. Norcross (10-1)
2. Newton (9-0)
3. Westlake (6-1)
4. Pebblebrook (5-3)
5. McEachern (6-0)
6. Collins Hill (10-1)
7. Wheeler (5-3)
8. Tift County (9-1)
9. Berkmar (8-3)
10. Peachtree Ridge (7-3) 

Class AAAAAA

1. Gainesville (9-0)
2. Jonesboro (8-1)
3. Langston Hughes (7-3)
4. South Paulding (9-1)
5. Brunswick (6-1)
6. Heritage-Conyers (6-3)
7. South Cobb (9-2)
8. Alpharetta (12-1)
9. Dacula (6-3)
10. Lakeside-Evans (8-3) 

Class AAAAA

1. Buford (8-0)
2. Eagle’s Landing (8-1)
3. Miller Grove (7-2)
4. Fayette County (7-1)
5. Cedar Shoals (9-2)
6. Southwest DeKalb (8-2)
7. Warner Robins (7-1)
8. Riverwood (11-1)
9. Union Grove (9-2)
10. Maynard Jackson (8-2) 

Class AAAA

1. Sandy Creek (5-2)
2. Upson-Lee (11-0)
3. LaGrange (7-1)
4. Eastside (7-1)
5. Thomson (2-2)
6. Westover (5-2)
7. Richmond Academy (7-2)
8. St. Pius X (6-4)
9. Perry (10-2)
10. Burke County (5-0) 

Class AAA

1. Westside-Macon (5-2)
2. Central-Macon (6-0)
3. Cedar Grove (5-2)
4. Pace Academy (3-3)
5. Greater Atlanta Christian (7-2)
6. Liberty County (7-4)
7. Morgan County (4-2)
8. Jenkins (6-4)
9. Calhoun (7-0)
10. Islands (7-3) 

Class AA

1. South Atlanta (9-1)
2. Therrell (8-1)
3. Thomasville (4-4)
4. Dublin (4-3)
5. Monticello (7-4)
6. Callaway (3-2)
7. Josey (9-2)
8. Butler (5-2)
9. Laney (6-2)
10. Putnam County (7-2) 

Class A-Private

1. Greenforest (7-2)
2. St. Francis (9-0)
3. Southwest Atlanta Christian (5-3)
4. North Cobb Christian (7-2)
5. Aquinas (6-0)
6. Lakeview Academy (6-3)
7. Whitefield Academy (6-2)
8. Holy Innocents’ (3-4)
9. Darlington (5-1)
10. Tallulah Falls (10-0) 

Class A-Public

1. Calhoun County (7-0)
2. Quitman County (9-1)
3. Taylor County (5-2)
4. Wilkinson County (5-2)
5. Treutlen (7-0)
6. Crawford County (6-3)
7. Clinch County (6-0)
8. Montgomery County (8-1)
9. Twiggs County (7-3)
10. Central-Talbotton (7-3)

 

Norcross dropped its first game of the year at City of the Palms to IMG Academy 62-59 but the Blue Devils retain the top spot in Class AAAAAAA. Not much movement occurred in the poll, but we do have a new No. 9 and No. 10 as Shiloh and Meadowcreek drop out. The Generals lost a head scratcher to Archer 65-61 while Meadowcreek has battled with injuries. The Mustangs fell to No. 1 Norcross 58-46 and to Lanier 58-52. Jamir Chaplin has been out with a cracked fibula, but should return by early January. Back in the poll at No. 9 is Berkmar. The Patriots have won six straight and just beat Lee, AL 56-48 and Allatoona, 65-45, both at The King of the Bluegrass. Sliding in at No. 10 is Peachtree Ridge. The Lions are off to a 7-3 start and defeated Grayson last week 55-47 behind Devin Vassell’s 26 points.

Big games came down to the wire in Class AAAAAA. No. 1 Gainesville found a way to survive on the road at Class AAAA No. 8 St. Pius 70-65, shaking off free throw woes. No. 4 South Paulding was unable to do so, as the Spartans saw a 40-27 fourth quarter lead evaporate at the SEBA Atlanta Hoop Festival, losing to Class A-Private No. 4 North Cobb Christian 51-49. Georgia State-signee Kane Williams couldn’t close the door, going 5-of-10 from the line in the fourth quarter. Continuing their rise up the poll is No. 7 South Cobb. The Eagles have steamrolled Region 6, winning by an average of 25.6 points with junior guard Trevin Wade leading the way pouring in 17.9 points a night. Richmond Hill fell out of the Top 10 after losing to Johnson-Savannah and Class AAA No. 10 Islands, 65-45. Debuting is Lakeside-Evans. The Panthers have won six in a row and have scored wins over Josey (74-67), Laney (77-70) and Glenn Hills (88-83 OT) this season, three of Augusta’s best teams which have spent time in the Top 10. Sophomore guard Kalen Williams leads a three-pronged attack averaging 18.4 points. Senior forward Deon Berrien is posting a double-double at 15.6 points and 12.1 rebounds while senior Kre’Sean Hall is doing the same at 13 points and 10.5 boards.

Miller Grove creeps up to No. 3 in Class AAAAA. The Wolverines have righted the ship and just scored a 57-43 win over Pembroke Pines Charter, FL at the Kreul Classic. Cedar Shoals jumps Southwest DeKalb for No. 5. The Jaguars knocked off Class AAAAAA No. 6 Hertiage-Conyers 52-49. The Panthers of Southwest DeKalb have a tough slate ahead with No. 4 Fayette County at the Peach State Classic and then the following week, Class A-Private No. 1 Greenforest looms at the Tucker Invitational. New Hampstead and Columbia both exit the poll. Columbia was the preseason No. 1, but the magic hasn’t quite returned yet for Dr. Phil McCrary. They were upset by Lithonia 67-53 in a Region 5 shocker. The Phoenix lost to Effingham County 63-58 and to Class AAA No. 8 Jenkins, 54-45. Making their debut are No. 9 Union Grove and No. 10 Maynard Jackson. The Wolverines are 9-2 and have shown they can hang with the big boys, losing to No. 2 Eagle’s Landing 51-47 on Nov. 29. Junior guard Wesley Simpson runs the show. He’s averaging 12.7 points and 6.1 assists. First-year head coach Travis Williams has rode JaQuavius Hayes to a 8-2 mark for the Jaguars. The 6-foot-6 senior is averaging 22.8 points and 14.1 rebounds.

Sandy Creek was upended by undefeated Rickards, FL at the Southern States Classic 77-73, but the Patriots are still No. 1 in Class AAAA. They bounced back with a 69-60 win over Bartlett, TN. No. 2 Upson-Lee took care of business, dispatching over Class A-Public No. 6 Crawford County (71-55) and No. 3 Taylor County (58-52) for the second time each this season. Slick scoring junior Tye Fagan dropped in 28 points against the Eagles and 27 against the Vikings. Travon Walker added 13 points and 23 rebounds while Zyrice Scott went for 17 points in the win over rival Crawford County. St. Pius tumbles four spots to No. 8 after a tiring week saw them fall in overtime against Gainesville, narrowly defeat Stephens County 70-68 and finally run out of gas at SEBA, losing to Hillgrove 52-39. Henry County is the second preseason No. 1 to fall out of the poll this week. The Warhawks sit at 7-5 and were bounced out by new No. 4 Eastside, who rises six spots after a 78-71 victory. Replacing Henry County is No. 10 Burke County. The Bears are 5-0 with their best win coming against Effingham County 81-63. Three seniors lead the team, all scoring in double figures. Quantavious Wilson paces the attack, the 6-foot-6 forward averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.

Class AAA is officially a jumbled mess outside of No. 1 Westside-Macon. Rival Central-Macon rises to No. 2 after No. 3 Cedar Grove (67-60; Monroe), No. 4 Pace Academy (76-42; Memphis-East), No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian (62-47; Discovery) and No. 10 Islands (63-59 Nova, FL) all lost ahead of the Chargers. While the top of the poll faltered, proud programs regained their footing at the bottom. No. 6 Liberty County saw the return of Davion Mitchell and proceeded to hammer Class AAAA No. 5 Thomson, 85-66. No. 7 Morgan County stopped Class AAAAAA No. 9 Dacula 64-57 and No. 8 Jenkins knocked New Hampstead out of the Class AAAAA poll after a 54-45 win. Due to a numbers game, Monroe hasn’t been able to force their way into the Top 10 yet, but the Tornadoes are as dangerous as it gets at 7-1 with a victory over Cedar Grove already.

In Class AA, throw all your favorite Augusta area teams in a hat and pick out a name. That will be the best team that current week, as each school continues to beat each other with parity at an all-time high. No. 7 Josey debuts in the poll after beating No. 8 Butler 60-56, but the Eagles couldn’t fly higher thanks to a loss to Screven County 57-56. Even though the Bulldogs dropped five spots, all wasn’t lost for Butler. They beat No. 9 Laney 75-72 at Laney. The pieces will continue to shuffle around in the wild Region 4 which has already placed four teams in the Top 10. Glenn Hills is the casualty this week, cannibalized by the region. The Spartans lost in overtime to Laney, 61-53. Replacing Glenn Hills is Putnam County. 5-foot-7 senior guard Carl Johnson is pumping in 26.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4.1 steals per game.

Whitefield Academy picked up an impressive 79-53 win over Sacred Heart, AL to move the Wolfpack up to No. 7 in Class A-Private. No. 6 Lakeview Academy suffered two tough losses at the Southern States Classic, losing to Seffner Christian, FL 70-69 and to Rickards, FL 79-65. Tattnall Square Academy falls out after a 63-51 loss to Johnson-Savannah. Tallulah Falls sneaks in at No. 10 thanks to their hot start and veteran laden team.

Wilkinson County was drilled by Baldwin 63-46, dropping the defending champs to No. 4 in Class A-Public. No. 1 Calhoun County and No. 2 Quitman County never got a chance to play due to this ugly scene which resulted in a postponement with major statewide implications now at stake. Taylor County is now No. 3 after a strong showing against Upson-Lee, who has handed them both of their losses. No. 7 Clinch County is looking strong while No. 9 Twiggs County ran into a Putnam County buzz saw, losing twice to the Eagles this week. Montgomery County moves to No. 8 even after their 61-56 loss to Vidalia.