Class AAAAAAA

McEachern (11-2)
Norcross (14-2)
Collins Hill (15-1)
Pebblebrook (14-2)
Mountain View (14-2)
Newton (12-3)
Wheeler (10-6)
Grayson (11-3)
Meadowcreek (12-3)
Etowah (14-1)

Class AAAAAA

Langston Hughes (13-3)
Gainesville (9-6)
Brunswick (15-1)
Tri-Cities (13-3)
Bradwell Institute (12-4)
Jonesboro (10-5)
Douglas County (11-4)
Dacula (8-6)
Cambridge (14-1)
Lanier (12-4)

Class AAAAA

Buford (12-2)
Warner Robins (13-2)
Miller Grove (10-6)
Southwest DeKalb (12-5)
Lithonia (14-4)
Villa Rica (13-0)
Maynard Jackson (15-1)
Columbia (9-6)
Stockbridge (11-4)
Woodland-Stockbridge (11-4)

Class AAAA

Upson-Lee (16-0)
St. Pius X (13-2)
Sandy Creek (11-3)
Mary Persons (14-1)
Americus-Sumter (13-1)
Westover (10-4)
Salem (12-4)
Carver-Columbus (14-3)
Cartersville (10-2)
Baldwin (10-5)

Class AAA

Morgan County (15-0)
Jenkins (9-3)
Johnson-Savannah (10-2)
Cedar Grove (10-5)
Greater Atlanta Christian (12-3)
Westside-Macon (8-6)
Central-Macon (10-3)
Windsor Forest (10-5)
Pierce County (10-3)
Monroe Area (10-3)

Class AA

Glenn Hills (14-0)
Thomasville (14-2)
Washington County (9-3)
South Atlanta (12-2)
Dublin (11-2)
Elbert County (14-2)
Laney (11-3)
Swainsboro (10-3)
Banks County (13-3)
Therrell (9-7)

Class A-Private

St. Francis (12-2)
Aquinas (13-3)
Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (13-2)
Christian Heritage (14-0)
Stratford Academy (8-4)
Holy Innocents’ (9-6)
Walker (10-3)
Mt. Vernon Presbyterian (8-4)
Lakeview Academy (8-5)
Landmark Christian (10-4)

Class A-Public

Central-Talbotton (13-0)
Manchester (11-0)
Lanier County (14-1)
Woodville-Tompkins (14-2)
Calhoun County (14-2)
Montgomery County (10-3)
Wilkinson County (10-4)
Pelham (10-3)
Macon County (10-2)
Wilcox County (10-3)

No new teams crack the Top 10 in Class AAAAAAA. No. 1 McEachern dropped to DeMatha, MD 73-63 at the Cancer Research Classic while No. 7 Wheeler fell 75-62 to Webster Grove, MO. The Wildcats scored wins over Duluth (59-57) and Westlake (94-77) before making the trip to West Virginia. No. 4 Pebblebrook went 2-0 at the Prep Hoops Florida Sun Bash. No. 5 Mountain View is up a spot after beating Mt. Bethel Christian 67-53 and Clarke Central 53-42. No. 8 Grayson tumbles three spots after losing to Shiloh 62-58, before rebounding with a 51-43 win over Stephenson.

No. 1 Langston Hughes helped send No. 7 Douglas County down three spots in Class AAAAAA after beating them 78-67, Landers Nolley ejected with 3:30 left in the third quarter. The Tigers saw a 24-point lead slip away the next day against Alexander, losing 80-78 in overtime. No. 2 Gainesville shoots up three spots and has officially found their groove, winning six-straight after their brutal 3-6 start. The Red Elephants took care of Class 5A No. 2 Warner Robins 94-81 at the Big South Classic and then blasted No. 8 Dacula 96-74. Gainesville has a chance to run the table the rest of the season. Their biggest test will come on January 20 at Class 5A No. 1 Buford. No. 3 Brunswick defeated Glynn Academy 57-45, knocking the Terrors (11-6) from the poll. Glynn Academy also lost in quadruple overtime to Richmond Hill 74-66. They are replaced by first-timer No. 10 Lanier. The Longhorns have a chance prove their mettle this Tuesday as they host Gainesville. The trio of Adrian Martin, Alex Walker and Sion James has helped first-year head coach Branden Mayweather guide the Longhorns to their best start in school history.

It looks like nobody is ready yet to grab ahold of Region 5-AAAAA from No. 3 Miller Grove. Just when you think the rest of the region has finally caught up with the Wolverines, the Purple Pedigree finds a way to win. Miller Grove beat No. 5 Lithonia 47-34 and No. 8 Columbia 56-50. Columbia is reeling after suffering an 81-75 loss at Chamblee and have now sunk five spots. Statesboro (12-3) and McIntosh (9-3) both exit the poll. Statesboro falls over five spots after a bad 67-51 loss at Tattnall County. McIntosh was run out of the gym by Class 4A No. 3 Sandy Creek 76-53 and followed up with a 53-50 loss to Morrow before beating Fayette County for the first time in a decade. A pair of Region 4 rivals enter the Top 10 in No. 9 Stockbridge and No. 10 Woodland-Stockbridge. The Tigers earned a 53-41 win over Sandy Creek at the Big South Shootout. Georgia State-signee Kavonte Ivery is averaging 19.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.9 steals and 1 block for Stockbridge. Woodland is coming off a 63-59 win over Union Grove.

Class AAAA is feeling much more stable than last year’s merry-go-round. No one drops from the rankings for another week, but that may change soon. No. 3 Sandy Creek has a massive Region 5 tilt at No. 9 Cartersville on Tuesday, and we all know what happened last time the Patriots trekked up north. The Hurricanes are coming off a strong 64-60 win at LaGrange. No. 7 Salem earned wins over Central Gwinnett (68-62) and Marietta (67-56). No. 10 Baldwin slides down three positions following their 81-74 loss at Class 3A No. 6 Westside-Macon.

In Class AAA, No. 1 Morgan County survived a scare from Hart County on the road. Missing Stevin Greene and Tyrin Lawrence, the Bulldogs rallied from down 36-25 at the half to beat Hart County 62-53. No. 4 Cedar Grove added another impressive win onto their resume, beating Class 5A No. 10 Woodland-Stockbridge 64-63 in overtime. Dawson County (12-4) departs from the Top 10. The Tigers had a great 94-91 overtime win against East Hall, but had no legs left in a disappointing 63-57 loss the following day to Forsyth Central. Into the rankings for the first time is No. 9 Pierce County.

Outside of No. 1 Glenn Hills, everything in Class AA has been thrown into the spin-cycle. Last week’s No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 teams all lost, leading to a wild new outlook. No. 3 Washington County shoots up seven spots after beating No. 5 Dublin 73-72, dropping the Irish two spots. No. 4 South Atlanta is also down two slots after a 71-67 loss to newly ranked No. 10 Therrell. The Panthers were ranked earlier this season and have had an up and down year. The main reason for their streakiness and modest 9-7 record? A brutal non-region schedule that has seemingly prepared them for the long run. Out of their seven losses, only one (at BEST Academy 49-48) has come against a Class AA school. Albeit a bad loss to BEST, expect Therrell to handle their business next time they see them. The Panthers have lost to Class 3A No. 1 Morgan County 84-78, Class 5A No. 3 Miller Grove 78-50, Class 6A No. 4 Tri-Cities 86-77, Class 7A Rockdale County 87-83, Class 6A Tucker 67-62 and Class 6A Heritage-Conyers 71-65. Sophomore guard Deandre Brown, freshman forward Robbie Armbrester and sophomore point guard Roman Son make up a strong core. Making way for Therrell is Jeff Davis (11-4). The Yellow Jackets fell to Long County 70-56. The biggest dropper this week is No. 9 Banks County, who had a miserable week. The Leopards are down five spots after losing to No. 6 Elbert County 61-50 and to North Hall 44-38. All of a sudden, the Blue Devils, winners of 13-straight, are in the driver’s seat in Region 8.

If you thought Class 2A was crazy, the purge has officially begun in Class A-Private with a massive overhaul which includes four new teams in the Top 10. King’s Ridge Christian (10-4), Wesleyan (5-6), North Cobb Christian (10-5) and WD Mohammed (7-3) are all on the chopping block. King’s Ridge goes from No. 4 to unranked after losing 40-35 to debutant No. 7 Walker and to Fellowship Christian 50-48. The Walker Wolverines have won 7-of-8 with their only loss coming out-of-state. Led by a trio of sophomores, 6-foot-4 Burke Chebuhar averages 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds. Chandler Baker collects 13.3 points and 6 rebounds while the forgotten Cooper bother, Omar, averages 9.9 points and 5.4 assists to pace the offense. Wesleyan exits the Top 10 after beating returnee No. 8 Mt. Vernon Presbyterian 57-54, but dropping to streaking No. 6 Holy Innocents’ 50-47 and getting drilled by Woodward Academy 56-37. The Mustangs of Mt. Vernon climb back into the rankings thanks to a 56-36 win over WD Mohammed. The Caliphs also lost in double overtime to Galloway 69-66. Holy Innocents’ has finally turned their earlier close losses into close victories as the young team is learning how to win. The Golden Bears have won five in a row with wins over Marietta (68-66), Milton (77-71), at Lovett (77-60), at Wesleyan (50-47) and at Mt. Vernon (60-56). Freshman Garrison Powell is averaging 15.9 points per game. North Cobb Christian saw its fate sealed with a wild 100-99 quadruple overtime loss to No. 4 Christian Heritage. The Lions have put the rest of the state on notice that they are officially here to compete. Unsigned 6-foot-7 forward Christian Koneman, the No. 13 ranked big man in the GHSA, hung 38 points and 22 rebounds on the Eagles while teammate Sam Dindoffer tallied 29 points, 10 rebounds and 9 steals. No. 5 Stratford Academy rises five spots thanks to all the chaos in front of them while No. 9 Lakeview Academy remerges into the Top 10 following a 66-55 win over Prince Avenue Christian.

In Class A-Public, No. 1 Central-Talbotton handled Brookstone 69-48 and now hosts No. 2 Manchester this Friday. No. 3 Lanier County bashed Berrien 67-47 on the road and will visit No. 10 Wilcox County on Tuesday. No. 6 Montgomery County falls a spot after a 60-59 loss at Vidalia. No. 5 Calhoun County moves up two slots following a 66-52 win at No. 8 Pelham.

Sandy's Spiel

Week 8 Boys Rankings