Class AAAAAAA

1. Brookwood (11-3)
2. North Forsyth (11-3)
3. Norcross (10-1)
4. Grayson (10-3)
5. South Forsyth (11-3)
6. Archer (10-3)
7. Woodstock (9-4)
8. West Forsyth (10-2)
9. Campbell (10-5)
10. Harrison (9-3)

Class AAAAAA

1. Kell (11-0)
2. River Ridge (11-1)
3. Carrollton (11-0)
4. Lovejoy (9-3)
5. Buford (8-3)
6. Brunswick (10-0)
7. Rockdale County (6-4)
8. Langston Hughes (9-4)
9. Sequoyah (9-4)
10. Statesboro (12-1)

Class AAAAA

1. Woodward Academy (10-1)
2. Maynard Jackson (7-2)
3. Forest Park (8-1)
4. Union Grove (11-2)
5. Griffin (10-4)
6. Greenbrier (10-2)
7. Northside-Columbus (11-2)
8. Cass (14-1)
9. Stockbridge (12-2)
10. McIntosh (8-3)

Class AAAA

1. Luella (11-1)
2. Carver-Columbus (7-1)
3. Jefferson (12-2)
4. Baldwin (10-2)
5. Marist (10-2)
6. Arabia Mountain (9-3)
7. Cedar Shoals (8-3)
8. Pickens (11-2)
9. Thomas County Central (11-2)
10. Westover (7-4)

Class AAA

1. Lumpkin County (13-1)
2. GAC (6-3)
3. Cross Creek (9-1)
4. Pierce County (10-1)
5. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (13-0)
6. Redan (6-4)
7. East Jackson (11-1)
8. Oconee County (9-3)
9. Burke County (7-2)
10. Dawson County (9-5)

Class AA

1. Elbert County (15-2)
2. Fannin County (9-2)
3. Josey (8-4)
4. Rabun County (12-3)
5. Dodge County (8-0)
6. Washington County (6-1)
7. Northeast-Macon (8-4)
8. Heard County (12-2)
9. Callaway (7-2)
10. Swainsboro (7-0)

Class A-Private

1. Holy Innocents’ (12-2)
2. St. Francis (10-2)
3. Mt. Paran (8-3)
4. Hebron Christian (12-1)
5. Galloway (8-3)
6. Wesleyan (6-3)
7. Calvary Day (6-1)
8. Trinity Christian (7-5)
9. Deerfield-Windsor (7-3)
10. Tallulah Falls (5-2)

Class A-Public

1. Montgomery County (8-1)
2. Screven County (8-2)
3. Taylor County (8-2)
4. Lake Oconee Academy (7-1)
5. Bryan County (11-3)
6. Mt. Zion-Carrollton (10-4)
7. Pelham (5-1)
8. Dublin (8-3)
9. Trion (8-3)
10. Schley County (6-3)

The arrival of 2022 comes with COVID pauses in Clayton County and Atlanta Public Schools with more rumored to shutdown for the first week of the new year. The final week of 2021 provided us with four newly ranked teams and one new number one.No. 1 Brookwood rises the top of Class 7A after winning the Deep South Classic on their home floor, beating Class A-Private powers No. 3 Mt. Paran 57-53 and No. 1 Holy Innocents’ in the title game 52-51, new UGA-commit Diana Collins winning MVP after collecting 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals while Nedisha Ford sank the game-winner.  No. 2 North Forsyth ran into a buzzsaw, going 0-3 at the Innisfree Hotels Beach Basketball Tournament losing to Vestavia Hills, AL (59-48), Reynoldsburg, OH (62-60) and Ravenwood, TN (56-38).  No. 4 Grayson slips two spots, pulling out of the Hounds Holiday Classic and instead dropping two games at the Deep South Classic, 66-59 to Holy Innocents’ and 46-44 to Mt. Paran. No. 3 Norcross hasn’t played as tough a schedule as the three aforementioned programs, but the Lady Blue nonetheless move up a spot after hammering Troup County 51-19. No. 5 South Forsyth is up one place following a 2-1 week at the Carolina Invitational, their only loss coming to Cannon, NC 65-63. No. 9 Campbell finished 2-1 at their Holiday Classic, losing in the title game to No. 7 Woodstock 62-55. The Wolverines move up two spots after also beating Marietta 60-55. Cherokee (10-5) drops out after splitting a pair at the Deep South Classic, losing to Mt. Paran 50-41 before beating Tift County 60-49. No. 10 Harrison is back in the Top 10. After losing to Marietta 57-51 to open the Campbell Holiday Classic, the Hoyas rebounded with wins over Cambridge (65-50) and Newton (67-55) before holding on to beat East Coweta in overtime at the Sequoyah New Year’s Eve Showcase 64-56. Anna Gernatt recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Indians while Emme Johnson collected 10 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Class 6A has significant shuffling midway through the poll, but at the top, No. 1 Kell remained unbeaten by winning the Campbell Holiday Classic, pushing past No. 8 Langston Hughes 58-53 in the championship as Crystal Henderson scored 26 points to top Raven Thompson’s 22-point effort. No. 2 River Ridge drilled North Paulding 72-46 and outlasted Hillgrove 55-52 to capture the Hounds Holiday Classic Championship, tournament MVP Mataya Gayle scoring 19 points as the Knights played without forwards Kayla Cleaveland and Sofia Reyes. No. 4 Lovejoy finished 2-2 at the Sandra Meadows Classic in Texas, earning wins over Horn (62-58) and Sachse (66-58 OT) while losing to Duncanville (60-53) and Hardin-Jefferson (60-43). No. 6 Brunswick leapfrogs four spots after picking up a pair of wins at the Vereen Holiday Shootout, beating Bainbridge 56-35 and Valdosta 49-41. No. 10 Statesboro tumbles four spots after going 2-1 at the Monterrey Christmas Tournament, beating Lakeside-Evans (70-31) and Beach (57-37) but losing in the championship game to Grovetown 55-45. The Blue Devils, who suffered their first loss, cling onto their spot in the poll narrowly staying ahead of 10-4 Grovetown. No. 9 Sequoyah lost at their New Year’s Eve Showcase to Class A-Private No. 4 Hebron Christian 63-48.

The top six in Class 5A didn’t play but No. 7 Northside-Columbus jumps No. 8 Cass. The Patriots’ strength of schedule inches them past the Colonels. Northside-Columbus netted a pair of wins at the Muscogee County Christmas Showcase beating Duluth (57-38) and last week’s Class 2A No. 6 Northeast-Macon (69-50). Cass won the Tiger Christmas Clash Championship, their best win coming against Calhoun 56-52. Warner Robins (10-5) is out of the rankings. The Demonettes went 2-1 at the Oscar Wimberly Classic, losing 64-58 to debutant No. 9 Stockbridge. Carrington Wilson led the Tigers with 21 points.

Class 4A’s top four continues to evolve as No. 2 Carver-Columbus rises two spots after toppling No. 4 Baldwin 71-67 at the Muscogee County Christmas Showcase, dropping the Bravettes a slot. Caylee Simpson (18), Mikayah Webb (16) and Jakayla Geiger (15) powered the Tigers while Baldwin received 18 points from Madison Ruff and 17 from Tamia Smith. No. 3 Jefferson slides a spot. The Dragons went 1-1 at the Kelly King Classic, beating Class 2A No. 2 Fannin County 64-44 but losing in the championship to host Class 3A No. 1 Lumpkin County 49-32, as Deshona Gaither watched from the sidelines. No. 8 Pickens rises a spot after capturing the Carpet Capital Christmas Classic Championship topping White County 48-42. No. 9 Thomas County Central had a clean week going 2-0 at the Vereen Holiday Shootout, beating Coffee (42-37) and Raines, FL (67-61). North Oconee (9-5) drops out after going 1-2 at the Marlin Christmas Classic. The Titans lost to Stewarts Creek, TN (69-41) and Rutherford, TN (74-70) before beating Westwood 48-42. No. 10 Westover gets a crack at the poll. The Patriots split at the Vereen Holiday Shootout, losing 37-35 to Valdosta and beating Cook 51-17. 5-foot-9 senior Anaiya Donaldson is the engine averaging 12 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.8 steals. Westover’s best wins have come against 7A Tift County (8-3) and A-Private No. 9 Deerfield-Windsor (7-3).

No. 1 Lumpkin County dominated en route to winning their Kelly King Classic Championship. The best team in Class 3A defeated Peachtree Ridge (53-38), Mill Creek (55-25) and took down last week’s Class 4A No. 2 Jefferson (49-32). Averie Jones netted 18 points in the title game. No. 4 Pierce County finished 3-0 at the Paul Thigpen Motor Group Christmas Classic, their best win 49-45 in overtime over Class A-Public No. 1 Montgomery County. No. 5 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe cruised to the Best of Preps Championship beating Meigs County, TN 84-42. No. 6 Redan is down a spot, but the Raiders competed well at the Carolina Invitational losing to Cannon, NC (48-38) and Berkeley, SC (54-45). Sumter County (6-6) fails to survive a week back in the rankings, losing 50-44 to Rome at the Atlanta Hawks Invitational. No. 10 Dawson County gets their first look at the Top 10. The Tigers won the Carolina Invitational Lowcountry Division Championship, upsetting 14-2 David Crockett, TN 51-38 as Kirklyn Porter was named Tournament MVP after scoring 13 points.

Class 2A saw No. 1 Elbert County romp their way to the McDonalds’ Shootout Championship, scoring wins over Franklin County (54-30), Dacula (66-42) and Hart County (72-51). No. 2 Fannin County holds tight following a 2-1 showing at the Kelly King Classic, beating North Gwinnett (50-42) and Mill Creek (56-30) with a 64-44 loss to last week’s Class 4A No. 2 Jefferson sandwiched in between. No. 4 Rabun County lost in the Battle of the States Championship to Murphy, NC 54-49 after beating East Forsyth 67-44 in the semifinals. No. 7 Northeast-Macon slides a spot with a 69-50 loss to Class 5A No. 7 Northside-Columbus at the Muscogee County Christmas Showcase. No. 8 Heard County moves up a space following a 3-0 week highlighted by a 56-55 win in overtime against Darlington.

There is no movement in Class A-Private although No. 1 Holy Innocents’ suffered their first in-state loss. The Golden Bears fell to Class 7A No. 1 Brookwood on a buzzer-beater in the Deep South Classic 52-51 after beating Tift County 57-41 and last week’s Class 7A No. 2 Grayson 66-59. No. 2 Mt. Paran finished 2-1 at the Deep South Classic, beating last week’s Class 7A No. 10 Cherokee (50-41) and No. 2 Grayson (46-44) with a loss in between coming against new No. 1 Brookwood 57-53. No. 4 Hebron Christian won at last week’s Class 6A No. 8 Sequoyah 63-48 as freshman Aubrey Beckham collected 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks.

Class A-Public No. 1 Montgomery County dropped their first game of the season to Class 3A No. 4 Pierce County in overtime 49-45 after beating Tattnall County 49-42 at the Paul Thigpen Motor Group Christmas Classic. No. 3 Taylor County is down a spot after getting blasted by Lamar County 57-30 at the Oscar Wimberly Classic. Sickness and injury have derailed any momentum for No. 6 Mt. Zion-Carrollton as the Eagles are down two more spots following a 64-33 loss at Peach County. No. 9 Trion sinks two places after a 1-2 showing at the Gordon Lee Christmas Tournament, losing to Heritage-Catoosa (50-28) and Gilmer (58-52). No. 5 Bryan County shoots up three spots with a 67-46 win over New Hampstead keying their movement.