Buford, Hughes, Cedar Grove and Prince Avenue Christian have maintained their top rankings since preseason, and Ware County, Cedartown, Fitzgerald and Bowdon will join them as No. 1 teams entering the playoffs this week. It’s about to get dangerous, though. In 2021, only three No. 1 teams from the end of the regular season went on to win state championships, and that’s typical attrition across five playoff rounds.

Top-10 football teams were 55-1 against unranked opponents last week, creating little movement in the rankings entering the final weekend of the regular season. The only top-10 upset, a minor one, took place Thursday, when Jenkins County defeated No. 9 Emanuel County Institute of Class A Division II. No. 7 Jones County in 5A and No. 8 Dougherty in 3A also dropped out after losing to other ranked teams.

Jefferson and Thomasville are back in the top 10 after victories over ranked opponents Friday, and Bowdon is No. 1 for the first time since 2006 after the 10th weekend of high school football. Bowdon, which didn’t play last week, moved into the top spot in Class A Division II after previous No. 1 Early County lost to Eufaula, Ala., 31-28. Bowdon (8-1) has lost only to Central-Carrollton, a Class 4A school. Early (6-2) has lost consecutive games, although to strong teams.

Buford’s grip on the No. 1 ranking in Class 7A is tighter than ever with three weeks remaining in high school football’s regular season. Buford, ranked at the top since preseason, defeated then-No. 3 Mill Creek 37-29 on Friday in a game between unbeaten Gwinnett County rivals. It was Buford’s second win over a ranked 7A opponent as the Wolves beat current No. 6 North Cobb 21-14 last month. Buford (7-0) doesn’t have a top-10 opponent on the remainder of its schedule.

Warner Robins and Trinity Christian, a pair of 2021 state champions that started slowly, reentered the high school football rankings this week after winning their first two region games. Warner Robins defeated Union Grove 30-7 to move to 3-4 overall. Warner Robins is No. 9 in Class 5A. Trinity Christian, last year’s Class A Private champion, is No. 8 this week in Class 4A. After an 0-2 start that dropped them out of the rankings, the Lions have won five straight, including two in a row against top-10 teams.

Ware County is the third No. 1 football team in Class 5A this season, and Hebron Christian has its highest ranking in this week’s high school football rankings. Ware (4-0) moved up from No. 2 after No. 1 Cartersville lost to Calhoun last week. Hebron Christian, previously unranked, is No. 5 in Class 3A after a 35-28 victory over then-No. 5 Oconee County in a Region 8 game. Hebron had been ranked a few times before in Class A, but the Lions’ No. 5 standing this week is their best showing.

Lowndes and North Cobb reentered the Class 7A rankings this week, Lambert made it for the first time in 10 years and Grayson dropped eight spots to No. 10 after the sixth week of the high school football season. Lowndes defeated previous No. 2 Grayson 24-14 to make up for its road loss the previous week to East Coweta. Lowndes was the preseason No. 8 team and now sits at No. 9. North Cobb, the preseason No. 4, defeated previous No. 9 Milton 21-7 and got back in at No. 8. New to the rankings this week is Lambert, which defeated East Coweta 31-24 on Friday.

All eight No. 1 teams in the Georgia high school football rankings remained the same for the first time this season after the fifth week produced few major surprises. Cedar Grove retained its position at the top of Class 3A after a 52-36 loss to No. 4 Mill Creek of Class 7A. Cedar Grove, the defending champion in 3A, had beaten Westlake and Collins Hill of 7A the previous two weeks and takes on No. 3 Colquitt County this week to finish one the most ambitious Georgia road trips ever for a smaller school. Buford, Hughes, Cartersville, Prince Avenue Christian and Early County, all ranked No. 1, each won their games comfortably Friday. Cedartown and Fitzgerald were off.

Cedartown and Early County are ranked No. 1 in the AJC’s high school football poll for the first time in more than 25 years. Cedartown (4-0) climbed on top of Class 4A after a 21-7 victory over previous No. 4 Calhoun of Class 5A and is No. 1 for the first time since 1995. Benedictine, the previous No. 1 team and 4A’s defending champion, fell to No. 7 after losing 14-10 to Ware County, the No. 2 team in 5A. Early County (4-0) is No. 1 in the new Class A Division II. The Bobcats beat Terrell County 21-14 last week. Early County was most recently No. 1 in 1994. Previous No. 1 Clinch County (3-1) fell to No. 2 after losing 43-13 to No. 6 Cook of Class 2A.

A year after its worst season in 39 years, Clinch County is ranked No. 1 again. The South Georgia small-school power with six state titles this century is 3-0 after a 50-14 victory over Miller County on Friday. Clinch moved into the top spot in Class A Division II after previous No. 1 Schley County lost to then-No. 10 Early County 19-17 on Friday. Other No. 1 teams, including Buford, Fitzgerald and Cartersville, needed second-half comebacks to stay on top, while Hughes, Benedictine, Cedar Grove and Prince Avenue Christian won easily.

Fitzgerald, the defending Class 2A champion, is back to No. 1 in the high school football rankings. The spot opened when previous No. 1 Eagle’s Landing Christian lost 37-14 to No. 5 Blessed Trinity of Class 6A on Friday. ELCA is now No. 2 in 2A. Benedictine, the No. 1 Class 4A team, also lost but kept its position. The Cadets were beaten 41-15 by Christopher Columbus, a state power out of Miami. There was little change otherwise in the rankings.

Columbia and Wheeler County are in the top 10 for the first time this century, and two-time defending Class 5A champion Warner Robins is no longer No. 1 after the first weekend of high school football. Columbia, a Class 2A school in DeKalb County, defeated Camden County 13-10 on the road Friday night in one of the state’s biggest upsets. The computer Maxwell Ratings had Camden, a Class 7A school, a 34-point favorite.