Tate Morris of McIntosh and Brady Kluse of Harrison have taken the lead in passing and receiving yards, respectively, while Gavin Hall of Hebron Christian continues to lead in rushing. Morris, a first-year starter, threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns last week, giving him 1,274 yards for the season. Kluse had 211 receiving yards last week to give him 558 for the year.

GHSF Daily previews 10 of the most intriguing games each week throughout the season. The Week 5 lineup includes two games matching unbeaten and ranked teams in Region 4-4A, two Class 3A teams taking on two of Gwinnett County’s best, and a Class 2A game that will go a long way toward deciding a region championship.

The Maxwell Ratings have ranked Georgia’s 466 11-man football teams by county. The teams include those from the Georgia High School Association, the Georgia Independent Athletic Association and the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools. The list provides a different way of looking at the state’s teams.

Dublin’s Demari Foster and West Forsyth’s Peyton Strecko run for more than 300 yards and Central Gwinnett’s Jason Jackson goes for 271, while Peach County’s Jayden Parker intercepts three passes and returns one for a touchdown. They were among the standouts in Week 4 of the season.

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.

Gavin Hall of Hebron Christian, Sire Hardaway of Douglas County and Jaden Gibson of Rabun County are the GHSA’s leaders in rushing, passing and receiving through three weeks. Hall, a junior quarterback, has rushed for 310, 110 and 360 yards in Hebron’s three games, all victories. Hardaway, also a junior quarterback, is the first passer with more than 1,000 yards. The GHSA’s leading receiver is Gibson, who has 493 yards through three games.

GHSF Daily previews 10 of the most intriguing games each week throughout the season. The Week 4 lineup includes Lee County trying for its first victory against Colquitt County; Columbia searching for another big upset, this time at Cartersville; and Fitzgerald seeking to represent the state well at the Georgia-Florida Border Classic in Brunswick.

Close to 145 former Georgia high school players are active on opening-day NFL rosters in a season that begins Thursday with a game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills. Georgia’s total is up from about 125 last season and represents nearly 1 in 12 active NFL players. About 25 are rookies, including No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker from Upson-Lee with the Jaguars.

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.

Twelve active Georgia football head coaches have coached in 300 or more games in their Georgia careers. The latest to join the 300 club was Burke County’s Eric Parker last week. Only 77 Georgia coaches in history, going back more than 100 years and including the GHSA and all other associations, have coached in 300 games. This week, the 12 active coaches with 300 games were asked: What is your favorite high school football venue in Georgia other than your own, and why?

GHSF Daily previews 10 of the most intriguing games each week throughout the season. The Week 3 headliner is No. 4 North Cobb heading to top-ranked Buford in a battle for supremacy in Class 7A. Other matchups of note some rivalries, with Rome heading to Carrollton, Prince Avenue Christian taking on Athens Academy, and Warner Robins taking on Northside at McConnell-Talbert.

The new football season is only two weeks old, offering a glimpse of where things might be headed. Here are observations and happenings from each GHSA classification and the GIAA.

Quarterbacks Sire Hardaway of Douglas County, Seth Murray of North Murray and Taeo Todd of Troup pile up the yardage in Week 2, while Lamar County’s C.J. Allen and Oconee County’s Whit Weeks make an impact all over the field in their teams’ victories.

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.

Loren Maxwell’s computer algorithm ranks teams, regions and classifications. It also predicts games, scores, region finishes and state playoffs. For those looking even deeper, the Maxwell Ratings can evaluate reclassification. Here are five observations based on Maxwell’s ranking of classes and teams

GHSF Daily previews 10 of the most intriguing games each week throughout the season. The Week 2 headliners include Woodward Academy going on the road to face a three-defending Tennessee state champion, Robert Edwards making his coaching debut at his alma mater, and two private-school powers meeting in Roswell.

Osborne, Morrow, East Hall and Trinity Christian of Dublin won just one game apiece last season. Now, they’re all 1-0, and each is the most improved team in its classification so far, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. Their teams and their coaches are atop GHSF Daily’s Improvement Tracker, which will culminate in awards presented in January to the head coaches of the most improved winning teams.

Georgia high school football returns tonight with the first two of nearly 200 season openers. Games this week between top-10 teams include Lee County at Warner Robins, Mill Creek vs. Walton, North Oconee at Oconee County, Irwin County at Fitzgerald, Woodward Academy at Trinity Christian and Thomasville at Brooks County.

Valdosta defensive end Gabriel Harris, who committed to Georgia in April, is ineligible for his senior season, pending an appeal. The Georgia High School Association denied the senior’s hardship request Tuesday, and Valdosta submitted an appeal Wednesday morning.

Kirk Warner, a former Georgia tight end and the football coach at Liberty County in south Georgia since 2002, died of cancer Thursday. Warner was the high school coach of NFL players Raekwon McMillan, an All-American at Ohio State, and Richard LeCounte, a star safety at Georgia.