Buford Holds Top National Spot as Georgia Teams Stay Put in Week 10 Polls

Georgia high school football teams held steady in national rankings after the 10th week of the regular season.

Buford, Carrollton and Thomas County Central remain the highest-ranked Georgia programs across the polls tracked weekly by AJC Varsity. Buford appears as the top Georgia team in seven of those eight polls. Its highest placement is No. 2 in the ESPN rankings, where it stayed this week. In the NationalHSFB.com poll, the Wolves moved up one spot to No. 3.

Thomas County Central advanced two places to No. 18 in the Sports Idol Nation rankings. The Yellow Jackets slipped elsewhere, dropping two spots to No. 7 in the Massey Ratings and one spot to No. 16 in the High School Football America poll. Thomas County Central sits in the top 18 in all eight polls.

Carrollton holds fourth place in the Massey Ratings, which is the highest national position for any Georgia team in that poll. Newton appears at No. 26 in the MaxPreps rankings.

The MaxPreps poll lists Buford at No. 3, Carrollton at No. 10, Thomas County Central at No. 12, Newton at No. 26, Lee County at No. 29, Sandy Creek at No. 36, Creekside at No. 41, Blessed Trinity at No. 54, Milton at No. 55, Gainesville at No. 67, Lowndes at No. 69, Valdosta at No. 73, Grayson at No. 80 and Coffee at No. 97.

In the High School Football America top 100, Buford ranks third, Carrollton fourth, Thomas County Central 16th, Creekside 37th, Newton 53rd, Sandy Creek 69th, Lowndes 70th, Grayson 81st, North Gwinnett 85th, Valdosta 90th and Lee County 100th. Lee County was not ranked in that poll the prior week.

The Massey Ratings top 100 includes Carrollton at No. 4, Thomas County Central at No. 7, Buford at No. 9, Valdosta at No. 34, Newton at No. 36, Creekside at No. 38, Lee County at No. 45, Cartersville at No. 52, North Gwinnett at No. 82, Lowndes at No. 85, Grayson at No. 86, Brookwood at No. 87 and Milton at No. 89. Milton was unranked in that poll the prior week.

In the Sports Idol Nation rankings, Buford sits at No. 6, Carrollton at No. 14, Thomas County Central at No. 18, Lee County at No. 40, Creekside at No. 41, Brookwood at No. 53, North Gwinnett at No. 56, Sandy Creek at No. 65, Newton at No. 66, Lowndes at No. 81 and Blessed Trinity at No. 87. The USA Today top 25 lists Buford at No. 3, Carrollton at No. 11 and Thomas County Central at No. 14. The ESPN SC Next rankings show Buford at No. 2, Carrollton at No. 4 and Thomas County Central at No. 13. High School on SI places Buford fourth, Carrollton eighth and Thomas County Central 12th. NationalHSFB.com lists Buford at No. 3, Thomas County Central at No. 13 and Carrollton at No. 14.

Chip Saye rejoined the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2025, at the launch of AJC Varsity. He helped start Georgia High School Football Daily in 2009 and previously worked at the Athens Banner-Herald, the Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail and the Gwinnett Daily News.