Griffin takes over No. 1 at AAAA

Griffin is the new No. 1 in Class AAAAA.

Not sure it shouldn’t be Westside, though. That’s a real toss-up. We let Westside jump Southwest DeKalb, so if Griffin slips in its game vs. North Clayton in a couple of weeks, Westside likely would be the team to take Griffin’s place. But I don’t see Griffin losing through the regular season.

Griffin was No. 1 in preseason and for a couple of weeks in 2005. Griffin’s two losses that year were to the AAAA finalists, Northside and Statesboro. The last time Griffin has been ranked No. 1 this late was 1980.

Speaking of Northside, the Eagles have a big game this week vs. Lowndes. I don’t think there’s been a true road team to beat Northside at home since the mid-1990s. I believe it was Peach County in 1996. (I’ll look it up here shortly.)

Meanwhile, Lowndes is crushing its opponents. Lowndes has scored on the first play from scrimmage in three of five games, according to the Valdosta Daily Times. I’m going to ask for a Lowndes volunteer to document how many times Lowndes has scored on a run from scrimmage of 50 yards or more, or on defense or special teams. It’s remarkable how this Wing T team breaks so many runs on people.

In other news, McEachern jumps a little at the expense of Stephenson, which needed overtime to beat Newton.

Tucker remained ranked after it got smoked by Marist. That’s news because Tucker dropped out of the rankings last year when it lost to Marist 38-0. Franklin Stephens reminded me of that last week and hoped it wouldn’t happen again.

And finally, Grayson. I know the Rams are good, but it’s interesting that Grayson has trailed or been tied in the fourth quarter of three of its five victories. Is that meaningful? I don’t think Lowndes has trailed or been tied after the first two  minutes.

CLASS AAAAA

1. Lowndes (5-0)

2. Grayson (5-0)
3. North Gwinnett (5-0)
4. Northside, Warner Robins (4-0)

5. Newnan (5-0)

6. McEachern (5-0)
7. Stephenson (4-0)

8. M.L. King (4-0)

9. Peachtree Ridge (4-1)
10. Camden County (2-2)

CLASS AAAA

1. Griffin (5-0)

2. Westside, Macon (5-0)

3. Southwest DeKalb (4-1)

4. Hillgrove (4-0)

5. North Clayton (5-0)
6. Sandy Creek (3-1)

7. Marist (4-1)

8. Tucker (4-1)

9. Apalachee (4-0)

10. Statesboro (4-1)

CLASS AAA

1. Gainesville (5-0)

2. Peach County (4-0)

3. St. Pius (5-0)

4. Carver-Columbus (4-1)

5. Burke County (4-0)

6. Washington County (5-0)

7. Carrollton (5-0)

8. LaGrange (4-1)

9. Flowery Branch (4-1)

10. Jackson (5-0)

CLASS AA

1. Calhoun (4-0)

2. Fitzgerald (4-0)

3. Lovett (5-0)

4. Buford (3-1)

5. Jefferson County (5-0)

6. Pepperell (4-0)

7. Charlton County (4-0-1)

8. Dublin (4-0)

9. Jefferson (5-0)

10. Thomasville (2-2)

CLASS A

1. Wesleyan (5-0)

2. Savannah Christian (4-0)

3. Johnson County (5-0)

4. Lincoln County (4-1)

5. Chattahoochee County (4-0)

6. Treutlen (5-0)

7. Twiggs County (3-1)

8. ECI (4-1)

9. Wilkinson County (3-1)

10. Greenville (4-0)