The state’s top-ranked teams held their positions going into the final week of the regular season, with only a few new faces creeping into the GPB Rankings.

“The rankings get easier to do once the region schedule begins,” said Matt Stewart, the play-by-play announcer for GPB’s Football Fridays in Georgia and a poll voter. “It just shows how the non-region schedule is tougher than the region schedule for most teams.”

Remaining in the No. 1 position are Buford in Class 7A, Hughes in 6A, Ware County in 5A, North Oconee in 4A, Cedar Grove in 3A, Fitzgerald in 2A, Prince Avenue Christian in Class A Division I and Bowdon in Class A Division II.

New faces in the poll this week starts with Westlake, which enters the ranking at No. 9 in Class 7A. The Lions have lost only to North Cobb, Cedar Grove and Carrollton – all ranked in the top five – and will be the No. 2 seed in Region 2.

Douglas County entered the Class 6A rankings at No. 10. The Tigers finish the season with South Paulding and the winner will be the No. 2 seed in Region 5 behind Hughes.

There are two new faces in Class 4A – Stockbridge at No. 8 and Bainbridge at No. 9. Stockbridge won the Region 5 title last week by beating previous-No. 7 Pace Academy. Bainbridge will finish the season against Cairo, the team it displaced in the rankings; the winner will be the Region 1 champion.

In Class 2A, Eagle’s Landing Christian returned to the rankings at No. 10.

In Class A Division I, St. Francis moved into the rankings for the first time at No. 10. The Knights could win the Region 6 title with a win over Mount Vernon.

Class 7A

  1. Buford
  2. Colquitt County
  3. Carrollton
  4. North Cobb
  5. Mill Creek
  6. Grayson
  7. Lambert
  8. Walton
  9. Westlake
  10. Norcross

Class 6A

  1. Hughes
  2. Roswell
  3. Woodward Academy
  4. Rome
  5. Gainesville
  6. Thomas County Central
  7. Brunswick
  8. Marist
  9. Lee County
  10. Douglas County

Class 5A

  1. Ware County
  2. Creekside
  3. Cartersville
  4. Coffee
  5. Jefferson
  6. Cambridge
  7. Dutchtown
  8. Calhoun
  9. Warner Robins
  10. Loganville

Class 4A

  1. North Oconee
  2. Cedartown
  3. Troup
  4. Perry
  5. Benedictine
  6. Burke County
  7. Whitewater
  8. Stockbridge
  9. Bainbridge
  10. Starr’s Mill

Class 3A

  1. Cedar Grove
  2. Calvary Day
  3. Stephens County
  4. Thomasville
  5. Sandy Creek
  6. Carver-Atlanta
  7. Peach County
  8. Carver-Columbus
  9. Oconee County
  10. Dougherty

Class 2A

  1. Fitzgerald
  2. South Atlanta
  3. Appling County
  4. Pierce County
  5. Thomson
  6. Rockmart
  7. Callaway
  8. Putnam County
  9. Worth County
  10. Eagle’s Landing Christian

Class A Division I

  1. Prince Avenue Christian
  2. Swainsboro
  3. Rabun County
  4. Irwin County
  5. Brooks County
  6. Darlington
  7. Elbert County
  8. Dublin
  9. Metter
  10. St. Francis

Class A Division II

  1. Bowdon
  2. Charlton County
  3. Johnson County
  4. Clinch County
  5. Schley County
  6. McIntosh County Academy
  7. Lincoln County
  8. Early County
  9. Washington-Wilkes
  10. Wilcox County