GSWA releases Preseason High School Football Poll

The Georgia Sports Writers Association has released its preseason high school football poll. The GSWA ranks the top 10 schools in each classification in a poll that will be updated weekly.

Two Muscogee County teams received some attention from the voters, though it was not enough to crack the top 10. Carver was the top school of the others receiving votes in Class 4A, racking up 13 points. Northside received 2 points as well.

Among all the local schools, Manchester received the most votes in their respective classification. The Blue Devils will begin 2017 as the No. 8 team in Class A, a list which is comprised of private and public schools. Manchester went 10-2 in 2016 before being knocked out in the quarterfinals.

The rankings feature the team name, the points it received from the voters and where the team finished in the poll in 2016. The first-place votes each team received is shown in parentheses.

Class AAAAAAA

1. Grayson (10) - 100; 1

2. Roswell - 82; 2

3. Colquitt County - 74; 6

4. Mill Creek - 65; 3

5. Lowndes - 51; 7

6. Norcross - 39; 9

7. McEachern - 38; 4

8. Brookwood - 33; 10

9. Parkview - 22; NR

10. Westlake - 19; 5

Others receiving votes: Hillgrove 10, North Cobb 9, South Gwinnett 5, Peachtree Ridge 2, Marietta 1

Class AAAAAA

1. Valdosta (8) - 98; 1

2. Tucker (1) - 89; 2

3. Northside-Warner Robins - 69; 4

4. Harrison (1) - 63; 8

5. Dalton - 56; 3

6. Mays - 42; 5

7. Glynn Academy - 41; 6

8. Lee County - 39; 9

9. Stephenson - 17; 10

10. Coffee - 12; 7

Others receiving votes: Alpharetta 5, Dacula 5, Houston Co. 5, Brunswick 3, Lovejoy 3, Alexander 2, Allatoona 1

Class AAAAA

1. Rome (9) - 99; 1

2. Buford (1) - 89; 2

3. Stockbridge - 77; 3

4. Kell - 67; 4

5. Carrollton - 63; 5

6. Ware County - 40; 8

7. Griffin - 31; 7

8. Woodland-Stockbridge - 20; 6

9. Jones County - 17; NR

10. Thomas County Central - 16; NR

Others receiving votes: Clarke Central 7, Grady 5, Loganville 5, Arabia Mountain 4, Starr’s Mill 3, Locust Grove 2, Ola 2, Warner Robins 2, Bainbridge 1, Carver-Atlanta 1

Class AAAA

1. Cartersville (10) - 100; 1

2. Thomson - 88; 2

T-3. Blessed Trinity - 64; 6

T-3. Jefferson - 64; 4

5. Woodward Academy - 50; 5

6. Mary Persons - 48; 3

7. Sandy Creek - 31; 9

8. Cairo - 30; 7

9. Ridgeland - 18; NR

10. Oconee County - 15; NR

Others receiving votes: Carver-Columbus 13, Northwest Whitfield 8, Spalding 7, Marist 6, Burke County 3, Northside-Columbus 2

Class AAA

1. Greater Atlanta Christian (3) - 93; 2

T2. Cedar Grove (12) - 86; 1

T2. Peach County - 86; 3

4. Calhoun - 63; 7

5. Westminster - 54; 6

6. Crisp County - 50; 4

7. Liberty County - 47; 5

8. Lovett - 29; 8

9. Pierce County - 11; 9

10. Pace Academy - 9; 10

Others receiving votes: Jenkins-Savannah 7, Worth County 5, Dawson County 4, Ringgold 4, North Murray 2

Class AA

1. Benedictine (9) - 99; 1

2. Fitzgerald (1) - 84; 2

3. Hapeville Charter - 71; 4

4. Callaway - 66; 3

5. Screven County - 49; 5

6. Rabun County - 45; 6

7. Pepperell - 33; 7

8. Jefferson County - 24; 9

9. Heard County - 20; NR

10. Brooks County - 16; NR

Others receiving votes: Chattooga 13, Washington County 9, Thomasville 8, Rockmart 7, Southwest Macon 2, Dodge County 1, Douglass-Atlanta 1, Dublin 1

Class A

1. Eagle’s Landing Christian (9) - 99; 1

2. Macon County (1) - 69; 1

3. Clinch County - 62; 4

4. Prince Avenue Christian - 56; 3

5. Fellowship Christian - 55; 2

6. Wesleyan - 45; 6

7. Emanuel County Institute - 29; 3

8. Manchester - 26; 5

9. Tattnall Square - 23; 4

10. McIntosh County Academy - 20; 2

Others receiving votes: Mt. Paran Christian 15, Calvary Day 11, Taylor County 9, Landmark Christian 8, Commerce 7, Savannah Christian 7, Darlington 3, Pelham 2, First Presbyterian Day 1, Greene County 1

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 11:46 AM with the headline "GSWA releases Preseason High School Football Poll."