ATLANTA (AP) — Although they have to share, Tift County climbs back to No. 1 after more than eight years out in The Associated Press high school football poll.
Since winning the state Class AAAA championship in 1983, the Blue Devils were only ranked No. 1 one time, which came for two weeks in 1998. However, this time they share the top spot with fellow a Region 1-AAAAA member, the Colquitt County Packers. The previous leader — Roswell — falls to No. 7 after losing to unranked Wheeler 14-3 while No. 3 Norcross and No. 4 Camden County move up one position. Campbell’s off week made way for their exit and made room for South Cobb to enter at No. 10.
“We have go out now and prove we deserve it,” Tift head coach Jay Walls said. “But we haven’t even won a region game yet.”
Walls was also high on Colquitt.
“Colquitt is a great team,” Walls said. “Right now I would have to say they are even a little bit better than us, because they have a region win over a very good Valdosta team. That win said a lot for Colquitt, because Valdosta is a strong team.”
The Packers will have the top spot in the poll for the first time since being ranked No. 1 for six weeks in 1996.
Coming off a 17-15 loss at Colquitt, Valdosta is the opponent Tift County will welcome to Brodie Field Friday night when the Devils open their Region 1-AAAAA schedule. Tift was the only region team not in action this past Friday.
Class A welcomes Emanuel County Institute as the new No. 1 as Bowdon relinquishes the position after losing to Heard County 37-27. No. 9 Athens Academy enters the poll helped by Social Circle’s exit after being ranked for only one week. Jumping a couple of notches, No. 3 Dooly County rounds out the top three.
No. 9 Manchester and No. 10 Heard County represent the new additions to the Class AA rankings after losses by Dodge County and Laney forced them out. No. 3 Dublin moves up one while Charlton County and Buford continue at No. 1 and 2.
The top four remain in Class AAAA with No. 5 Dalton and No. 6 Baldwin trading places. Creekside enters the ranks at No. 8 facilitated by Tucker’s bye week exit.
LaGrange continues as the only unanimous No. 1 and a flip-flop by No. 9 Cairo and No. 10 Catersville represents the singular change in Class AAA.
STEVE CARTER column
Please keep a copy of today's paper for future reference
I found out around 11 a.m. Monday the Tift County Blue Devils and the Colquitt County Packers would be tied for first in this week’s Associated Press Class AAAAA football poll.
Everyone knows Tift won the state title in 1983, but no one knew for sure if that was the last time the Devils were ranked No. 1 in the state. The Associated Press even called and asked me if Tift’s top spot this week could be the first time in the history of the school the Devils were ranked No. 1 during the regular season.
With no records I knew of to check, I called everyone that I thought would have a clue about the situation. Most everyone agreed with my assumption that 1983 was the last time Tift occupied the top spot in the land.
That also matched the Atlanta Journal-Constitution polls I saw archived on the Georgia High School Football Historians Web site, ghsfha.org. However, that site did not include the Associated Press polls, which of course were the ones I was interested in — I don’t know if I will ever be privileged enough to be the AJC voter.
But then I called someone else who told me the Devils were ranked No. 1 at the start of the 1998 season in the Associated Press poll after playing for the state title against Parkview in 1997.
That completely threw me for a loop.
I then got a couple of more people that also said Tift was ranked No. 1 in 1998 before getting beat by Dougherty High. However none of those people had documentation of that ranking.
However, my buddy and overall Region 1-AAAAA sports guru Wayne Grandy of The Moultrie Observer found an article that did state Tift County was No. 1 in the state for two weeks in 1998.
The Devils beat Worth County and then fell to Dougherty, 29-8. The loss to Dougherty, whose head coach was former Tift assistant coach John Reynolds, dropped Tift to eighth in the state.
Anyway, please keep today’s paper for future reference to help us ignorant sports writers. It will be most appreciated.
The Georgia high school Top 10
By The Associated Press
The Associated Press Georgia high school football poll after the fifth week of the schedule, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points.
Class AAAAA
1. Colquitt County (8) 115
tie Tift County (3) 115
3. Norcross (1) 103
4. Camden County (1) 84
5. North Gwinnett 76
6. Lowndes 65
7. Roswell 47
8. Central Gwinnett 39
9. Stephenson 16
10. South Cobb 13
Others receiving votes: M.L. King, Harrison, Douglass, Brookwood, Coffee, Luella, Warner Robins, Campbell, East Coweta.
Class AAAA
1. Northside-Warner Robins (7) 123
2. Statesboro (4) 111
3. Griffin 104
4. Dacula (2) 89
5. Dalton 64
6. Baldwin 61
7. Southwest DeKalb 57
8. Creekside 25
9. Marist 23
10. Rome 17
Others receiving votes: Westside-Macon, St. Pius X, Mays, Northwest Whitfield, Effingham County, Cedar Shoals.
Class AAA
1. LaGrange (13) 130
2. Gainesville 106
3. Carrollton 101
4. Thomson 89
5. Stephens County 59
6. Peach County 58
7. Flowery Branch 53
8. Chamblee 50
9. Cairo 26
10. Cartersville 23
Others receiving votes: Carver-Columbus, Shaw, Liberty County, Sandy Creek, Cass.
Class AA
1. Charlton County (9) 125
2. Buford (4) 121
3. Dublin 102
4. Fitzgerald 87
5. Greater Atlanta Christian 67
6. Calhoun 53
7. Greene County 45
8. McIntosh County Academy 33
9. Manchester 17
10. Heard County 14
Others receiving votes: Washington-Wilkes, Swainsboro, Lovett, Dodge County, Laney, Pepperell, Early County, Jefferson County.
Class A
1. Emanuel County Institute (4) 118
2. Lincoln County (7) 105
3. Dooly County (1) 94
4. Hawkinsville (1) 85
5. Wilcox County 80
6. Bowdon 76
7. Eagles Landing Christian 48
8. Commerce 24
9. Athens Academy 19
tie Bremen 19
Others receiving votes: Turner County, Schley County, Social Circle, Seminole County, Clinch County, Trion.
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Polling board members:
Athens Banner-Herald, Craig Peters
The Augusta Chronicle, Jeffery Sentell
The Brunswick News, Kevin Price
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Robert Spruck
The Daily Citizen (Dalton), Larry Fleming
Gwinnett Daily Post, Will Hammock
Marietta Daily Journal, David Friedlander
The Newton Citizen, Anthony Rhoads
The Daily Tribune News, Cartersville, Joseph Myers
The Rockdale Citizen, Jeff Gillespie
Savannah Morning News, Jason Adams
Thomasville Times-Enterprise, Clint Thompson
The Tifton Gazette, Steve Carter
