Georgia high school football returns: Who are the state's top-ranked teams?

High school football is back!

Many Georgia high schools kick off the 2018 high school football season this week.

And that means Sports Zone Friday returns to WSB-TV. Catch the best games, top players and biggest plays each Friday night at 11:20 p.m. on Channel 2.

Who are the teams to watch this year?

Seven of eight defending state champions will start the 2018 high school football season ranked No. 1.

The exception comes in Class AAAAAAA, where North Gwinnett will begin at No. 4 after the Bulldogs won their first-ever state championship in 2017.

Grayson, ranked in the top 10 of a couple of national preseason polls, will begin in the No. 1 position. The Rams have 10 of the top 100 senior college prospects in Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite ratings. Those include No. 2 Wanya Morris, a five-star offensive lineman committed to Tennessee; No. 3 Owen Pappoe, an AJC Super 11 linebacker and five-star recruit committed to Auburn; and No. 9 Kelvin Harris, a defensive end/linebacker committed to Alabama.

North Gwinnett isn’t going away, though. The team has a 1,000-yard rusher, Tyler Goodson, and 1,000-yard receiver, Josh Downs, and Division I pledges in the secondary, Warren Burrell (Tennessee) and Quinton Newsome (Nebraska).

Defending champions that will start at No. 1 are Lee County (AAAAAA), Rome (AAAAA), Blessed Trinity (AAAA), Calhoun (AAA), Hapeville Charter (AA), Eagle’s Landing Christian (A private) and Clinch County (A public).

The 2018 season begins Thursday with four games, the first of 171 involving Georgia teams this week.

Nine games match ranked teams. They are Marietta at Rome, Allatoona at Cartersville, Buford vs. Tucker (Georgia State Stadium), Lovett at Greater Atlanta Christian, Tift County at Warner Robins, Woodward Academy at Westminster, Bremen vs. Rabun County (at Georgia Southern), Burke County vs. Benedictine (at Georgia Southern) and Colquitt County vs. McEachern (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

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Class AAAAAAA

1. Grayson
2. Colquitt County
3. Archer
4. North Gwinnett
5. Walton
6. Marietta
7. McEachern
8. Tift County
9. Lowndes
10. Parkview

Class AAAAAA

1. Lee County
2. Coffee
3. Tucker
4. Northside-Warner Robins
5. Mays
6. Allatoona
7. Valdosta
8. Glynn Academy
9. Stephenson
10. Alpharetta

Class AAAAA

1. Rome
2. Buford
3. Warner Robins
4. Carrollton
5. Stockbridge
6. Kell
7. Carver-Atlanta
8. Jones County
9. Wayne County
10. Ware County

Class AAAA

1. Blessed Trinity
2. Marist
3. Cartersville
4. Mary Persons
5. Woodward Academy
6. St. Pius
7. Thomson
8. Burke County
9. Troup
10. Cedartown

Class AAA

1. Calhoun
2. Cedar Grove
3. Greater Atlanta Christian
4. Peach County
5. Benedictine
6. Jefferson
7. Lovett
8. Westminster
9. Liberty County
10. Jenkins

Class AA

1. Hapeville Charter
2. Heard County
3. Rabun County
4. Callaway
5. Thomasville
6. Brooks County
7. Dodge County
8. Jefferson County
9. Bremen
10. Fitzgerald

Class A (Private)

1. Eagle's Landing Christian
2. Prince Avenue Christian
3. Athens Academy
4. Mount Paran Christian
5. Calvary Day
6. Darlington
7. Stratford Academy
8. Savannah Country Day
9. Aquinas
10. Wesleyan

Class A (Public)

1. Clinch County
2. Irwin County
3. Emanuel County Institute
4. Mount Zion
5. Macon County
6. Charlton County
7. Washington-Wilkes
8. Manchester
9. Dooly County
10. Commerce

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