High School AAA-A Top 10 rankings: Who� ll challenge Carver, Buford, ECI?

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Poll Talk s AAA-A Top 10 rankings: Who ll challenge Carver, Buford, ECI?

By Todd Holcomb | Sunday, July 20, 2008, 08:00 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thanks for all the opinions on the preseason Top 10 for classes AAAAA and AAAA last week. This week, we ll tackle AAA, AA and A. The AJC s official preseason rankings won t be published until Aug. 18. What I m throwing out this week are conservative picks to get the conversation started.

Defending champs get the No. 1 slot for now. Do they deserve it?

How much respect do you give teams dropping down? There are quite a few this year: Baldwin and St. Pius in AAA, Westminster and Henry County in AA and Washington-Wilkes, Savannah Christian, Wesleyan and Holy Innocents in A.

And how do you rank Carrollton? Maybe a top-five team until last week s bombshell that star defensive ends Octavius Thomas and Craig Allen had been dismissed from the team. The Times-Georgian of Carrollton reports that the players, suspended by head coach Rayvan Teague, are ineligible for all sports at Carrollton in 2007-08 for unspecified rules violations.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of returning starters for teams that made the semifinals last season. That s all I ve got information on at the moment. If anyone has those totals for a contending team, let us know.

Class AAA

1. Carver-Columbus (11 starters returning)

2. Cairo (16)

3. Shaw

4. North Hall (9)

5. LaGrange

6. Perry

7. Stephens County

8. St. Pius

9. Carrollton

10. Baldwin

Class AA

1. Buford (5)

2. Charlton County

3. Dublin (12)

4. Lovett (11)

5. Calhoun

6. Thomasville

7. Fitzgerald

8. Cook (9)

9. Henry County

10. Westminster

Class A

1. ECI (11)

2. Lincoln County

3. Clinch County (12)

4. Wilcox County (10)

5. Athens Academy (13)

6. Dooly County

7. Brookstone

8. Savannah Christian

9. Washington-Wilkes

10. Wesleyan

Todd talks back: Holcomb mixes it up with you all week long. Catch his running commentary in Poll Talk Monday-Friday. Leave comments, questions, etc., here and return to talk about this topic.