THOMASVILLE — As the football season has come to a close, nine Georgia high school football teams have finished ranked in the MaxPreps top 50 teams in the nation. 7A State Champions Milton start things off for the Peach State at number 11, followed by Walton at number 18, Colquitt County at number 29, Carrollton at number 33, Thomas County Central jumped to number 35, Camden County at number 38, Mill Creek at number 41, Grayson at number 44 and Buford at number 45.

It should be noted that Thomas County Central stands out in the crowd as the only team from Georgia ranked in the top 50 that is undefeated and one of two State Champions. Walton was almost undefeated as well, but finished 14-1 after being upset by 13-2 Milton in the 7A State Title game.

Central also jumped 12 spots from number 47 to number 35 and are ranked ahead of great programs like 14-0 class six champs Freedom out of Virginia and 12-1 Mill Creek. Central is also the only Georgia high school ranked in the top 50 that is not 7A. A true 4A program playing in 6A is ranked ahead of four 7A schools, including Buford who has the eighth ranked QB in the country Dylan Raiola.

This all comes in head coach Justin Rogers second year with the program as the Yellow Jackets have proven to be formidable. In that short two year span, Central has gone 27-1 with back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, back-to-back region championships and a 6A State Championship. Thus begins what the voice of the Yellow Jackets Randy Young has dubbed “the Justin Roger era”.

It begs the question as to how dominant they will be as they move to 5A next year. 5A will be a difficult classification next year as it will include the 5A State Champions Coffee and the 7A State Champions Milton. That means that in 2024 class 5A will be home to three of Georgias 2023 State Champions. It makes for a very compelling narrative. Is there anyone in class 5A that can topple these giants and when they meet in the playoffs, who will come out on top?