Gainesville takes No. 1 6A spot from Hughes

Thomson also returns to top of Class 2A after Fitzgerald falters.

Gainesville and Thomson moved up to No. 1 in their classifications in the football rankings after three weeks of the regular season after previous No. 1 teams Hughes and Fitzgerald lost.

Hughes was beaten by Butler, a Charlotte-area school, 27-20 on Saturday night at Atlanta’s Lakewood Stadium. Hughes, the defending Class 6A champion, had won 17 straight games. Butler (2-1) was unranked by Maxpreps in North Carolina’s highest classification.

Gainesville, which lost to Hughes in the 2022 final, is No. 1 for the first time since 2013. Gainesville beat Coconut Creek, Fla., 30-22 on Friday. Hughes fell to No. 2.

Thomson, the 2022 Class 2A champion, is No. 1 again after previous No. 1 Fitzgerald lost to Northeast-macon 27-20. Northeast moved into the rankings at No. 5 after becoming the first Macon public school to defeat a No. 1 team since 1975.

Fitzgerald, the 2022 2A runner-up and 2021 champion, fell to No. 6 and outside the top five for the first time since 2019.

Thomson also has lost, to Burke County 14-12, but there are only two unbeaten teams in the 2A rankings — No. 4 Pierce County (2-0) and No. 10 Toombs County (2-0).

Northeast’s victory also toppled some dominoes. Northeast lost its opener to Mary Persons, a 3A team, 20-14. Mary Persons moved into the 3A rankings this week at No. 10 after beating Trinity Christian 23-20.

Mary Persons’ lone loss came to Spalding, a 4A team, 28-20. Spalding entered the rankings at No. 9 after beating Fayette County 41-0. Spalding is 3-0 for the first time since 2015.

Fitzgerald and Hughes weren’t the only No. 1 teams to lose Friday. Cedar Grove lost for the second week in a row but kept its spot atop 3A.

Cedar Grove lost to Westlake, the No. 7 team in 7A, 46-41 on a Westlake touchdown in the final minute. Cedar Grove’s other loss came against Monarch, the No. 10 team in Florida’s highest metro classification.