Top 10 Georgia High School Football Teams in Class 5A
Updated 9/28/2025
Milton remains in the top spot of our Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A, and the five teams behind the Eagles remain locked in their same positions as the prior poll.
Brunswick moves up to No. 7 with an exciting come-from-behind win over Golden Isles rival Glynn Academy, erasing a double-digit deficit with less than five minutes remaining to win.
The Lee County Trojans find themselves on a rare two-game losing streak as they fell to Thomas County Central in a battle of Region 2-5A rivals. The Trojans fall one place to No. 8 this week.
Rome climbs back into the top 10 this week, coming in at No. 9.
Sprayberry falls out of the top 10.
- Milton
- Thomas County Central
- Hughes
- Houston County
- Roswell
- Gainesville
- Brunswick (+1)
- Lee County (-1)
- Rome (NR)
- Sequoyah
Out: Sprayberry
Updated 9/21/2025
Top-ranked Milton won easily by a 50-0 final over Chattahoochee in the two teams’ Region 2-5A opener and remains the No. 1 team in our updated Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A.
The only changes we have this week occur in the lower third of the rankings, as Sequoyah falls two spots to No. 10 after the Chiefs lost to unranked River Ridge in an upset.
Brunswick won big, winning their third straight region contest. The Pirates defeated Greenbrier 42-0, and head coach Garrett Grady’s team was rewarded as they moved up two spots to No. 8.
Sprayberry remains at No. 9 following a win Friday night.
- Milton
- Thomas County Central
- Hughes
- Houston County
- Roswell
- Gainesville
- Lee County
- Brunswick (+2)
- Sprayberry
- Sequoyah (-2)
Updated 9/14/2025
The Hughes Panthers have looked impressive so far this year, and have moved into the No. 3 spot this week, climbing two places. Houston County is another team playing well. The Bears are undefeated on the season, and completely dominated a good Tift County squad at Freedom Field last Friday night.
Gainesville lost to Carrollton to suffer their first loss of the year, and fall three spots to No. 6 this week.
Lee County lost their first game of the season Friday night, falling to Colquitt County by a touchdown 43-36. The Trojans drop three spots to No. 7. Roswell continues to impress, and their win over Westlake bumps them to No. 5 this week.
- Milton
- Thomas County Central
- Hughes (+2)
- Houston County (+2)
- Roswell (+2)
- Gainesville (-3)
- Lee County (-3)
- Sequoyah
- Sprayberry
- Brunswick
Updated 9/7/2025
The Top 4 teams in our 2025 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A stay the same as Milton, Gainesville, and Lee County were all off this past week and Thomas County Central defeated Class 1A’s Thomasville.
Roswell lost against Buford Friday night, the Hornets’ first defeat of the season, and falls to No. 7 this week.
Hughes jumps up to take Roswell’s former spot at No. 5 after defeating Douglas County, who is sorely missing injured star wideout Devin Carter.
- Milton
- Thomas County Central
- Gainesville
- Lee County
- Hughes (+2)
- Houston County
- Roswell (-2)
- Sequoyah
- Sprayberry
- Brunswick
Updated 9/2/2025
Our 2025 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A have a different look this week, with two teams falling out of the Top 10 and two new teams moving in.
After losing to Florida’s Columbia Tigers, Coffee falls to 1-2 on the year and drops out of the Top 10 for now.
Rome is now 0-2 on the year after dropping a 28-21 decision to Carrollton last week, and they too fal
l out of the Top 10.
Taking their places are the undefeated Sequoyah Chiefs and Sprayberry Yellow Jackets. The Chiefs debut at No. 8, and the Yellow Jackets make their first appearance of the season in the ITG Next Top 10 after their third straight win to start the year.
- Milton
- Thomas County Central
- Gainesville
- Lee County
- Roswell
- Houston County
- Hughes
- Sequoyah (NR)
- Sprayberry (NR)
- Brunswick (-1)
Out: Rome, Coffee
Updated 8/25/2025
The Milton Eagles remain in the top spot of our 2025 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A after defeating First Academy of Orlando in a game that looked in doubt for Milton much of the way, but the Eagles found a way and came away with the win 24-17.
Thomas County Central and Gainesville remain at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
Coffee fell to Ware County
- Milton
- Thomas County Central
- Gainesville
- Lee County
- Roswell
- Houston County (+1)
- Hughes (+1)
- Coffee (-2)
- Brunswick
- Rome
Updated 8/18/2025
Despite falling 20-13 to Class 6A’s Buford in their long-anticipated Week 1 showdown with the Wolves, the Milton Eagles remain in the top spot of our 2025 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A.
Right behind them are Thomas County Central, Gainesville, and Lee County.
Roswell climbs into the Top 5, moving up two spots to No. 5 after their Week 1 win against Peachtree Ridge, and Hughes moves up to No. 8 after a win over Westlake.
Rome falls to No. 10 after a loss to Class 4A’s Creekside.
- Milton
- Thomas County Central
- Gainesville
- Lee County
- Roswell (+2)
- Coffee
- Houston County (+1)
- Hughes (+2)
- Brunswick
- Rome (-5)
Preseason – Updated 7/16/2025
Here are ITG Next’s 2025 Georgia high school football preseason rankings for Class 5A.
Several of the top names that put their teams in position for a successful run in Class 5A have graduated, and some will be playing on Saturdays this season. Their teams will have to turn to their replacements if they are to compete for the grand prize of a state title in 2025.
1. Milton
That begins with the two-time defending state champion Milton Eagles of head coach Ben Reaves, who are our preseason No. 1 choice.
An entirely new skill group is tasked with filling the mighty big shoes of quarterback Luke Nickel, running back TJ Lester, and wide receiver CJ Wiley. There may be enough new faces and returning pieces to allow the Eagles the right to be at the top until proven otherwise.
2. Thomas County Central
Perhaps the most talented Georgia high school football team from top to bottom is Thomas County Central. The Yellow Jackets may have lost the fewest major pieces from a year ago, but that doesn’t mean they can go through 2025 on cruise control.
While Justin Rogers has built a program that will have the talent to challenge for a championship, they’ll first have to make it out of Region 2-5A, which I think is the toughest region in the state.
3. Gainesville
Since the final whistle sounded in 2024, Gainesville head football coach Josh Niblett has made this offseason one of redemption.
This 2025 squad could be his most talented and motivated herd of Red Elephants since his arrival four years ago. He’s got one of the best offensive players in quarterback Kharim Hughley and one of the best defenders in five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin.
4. Lee County
Speaking of the competitive Region 2 in Class 5A, the Lee County Trojans are not only the defending region champions from a year ago, but they went undefeated, finishing 5-0 in the region and 13-1 overall. They lost their first game of the season in the state semifinals.
Lee County will have to find a way to replace quarterback Weston Bryan and superstar running back Ousmane Kromah this season, but look for head coach Dean Fabrizio to have his team right back in the mix in 2025 in Class 5A.
5. Rome
Rome and head coach John Reid finished with eight wins after a rough start to the 2024 season that saw the team involved in a school bus crash that injured several coaches and players.
With everyone hoping for better fortunes this year on and off the field, Reid should have the Wolves back in the hunt in Class 5A.
6. Coffee
Coffee will have one of the younger rosters since head coach Mike Coe arrived in 2022.
The Trojans’ primary goal will be replacing Tyrese Woodgett, who set the Georgia high school football single season rushing record with a 605-yard performance in Coffee’s win over Sequoyah in the quarterfinals last season.
Coe always seems to have the next man up and ready to go with his backs, and that’ll be the case this year with KJ DeBruce taking over the primary duties at running back.
A name to watch for will be Class of 2028 running back Bobby Reynolds, whom Coe seems to have high expectations for.
7. Roswell
Roswell will be one of the more exciting teams to watch in 2025 as new head coach JT Thompson brings his high-energy offensive style to the Hornets.
Thompson will have a talented field general to lead that side of the team in Trey Smith. The dual-threat quarterback should be perfectly suited for Thompson’s no-huddle approach.
8. Houston County
Head football coach Jeremy Edwards and the Houston County Bears will have to replace four-year starter AJ Hill at quarterback, and that’s going to be a tall task.
However, Edwards is one of the best offensive minds in the state, and he’ll have several key players back, including the entire rushing attack from a year ago.
Defensively, he’s got arguably the best safety in the state in Jordan Smith.
9. Brunswick
Brunswick has taken care of business in region play under head coach Garrett Grady, winning the Region 1-5A title in three of the past four years, including 2024.
The challenge for the Pirates will be making a deeper run in the state playoffs. With a returning cast that includes the state’s top tight end in Heze Kent and senior Grant Moore entering his third season at quarterback, Brunswick may find that 2025 is their year.
10. Hughes
Finally, the Hughes Panthers are hoping for a return to the Class 5A state title game, where they fell to eventual state champion Milton in 2024.
A lot has changed this offseason, namely the departure of head football coach Daniel “Boone” Williams, who left to take over the Northside (Warner Robins) program.
A name familiar to Hughes fans will be leading the Panthers this year as former offensive coordinator Andrico Hines takes over as head coach. He was the team’s offensive play caller in 2022, when Hughes last won a state championship.
Hines will have offseason transfer quarterback Darnell Kelly to work with in 2025, but there aren’t many starters from last year’s team returning.
After wrapping up spring practice earlier this year, Hines said that he and his team “have some work to do before the season gets here.”
He said that the team has about five of the 22 starters from the 2024 team returning, but he knows what it takes to win at Hughes. He’s literally been here before.
