2024 Georgia High School Football Rankings: Class 5A

Top 10 Georgia High School Football Teams in Class 5A

Updated 11/18/2024

Gainesville faced a tough task last week trying to prepare for a road playoff game against a tough Sequoyah team after learning that the Red Elephants’ top rusher, Carmelo Byrd, had been injured in an auto accident. The result was a Sequoyah win and an earlier-than-expected exit from the Class 5A state playoffs for Gainesville. Sequoyah is rewarded with their first ranking of the season, debuting at No. 10 in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A.

1. Milton
2. Lee County
3. Thomas County Central
4. Hughes
5. Roswell
6. Coffee (+1)
7. Brunswick (+1)  
8. Rome (+1)
9. Houston County (+1)
10. Sequoyah (NR)

Updated 11/11/2024

Our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A see no movement as every team was inactive in the final week of the regular season before Round 1 of the GHSA playoffs begins this week. 

Milton has been the top team since Week 1, but Lee County and Thomas County Central are just a couple of the teams to watch in this loaded classification entering postseason play.

1. Milton
2. Lee County
3. Thomas County Central
4. Hughes
5. Roswell
6. Gainesville
7. Coffee
8. Brunswick
9. Rome
10. Houston County

Updated 11/4/2024

In the ITG Next live streamed Game of the Week, the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets defeated the Coffee Trojans in a battle for the Region 2-5A No. 2 seed, winning 38-7. The Jackets remain in the No. 3 spot of our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A.

They sit behind No. 1 Milton and No. 2 Lee County, who both finished their regular seasons undefeated with perfect 10-0 records.

1. Milton
2. Lee County
3. Thomas County Central
4. Hughes (+1)
5. Roswell (+1)
6. Gainesville (+1)
7. Coffee (-3)
8. Brunswick
9. Rome
10. Houston County

Updated 10/28/2024

In a battle of Top 10 teams last week, Roswell pulled off the upset over Gainesville by a field goal, winning 48-45. Gainesville had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but an incomplete pass out of the endzone ate up the final seconds and allowed Roswell to get the win. As a result, Gainesville drops three places to No. 7 in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A.

Houston County lost their game against Thomas County Central, but the Bears hang on to the final spot in this week’s poll.

1. Milton
2. Lee County
3. Thomas County Central
4. Coffee (+1)
5. Hughes (+1)
6. Roswell (+1)
7. Gainesville (-3)
8. Brunswick
9. Rome
10. Houston County

Updated 10/21/2024

Houston County’s high-octane offense was held scoreless by Coffee, who bounced back with a 14-0 win over the Bears. Despite the loss, Houston County remains in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A, but just barely as they tumble to No. 10. 

Lee County and Thomas County Central enjoyed dominant wins last week, and Milton was off. 

1. Milton
2. Lee County
3. Thomas County Central
4. Gainesville (+1)
5. Coffee (+1)
6. Hughes (+1)
7. Roswell (+1)
8. Brunswick (+1)
9. Rome (+1)
10. Houston County (-6)

Updated 10/14/2024

Milton showed why they are the top team in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A with an impressive road win at Gainesville. Milton jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, then managed to hold off a comeback effort by the home team to win 42-24. 

Lee County takes over the No. 2 spot after a solid performance against Coffee in Leesburg.

1. Milton
2. Lee County (+1)
3. Thomas County Central (+1)
4. Houston County(+1)
5. Gainesville (+1)
6. Coffee (-4)
7. Hughes
8. Roswell
9. Brunswick 
10. Rome

Updated 10/7/2024

The big game in Class 5A this week will feature No. 2 Coffee and No. 3 Lee County. Depending on the outcome of that one, we could see a change in our Top 10 next week. For now, there are no changes to this week’s 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A.

1. Milton
2. Coffee
3. Lee County
4. Thomas County Central
5. Houston County
6. Gainesville
7. Hughes
8. Roswell
9. Brunswick
10. Rome

Updated 10/1/2024

The biggest game across the state last week was Lee County versus Thomas County Central at Leesburg in a rare Saturday afternoon matinee affair. The Trojans used a powerful running game and solid defense to defeat the Yellow Jackets. That moved Lee County up to the No. 3 spot and pushed Thomas County Central back one spot to No. 4 in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A.    

1. Milton 
2. Coffee 
3. Lee County (+1)
4. Thomas County Central (-1)
5. Houston County 
6. Gainesville 
7. Hughes 
8. Roswell 
9. Brunswick 
10. Rome

Updated 9/23/2024

The Top 8 teams in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A retain their positions from last week.

Rome re-enters the Top 10 for the first time since dropping out after their 0-2 start to the season. Head coach John Reid’s Wolves battled back to win two games in a row and find their way back at No. 10. 

Brunswick moves up to No. 9. 

1. Milton 
2. Coffee 
3. Thomas County Central
4. Lee County 
5. Houston County 
6. Gainesville 
7. Hughes 
8. Roswell 
9. Brunswick (+1)
10. Rome (NR)

Updated 9/16/2024

Every team in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A that played this week came out on top in their respective games with one big exception: Gainesville. The Red Elephants lost to Carrollton, the No. 1 team in our Class 6A rankings, 45-16 and falls two places in the rankings to No. 6. 

Milton remains atop the poll with a hard-fought win over Class 4A’s Blessed Trinity. 

Coffee staved off Gadsden County (Florida) in a physical battle, winning 27-14 to hang on to their place in the rankings right behind Milton. 

Lee County got an impressive road victory over Colquitt County and moves up one spot to No. 4.

1. Milton 
2. Coffee 
3. Thomas County Central
4. Lee County (+1)
5. Houston County (+1)
6. Gainesville (-2)
7. Hughes 
8. Roswell 
9. Seckinger 
10. Brunswick 

Updated 9/9/2024

Despite losing against ranked opponents last week, Houston County, Hughes, and Roswell all retain their places in our 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A. 

Rome, however, does fall out of the rankings after a loss to Class 1A-Division I’s Toombs County. 

That, combined with Seckinger moving up a spot, makes way for the Brunswick Pirates of head coach Garrett Grady to re-enter the Top 10 at No. 10.

1. Milton 
2. Coffee 
3. Thomas County Central
4. Gainesville
5. Lee County
6. Houston County
7. Hughes 
8. Roswell 
9. Seckinger (+1)
10. Brunswick (NR)

Updated 9/2/2024

Milton appears to be the most talented team in a class chock-full of talent. The Top 3 teams in our updated 2024 Georgia high school football rankings for Class 5A are each defending state champions from a year ago, but only one of those will have the opportunity to repeat as champs in 2024. 

Rome drops three spots after falling to top-ranked Carrollton last week.  

Seckinger is the surprise team this week, making their debut at No. 10 after winning their third consecutive game to start the season. 

1. Milton 
2. Coffee 
3. Thomas County Central
4. Gainesville
5. Lee County
6. Houston County (+1)
7. Hughes (+1)
8. Roswell (+1)
9. Rome (-3)
10. Seckinger (NR) 

Updated 8/26/2024

Our Top 10 team rankings for Class 5A see no movement after Week 2 of the 2024 Georgia high school football season.

The Milton Eagles played in the Broward County High School National Football Showcase for the second consecutive season, and this time they came away with a win, defeating American Heritage (Plantation, Florida) to start the season 2-0. 

Coffee won a hard-fought, physical game against Ware County 20-16. 

Gainesville traveled to Alabama last week and came away with a win over host Moody. Head coach Josh Niblett’s Red Elephants outscored the Blue Devils by a 28-7 margin in the second half to win 31-7. 

Despite a close loss at Collins Hill, Woodward Academy holds on to their No. 10 spot from  Week 1.

1. Milton 
2. Coffee 
3. Thomas County Central
4. Gainesville
5. Lee County
6. Rome
7. Houston County
8. Hughes
9. Roswell 
10. Woodward Academy

Updated 8/19/2024

It was a wild season-opening week as five of our top-ranked teams across all classifications lost their first game, but don’t think this will be the only time that happens. This could be one of those seasons that sees a different No. 1 each week. Here’s a look at our updated Top 10 team rankings for Class 5A after Week 1 of the 2024 Georgia high school football season.

The Top 3 teams in this week’s poll are all defending state champions, underscoring just how competitive the classification is. 

The Milton Eagles are considered by many to be the best team in Georgia, and their performance against Buford only reinforced that sentiment. 

Coffee and Thomas County Central also look ready to defend their state championship titles from last year. 

Class 5A is going to one to watch this year

1. Milton 
2. Coffee 
3. Thomas County Central
4. Gainesville
5. Lee County
6. Rome
7. Houston County (NR)
8. Hughes (+1)
9. Roswell (NR)
10. Woodward Academy (-3)

Preseason – Updated 8/12/2024

The 2024 Georgia high school football season is finally here, and you will notice that ITG Next’s weekly rankings have a new look. This year we will rank the Top 10 teams in each classification with a total of eight rankings. This includes a separate Top 10 ranking of the “private only” teams in Class 1A-DI, Class 2A, and Class 3A. Here is a look at our updated 2024 Georgia high school football preseason rankings for Class 5A in the new format.

How strong is this classification? Well, just about every ranked team here is good enough to compete for a state title, and the Top 3 teams are indeed each defending state champions. That would be Coffee, the defending Class 5A state champion; Thomas County Central, the defending state champion in Class 6A from last year; and top-ranked Milton, who captured the state title in Class 7A last season. 

Also, did you notice? Six of the ranked teams here hail from two regions: Region 2 and Region 7.

1. Milton
2. Coffee 
3. Thomas County Central
4. Gainesville
5. Lee County
6. Rome
7. Woodward Academy
8. Houston County
9. Hughes
10. Brunswick (NR)