Improvement Tracker: Columbus slides past Franklin County for top spot in 2A after Week 8
GHSF Daily each week will rank the top five teams and their head coaches in each classification based on improvement in the computer Maxwell Ratings from previous seasons and beating preseason expectations. To qualify, teams must have a winning record, make the playoffs, finish in the top four of their region and improve on their playoff advancement or seeding from 2024. The Improvement Tracker is based on an objective formula that uses current and historical Maxwell Ratings. Improvement from 2024 counts most, but the formula also considers previous years to discourage rewarding traditionally strong teams that simply bounce back from a down year. In February, GHSF Daily will present an award to the nine coaches who lead their classifications at the Georgia Football Coaches Association Clinic in Marietta.
Class 6A
+16.20 - Rockdale County (Kenderrick Bonner)
+14.18 - Lowndes (Adam Carter)
+13.14 - McEachern (Kareem Reid)
+12.22 - Hillgrove (Justin DeShon)
+6.75 - Richmond Hill (Matt LeZotte)
Class 5A
+19.97 - Northgate (Kevin Whitley)
+11.89 - Jackson County (Korey Mobbs)
+11.21 - Lassiter (Sean Thom)
+5.53 - Lovejoy (Edgar Carson)
+5.27 - New Manchester (Olten Downs)
Class 4A
+23.71 - Locust Grove (Garry Fisher)
+20.05 - Lithonia (Kevin Barnes)
+18.49 - Griffin (Bernard Goodrum)
+9.33 - M.L. King (Joel Kight)
+9.01 - Flowery Branch (Michael Perry)
Class 3A
+25.57 - North Clayton (Cap Burnett)
+17.38 - Mount Zion-Jonesboro (Willie Binyard)
+13.04 - LaFayette (Ethan Thompson)
+12.71 - West Laurens (Kip Burdette)
+11.57 - Westside-Augusta (Cedric Mason)
Class 2A
+21.05 - Columbus (Robert Peters)
+20.52 - Franklin County (Chuck Holland)
+15.90 - Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (Mac Bryan)
+15.00 - Sumter County (Will Rogers)
+13.84 - North Murray (Preston Poag)
Class A Division I
+15.10 - Haralson County (Randy Crutchfield)
+13.22 - Worth County (Jeff Hammond)
+6.54 - Heard County (Shane Lasseter)
+6.41 - Jasper County (Ashley Henderson)
+5.72 - Pepperell (Brandon Haywood)
Class A Division II
+18.05 - Screven County (Ron Duncan)
+13.84 - Wheeler County (Thomas Smith)
+11.46 - Mount Zion-Carroll (Brad Gordon)
+10.43 - Treutlen (Alan Shurling)
+7.01 - Johnson County (Don Norton)
Class 3A-A private
+22.16 - Landmark Christian (Tommy Lewis)
+5.86 - King's Ridge Christian (Zach Slaney)
+5.41 - Greater Atlanta Christian (Tim Hardy)
+3.36 - Whitefield Academy (Robert Walsh)
+3.02 - Holy Innocents (Nick Perrotta)
GIAA
+30.44 - Calvary Christian (Emmanuel Brunson)
+18.87 - Loganville Christian (Nathan Murphy)
+17.55 - Rock Springs Christian (Clint Ashmore)
+13.87 - John Milledge Academy (J.T. Wall)
+8.01 - George Walton Academy (Logan Beer)