Improvement Tracker: Jackson County, Lithonia move to top spots after first-round wins
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
+9.96 - McEachern (Kareem Reid)
+8.29 - Lowndes (Adam Carter)
+7.45 - Harrison (Luqman Salam)
+7.01 - Valdosta (Shelton Felton)
+4.30 - Brookwood (Chad Nighbert)
Class 5A
+13.21 - Jackson County (Korey Mobbs)
+11.90 - Northgate (Kevin Whitley)
+11.00 - Seckinger (Tony Lotti)
+9.21 - New Manchester (Olten Downs)
+5.65 - Newnan (Chip Walker)
Class 4A
+31.28 - Lithonia (Kevin Barnes)
+18.06 - Locust Grove (Garry Fisher)
+17.12 - Griffin (Bernard Goodrum)
+15.84 - M.L. King (Joel Kight)
+13.87 - Southwest DeKalb (Marion Bell)
Class 3A
+25.27 - North Clayton (Cap Burnett)
+16.98 - West Laurens (Kip Burdette)
+15.33 - Sandy Creek (Darius Smiley)
+13.02 - North Hall (Sean Pender)
+11.83 - Westside-Augusta (Cedric Mason)
Class 2A
+18.42 - Franklin County (Chuck Holland)
+14.13 - Sumter County (Will Rogers)
+10.73 - Columbus (Robert Peters)
+9.68 - Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (Mac Bryan)
+5.13 - Morgan County (Clint Jenkins)
Class A Division I
+10.97 - Haralson County (Randy Crutchfield)
+9.67 - Worth County (Jeff Hammond)
+9.38 - Oglethorpe County (Michael Holland)
+8.28 - Jasper County (Ashley Henderson)
+4.55 - Heard County (Shane Lasseter)
Class A Division II
+17.37 - Screven County (Ron Duncan)
+14.75 - Wheeler County (Thomas Smith)
+4.87 - Mount Zion-Carroll (Brad Gordon)
+4.14 - Johnson County (Don Norton)
+1.80 - Treutlen (Alan Shurling)
Class 3A-A Private
+17.65 - Landmark Christian (Tommy Lewis)
+8.27 - Greater Atlanta Christian (Tim Hardy)
+6.71 - Fellowship Christian (John Thompson)
+5.49 - Holy Innocents (Nick Perrotta)
+5.29 - Whitefield Academy (Robert Walsh)
GIAA
+16.36 - John Milledge Academy (J.T. Wall)
+12.32 - Loganville Christian (Nathan Murphy)
+9.36 - Deerfield-Windsor (Jake McCrae)
+9.16 - George Walton Academy (Logan Beer)
+6.94 - Stratford Academy (Paul Carroll)