Improvement Tracker: Rockdale County, North Clayton new leaders after Week 7
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
+17.72 - Rockdale County (Kenderrick Bonner)
+13.22 - Valdosta (Shelton Felton)
+11.71 - McEachern (Kareem Reid)
+10.65 - Lowndes (Adam Carter)
+6.62 - Hillgrove (Justin DeShon)
Class 5A
+20.06 - Northgate (Kevin Whitley)
+14.12 - Lassiter (Sean Thom)
+13.83 - Jackson County (Korey Mobbs)
+6.41 - Lovejoy (Edgar Carson)
+4.81 - New Manchester (Olten Downs)
Class 4A
+22.52 - Locust Grove (Garry Fisher)
+21.93 - Lithonia (Kevin Barnes)
+17.22 - Griffin (Bernard Goodrum)
+12.81 - Walnut Grove (Robert Andrews)
+10.38 - Flowery Branch (Michael Perry)
Class 3A
+22.90 - North Clayton (Cap Burnett)
+16.73 - LaFayette (Ethan Thompson)
+15.04 - Pickens (Craig Bennett)
+12.82 - West Laurens (Kip Burdette)
+11.35 - Liberty County (Tony Glazer)
Class 2A
+14.48 - Franklin County (Chuck Holland)
+14.48 - Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe (Mac Bryan)
+12.43 - North Murray (Preston Poag)
+11.18 - KIPP Atlanta Collegiate (Corey Jarvis)
+11.00 - Sumter County (Will Rogers)
Class A Division I
+18.91 - Haralson County (Randy Crutchfield)
+11.37 - Swainsboro (Scott Roberts)
+8.95 - Worth County (Jeff Hammond)
+7.03 - Jasper County (Ashley Henderson)
+5.99 - Thomasville (Jonathan DeLay)
Class A Division II
+21.02 - Screven County (Ron Duncan)
+13.52 - Wheeler County (Thomas Smith)
+11.37 - Mount Zion-Carroll (Brad Gordon)
+9.21 - Johnson County (Don Norton)
+9.16 - Treutlen (Alan Shurling)
Class 3A-A private
+23.55 - Landmark Christian (Tommy Lewis)
+7.22 - Holy Innocents' (Nick Perrotta)
+6.15 - Greater Atlanta Christian (Tim Hardy)
+3.50 - Whitefield Academy (Robert Walsh)
+1.77 - King's Ridge Christian (Zach Slaney)
GIAA
+39.80 - Calvary Christian (Emmanuel Brunson)
+22.36 - Loganville Christian (Nathan Murphy)
+21.88 - John Milledge Academy (J.T. Wall)
+17.47 - Rock Springs Christian (Clint Ashmore)
+12.07 - George Walton Academy (Logan Beer)
Note: GHSF Daily recalibrated the new 2025 formula this week in consult with Loren Maxwell because of its shortcomings in measuring smaller schools' progress. The current formula compares current Maxwell Rating to weighed 2024, 2023 and 2022 Maxwell Ratings.