Buford ranked No. 3 in AA in first prep poll

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Posted 7:31AM on Wednesday, August 14, 2002

ATLANTA - Class A champion Buford moves up to Class AA this year and debuts at No. 3 in the first Associated Press high school football poll released Tuesday. Gainesville is the only Hall County mentioned in the poll, receiving one vote in Class AAA. The Hall County teams make most of the realigned Class AAA Region 7. In other area schools, North Forsyth received 14 votes in the Class AAAA poll. The Raiders moved up from Class AAA. In Class A, Commerce, the state champion in 2000, is ranked No. 8 while Jefferson received three votes. Riding a 30-game winning streak and back-to-back Class Five-A state championships, the Parkview football program is used to being on top. Nothing changes this preseason, as the Gwinnett County school opens the year as the unanimous Number one choice of voters in The Associated Press high school football poll. Three other defending champions also start the season ranked No. 1 - Statesboro in Class AAAA, LaGrange in Class AAA and Americus in Class AA. Clinch County edged Bowdon for No. 1 in Class A, 169 points to 166, even though Bowdon had more first-place votes with nine. Parkview got 190 points, receiving all 19 first-place votes from Georgia sports writers. The Panthers return 16 starters including quarterback Dustin Wade, who passed for more than two-thousand yards last season, and all-state running back Sean Dawkins. Here is The Associated Press preseason high school football poll with first-place votes in parentheses and total points at right: CLASS AAAAA 1. Parkview (19) 190 2. Valdosta 159 3. Northside 137 4. Collins Hill 94 5. Lowndes 89 6. Stephenson 67 7. Harrison 63 8. Brookwood 60 9. Dacula 34 10. East Coweta 31 Others receiving votes: Chattahoochee 23, Warner Robins 16, Westside-Macon 16, Camden County 14, Lovejoy 14, Murray County 8, Roswell 7, Norcross 4, Starr's Mill 4, Colquitt County 3, Centennial 3, Coffee 2, Bradwell Institute 1, Marietta 1, Oconee County 4. CLASS AAAA 1. Statesboro (17) 188 2. Thomson (2) 138 3. Troup 129 4. Shaw 99 5. Dalton 96 6. Marist 71 7. (tie) Cairo 56 (tie) Paulding County 56 9. Rome 44 10. Thomas County Central 37 Others receiving votes: Tucker 24, Mays 21, Crisp County 14, North Forsyth 14, Ware County 10, Cedar Shoals 9, Creekside 5, Woodward Academy 4, Clarke Central 3, Douglas Co. 2, Jones County 1, Westlake 1. CLASS AAA 1. LaGrange (18) 189 2. Cedartown (1) 149 3. Washington County 122 4. Fitzgerald 117 5. Screven County 90 6. Hart County 70 7. Cartersville 63 8. Peach County 52 9. Appling County 31 10. Northeast-Macon 30 Others receiving votes: Laney 15, Stephens County 14, Thomasville 13, Swainsboro 12, Westside-Augusta 8, Carrollton 6, Westminster 3, Mary Persons 2, Spalding 2, Elbert County 1, Gainesville 1, Harlem 1, Savannah Christian 1. CLASS AA 1. Americus (17) 187 2. Cook 153 3. Buford (1) 128 4. Washington-Wilkes (1) 120 5. Early County 97 6. Greater Atlanta Christian 91 7. Charlton County 81 8. Calhoun 43 9. Manchester 40 10. Vidalia 30 Others receiving votes: Macon County 27, Adairsville 21, Callaway 5, Putnam County 4, Toombs County 4, Claxton 4, Darlington 3, Lamar County 3, Chattooga 3, Morgan County 1. CLASS A 1. Clinch County (8) 169 2. Bowdon (9) 166 3. Metter (1) 147 4. Johnson County (1) 89 5. Athens Academy 88 6. Miller County 85 7. Lincoln County 78 8. Commerce 54 9. Hawkinsville 44 10. Taylor County 43 Others receiving votes: McIntosh County Academy 25, Pelham 11, Dooly County 8, Seminole County 5, Jefferson 3, Trion 3, Atkinson County 2.