Final rankings and a look back at the preseason polls

Obviously, year-end rankings are the easiest rankings to compile of the entire season because the playoff brackets will tell you a lot of what you need to know. Of course, how games were won and lost, and the relative difficulty of different teams playoff paths, is certainly considered.But for the most part, these end up being pretty straightforward; teams either earned it in November and December, or they didnt.But without further ado, here are the final rankings in each classification for the 2008 season. And just for fun, and even though Im opening myself up to all kinds of ridicule, Ive included my preseason rankings from the Aug. 27 edition of Score Atlanta.

CLASS 5A
1. Camden County (Region 3; 15-0)
2. Peachtree Ridge (Region 7; 12-3)
3. Grayson (Region 8; 13-1)
4. Lowndes (Region 1; 12-1)
5. Northside-WR (Region 1; 11-2)
6. Newnan (Region 4; 13-1)
7. Woodstock (Region 5; 8-5)
8. North Gwinnett (Region 7; 10-3)
9. Harrison (Region 5; 9-3)
10. East Paulding (Region 5; 9-3)

CLASS 4A
1. Tucker (Region 6; 14-1)
2. Marist (Region 6; 13-2)
3. Rome (Region 7; 11-3)
4. Westside-Macon (Region 1; 12-1)
5. Griffin (Region 4; 10-4)
6. Sequoyah (Region 7; 10-2)
7. Sandy Creek (Region 5; 11-1)
8. Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (Region 4; 8-5)
9. Brunswick (Region 2; 9-3)
10. Southwest DeKalb (Region 6; 9-4)

CLASS 3A
1. Cairo (Region 1; 14-0)
2. Flowery Branch (Region 7; 12-3)
3. Baldwin (Region 3; 12-1)
4. Carver-Columbus (Region 2; 11-3)
5. LaGrange (Region 2; 11-3)
6. Dunwoody (Region 5; 12-1)
7. Gainesville (Region 7; 12-1)
8. Eastside (Region 8; 11-2)
9. Burke County (Region 3; 8-4)
10. Ridgeland (Region 6; 9-3)

CLASS 2A
1. Buford (Region 6; 15-0)
2. Calhoun (Region 7; 12-3)
3. Brooks County (Region 1; 12-2)
4. Fitzgerald (Region 1; 11-3)
5. Dublin (Region 3; 11-2)
6. Lovett (Region 6; 9-4)
7. Pepperell (Region 7; 11-2)
8. Westminster (Region 6; 9-3)
9. Henry County (Region 4; 10-2)
10. Charlton County (Region 2; 9-2)

CLASS A
1. Wesleyan (Region 8; 13-2)
2. Emanuel County Institute (Region 3; 14-1)
3. Lincoln County (Region 7; 12-2)
4. Wilcox County (Region 2; 12-1)
5. Bremen (Region 6; 11-2)
6. Miller County (Region 1; 11-2)
7. Wilkinson County (Region 7; 10-4)
8. Turner County (Region 2; 10-3)
9. Athens Academy (Region 8; 10-2)
10. Brookstone (Region 4; 11-1)

Here are the preseason rankings from Aug. 27. For your convenience and enjoyment, Ive bolded all the misses.

CLASS 5A Omissions Woodstock, Harrison, East Paulding
1. Lowndes
2. Camden County
3. Northside-WR
4. North Gwinnett
5. Peachtree Ridge
6. Newnan
7. Norcross
8. Walton
9. Grayson
10. Valdosta No playoffs

CLASS 4A Omissions Westside-Macon, Sequoyah, Sandy Creek, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, Brunswick, Southwest DeKalb
1. Ware County
2. Tucker
3. Thomas County Central
4. Chamblee
5. Rome
6. Bainbridge
7. Whitewater
8. Habersham Central No playoffs
9. Griffin
10. Cedar Shoals

CLASS 3A Omissions Baldwin, Dunwoody, Gainesville, Eastside, Burke County, Ridgeland
1. Carver-Columbus
2. Cairo
3. LaGrange
4. Stephens County
5. Flowery Branch
6. Shaw
7. North Hall
8. Perry No playoffs
9. St. Pius X
10. Carver-Atlanta

CLASS 2A Omissions Westminster
1. Buford
2. Dublin
3. Charlton County
4. Thomasville
5. Fitzgerald
6. Calhoun
7. Pepperell
8. Henry County
9. Greater Atlanta Christian
10. Lovett

CLASS A Omissions Miller County, Wilkinson County, Turner County
1. Emanuel County Institute
2. Clinch County
3. Lincoln County
4. Brookstone
5. Athens Academy
6. Wilcox County
7. Bremen
8. Savannah Christian
9. Wesleyan
10. Darlington
Rankings editor Alex Ewalt can be reached at aewalt@scoreatl.com.