Class 6A Blog: Week 1 spotlight shines brightly on preseason top 10

Week 1 of the 2025 GHSA Football season is here and the Class 6A top 10 teams will be in the spotlight with eight different matchups over the course of three days. There are two games that will pin Class 6A top 10 teams against one another. On Friday, No. 1 ranked Grayson will travel to No. 3 Collins Hill and then Saturday will see No. 4 Douglas County face No. 6 North Gwinnett Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On Thursday, No. 2 ranked Buford will host two-time defending state champion Milton. There are five more matchups with four coming on Friday and one on Saturday. No. 5 ranked Carrollton will host Woodward Academy, No. 7 North Cobb will host Archer, No. 9 Lowndes will host Jenkins and No. 10 Newton will host Eastside. The last matchup to be mentioned is No. 8 McEachern against Walton and that game will be played on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium

The combination of top 10 matchups, cross-classification meetings and intriguing season openers creates a strong likelihood for the rankings to change after the first week of action. Today’s blog will highlight these season openers and breakdown the stakes starting at the top with Grayson and Collins Hill.

Both of these teams are contenders for the 6A crown this year and both schools have won state titles in the last four seasons. For Collins Hill, the defensive front is a strength of the team and this group is headlined by AJC Super 11 selection and LSU-commit Duece Geralds. His ability to disrupt the offense and take carries in the backfield gives Collins Hill a closer and difference-maker on both sides of the ball. For Grayson, Tyler Atkinson is coming off a Player of the Year junior season and the Rams defense will be familiar with the Eagles after facing this team twice last year. Grayson will be favored in this matchup, but Collins Hill will certainly carry enough confidence into kickoff to battle on both sides of the ball.

Buford has a tremendous season opener to look forward to against Milton and the Wolves will have the atmosphere of their brand new stadium to propel them against a young Milton team. This will be a big test out of the gates for both teams, however, Buford will have the edge when it comes to experience and they should win the game if they can limit the mistakes and throttle Milton’s rushing attack.

One of the most anticipated games of the regular season schedule will take place when North Gwinnett and Douglas County square off. Douglas County started many of its Class of 2026 stars in 2023 and has reached back-to-back semifinals with many of its top players returning this year. With a state championship as the goal of this special senior class, there will be pressure on the Tigers to start off strong. Douglas County fitted all of its offensive linemen with medical-grade knee braces this season after dealing with injuries the last two years and a healthy offensive line is what it will take to win in the trenches against a disruptive North Gwinnett front seven and the stellar play of Jake Godfree and company.

Carrollton is once again loaded this season, but will need to fill the vacancy left by Juju Lewis at quarterback and Kimauri Farmer at running back. The Trojans have one of the top receiving corps in the state and can match up with anyone with their defensive talent.

North Cobb’s season opener will be all about quarterback Teddy Jarrard—who transferred over from North Cobb Christian to lead a championship quest. McEachern will look to establish the run game against Walton in their showdown and the Indians will look to open the season with a victory after falling short the last two seasons. This year’s McEachern team has an incredibly high ceiling and possesses the potential to make 2025 a breakout and historic Year 3 for head coach Kareem Reid. Lowndes lost its preseason scrimmage last week, but is confident that the pieces are in place to be one of the top offenses in Class 6A this season. Finally, Newton will take on Covington rival Eastside to open its season and the storyline to watch will be how senior quarterback Deron Benson leads the Rams out of the gate. Newton had an incredible summer with multiple 7-on-7 victories and Benson’s leadership and experience will be the key for the Rams to push closer towards their championship aspirations.

Class 6A Top 10

1. Grayson at Collins Hill

2. Buford vs. Milton (Thursday)

3. Collins Hill vs. Grayson

4. Douglas County vs. North Gwinnett

5. Carrollton vs. Woodward Academy

6. North Gwinnett vs. Douglas County

7. North Cobb vs. Archer

8. McEachern vs. Walton

9. Lowndes vs. Jenkins

10. Newton vs. Eastside

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