Lee County, Pelham, Mitchell County ranked in final football polls

ALBANY —The high school football season is over and three Albany-area teams are ranked in the final Georgia Sports Writers Association High School Football Rankings.

As expected, Lee County finished No. 1 in Class 6A after defeating Northside-Warner Robins 14-0 in the state championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

In Class 1A Public, state semifinalist Pelham finished No. 4, while Mitchell County finished 10th.

Lee County captured its second straight state title and went 15-0. The Trojans did suffer a loss in their final game, a 43-14 setback by St. Frances (Maryland) in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series last Saturday night. Lee County’s dominance in the state earned them an invite to play St. Frances in the prestigious event.

The Trojans were one of four teams from Region 1-6A to finish ranked in the final polls. State runner-up Northside was second, while Valdosta finished fifth and Coffee eighth. Lee County defeated five teams who were ranked in the final 6A poll.

Pelham lost to state runner-up Irwin County in the Class 1A Public semifinals and finished the regular season unbeaten. It was the Hornets’ only loss of the season. The program reached the semifinals for just the second time in school history and finished with a 12-1 mark.

Crosstown county rival Mitchell County finished 10th after falling by two points in the second round to Commerce. The Eagles, who finished as the Region 1-1A runner-up, drew a first-round bye.

A handful of other Southwest Georgia schools finished highly ranked in the polls. In Class 7A, Colquitt County finished No. 2 after falling to Milton in the state championship game. Lowndes (4th) and Tift County (8th) also finished in the Top 10.

In Class 5A, Bainbridge topped the poll after defeating Warner Robins in overtime to win the school’s second state football championship in history.

In Class 4A, Cairo finished No. 7, while Fitzgerald (3rd) and Brooks County (9th) were ranked in Class 2A.

In Class 1A Public, Clinch County, Irwin County and Marion County finished 1-3 respectively, while Schley County finished No. 7.