Class 7A Returns as Georgia High School Football Opens 2026 Season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium

High school football is right around the corner in the state of Georgia, and teams across the state are eager to kick off the 2026 season. The GHSA has brought back Class 7A as the highest classification in the state, restoring the sport’s biggest stage for the fall.

Four early games kick off the high school football season in Georgia next week, headlined by the Corky Kell/Dave Hunter Classic. The first two games of the classic will be held Wednesday and Thursday, August 12 and 13, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, marking the earliest games ever played in the state of Georgia.

The first two games on August 12 pit South Gwinnett against Lanier. Lanier enters the 2026 season on the heels of three straight .500-or-better seasons and heads into year five under head coach Tyler Maloof. Maloof is coaching royalty in the state, the grandson of legendary St. Pius head coach George Maloof, the son of two-time state champion head coach Keith Maloof, and the nephew of Dacula’s winningest head coach, Kevin Maloof. His tenure at Lanier has been a success so far, highlighted by a nine-win season and a second-round playoff appearance in 2023.

On the other side, South Gwinnett is once again led by Bryan Lamar. The Comets are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, having gone 12-10 over the past two seasons, their best record across two seasons since a 14-9 stretch from 2012-13. South Gwinnett is looking to take the next step, and Lamar is more than capable of getting the Comets there, having previously taken Tucker to the state finals in both 2013 and 2016.

GHSA Preseason Football Rankings

Class 7A

1. Buford
2. Carrollton
3. Grayson
4. North Gwinnett
5. McEachern
6. Douglas County
7. Lowndes
8. Brookwood
9. Marietta
10. Valdosta

Class 6A

1. Thomas County Central
2. Gainesville
3. Roswell
4. Creekside
5. Milton
6. Lee County
7. Woodward Academy
8. Houston County
9. Kell
10. Jackson County

Class 5A

1. Blessed Trinity
2. Benedictine
3. Marist
4. Cartersville
5. North Oconee
6. Lithonia
7. Jefferson
8. Tucker
9. Warner Robins
10. Central-Carroll

Class 4A

1. Sandy Creek
2. Douglass
3. Calhoun
4. Stephenson
5. Cairo
6. North Hall
7. Troup
8. Peach County
9. West Laurens
10. Cherokee Bluff

Class 3A

1. Carver Columbus
2. Worth County
3. Toombs County
4. Rockmart
5. Northeast Macon
6. Sumter County
7. Hapeville Charter
8. Columbia
9. Callaway
10. Appling County

Class 2A

1. Heard County
2. Fitzgerald
3. Pepperell
4. Rabun County
5. Dublin
6. Screven County
7. Thomasville
8. Swainsboro
9. Brooks County
10. Jasper County

Class 1A

1. Clinch County
2. Lincoln County
3. Johnson County
4. Seminole County
5. Macon County
6. Bowdon
7. Early County
8. Schley County
9. Wheeler County
10. ECI

Class 4A-2A Private

1. Prince Avenue Christian
2. Greater Atlanta Christian
3. Hebron Christian
4. Mount Vernon
5. Wesleyan
6. Holy Innocents’
7. Calvary Day
8. Whitfield Academy
9. Christian Heritage
10. Savannah Christian