Clayton News Daily

Photo by Derrick Mahone If the Maxwell Ratings are correct, then Lovejoy coach Al Hughes will have the Wildcats pointed towards another deep playoff run this season.

The computer has spoken.

And from the looks of it, this should be a good year for football in the Southern Crescent. Earlier this week, the Georgia High School Football Daily, an online publication that covers high schools, published Maxwell Ratings on projections for the upcoming season.

GHSFD acknowledged that the ratings only used data of historical scores to come up with the projections. A computer cannot take into account personnel and coaching changes from season to season, according to the GHSFD.

The ratings were compiled by Loren Maxwell, an avid sports historian and founder of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.

End-of-the-season play-in games were not factored into the records. The computer also ranked teams according to their classification and overall.

According to the ratings, Eagle’s Landing Christian is the No. 2 team in Class A, and No. 58 overall. Lovejoy, which reached the AAAA finals, has moved into the AAAAAA, the state’s highest class. The Wildcats are rated the No. 16 team in the class and No. 33 overall in the state.

It is the highest rating overall for any of the 20 schools in the Southern Crescent.

Last season’s Class AAAAA champion Grayson was rated as the top team in the state regardless of classification.

Here is a look at how the computer projected the season for teams in the Southern Crescent: