West Point was back at the top of the Class 5A rankings when the new Associated Press Mississippi high school football poll was released Tuesday.
Twelve Mississippi media outlets, including The Commercial Dispatch and WCBI, were polled on the top five teams in each class and the top 10 overall.
The Green Wave rebounded from a loss to Class 4A Louisville with consecutive wins over Class 6A teams Starkville and Tupelo. West Point, which earned nine of the 12 first-place votes in its class, was also fifth in the overall rankings, one spot ahead of Starkville (2-2). The Green Wave play at Noxubee County on Friday.
Madison Central (4-0) was ranked first in Class 6A and first overall in the state, earning all 12 first-place votes in both polls. The Jaguars will travel to face Clinton on Friday.
In other polls:
Starkville reentered the top five in Class 6A with a dominant 35-7 win over Louisville on Friday. The Yellow Jackets also came in sixth in the state’s overall rankings
Noxubee County (3-1) fell to fourth place from third in the Class 3A rankings after suffering its first loss of the season. Columbia (4-0) garnered 10 first-place votes to remain in the top spot. Water Valley (3-0) was second, and Houston (4-0) was third.
Heritage Academy held its spot as the second-ranked team among private schools and again picked up two first-place votes. Both the Patriots and top-ranked Madison-Ridgeland Academy (10 first-place votes) are 5-0. Jackson Prep (3-1), Greenville St. Joseph (4-0) and Pillow Academy (4-0) rounded out the top five. Heritage Academy will travel to face Bayou Academy on Friday.
West Lowndes (4-0) received a single fifth-place vote in the Class 1A poll following a shutout of Hamilton. The Panthers got six points in the poll, second among schools not in the top five. Fifth-place Simmons (2-2) had 71 points, and TCPS (3-1) got 12. Noxapater took over the top spot in the class by beating Smithville, the previous top team, and earning 10 first-place votes. West Lowndes hosts Nanih Waiya (2-2), the third-ranked team in Class 1A, on Friday.
Here’s the ballot The Dispatch’s Theo DeRosa submitted:
Overall
Madison Central (4-0)
Brandon (3-1)
Pearl (3-1)
West Point (3-1)
South Panola (4-0)
Picayune (3-0)
Lafayette (3-1)
Starkville (2-2)
Oxford (3-1)
West Jones (4-0)
Class 1A
Smithville (3-1)
Noxapater (3-1)
Nanih Waiya (2-2)
Simmons (2-2)
Lumberton (2-2)
Class 2A
Taylorsville (4-0)
Philadelphia (3-1)
Bay Springs (4-0)
Scott Central (3-1)
Charleston (3-1)
Class 3A
Columbia (4-0)
Water Valley (3-0)
Houston (4-0)
Noxubee County (3-1)
North Panola (4-0)
Class 4A
Greenwood (4-0)
South Pike (4-0)
Louisville (2-2)
Corinth (2-0)
Itawamba AHS (4-0)
Class 5A
West Point (3-1)
Picayune (3-0)
Lafayette (3-1)
West Jones (4-0)
Laurel (3-1)
Class 6A
Madison Central (4-0)
Brandon (3-1)
Pearl (3-1)
South Panola (4-0)
Starkville (2-2)
Private schools
Madison-Ridgeland Academy (5-0)
Heritage Academy (5-0)
Jackson Prep (3-1)
Greenville St. Joseph (4-0)
Pillow Academy (4-0)
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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