Milton is ranked No. 2 in six national football polls this week, cementing the team’s legacy as one of Georgia’s best teams in history.
Milton completed a 15-0 season with a 56-35 victory over Hughes for the Class 5A championship last week in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
This week, Milton finished No. 2 in the final rankings of MaxPreps, High School Football America, National HSFB and Blue Star Media. The unanimous No. 1 team is Mater Dei, a California private school that has produced three future Heisman Trophy winners, most recently Alabama’s Bryce Young.
Two other polls, USA Today and Blue Star Media, haven’t released their final rankings, but Milton was ranked No. 2 in both entering this week.
MaxPreps’ Zack Poff said Milton is the best Georgia team since he began doing national rankings in 2016.
“This team was loaded with talent and had one of the best offenses in the country,” Poff said. “On top of all the talent they have a great coaching staff. They had a tough schedule and won 14 of 15 games by more than one score.”
Milton’s only one-score victory came in the season-opener, a 13-10 victory over Buford, a team that MaxPreps ranked No. 12 in the final poll. Buford is one of four Georgia teams that will finish with several final top-25 rankings. The others are Class 6A champion Grayson and 6A runner-up Carrollton.
Milton is not the first Georgia team that MaxPreps has ranked No. 2 in its 20 seasons of doing rankings. Grayson was the most recent in 2020. That was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and California teams didn’t take the field that year.
MaxPreps also ranked Colquitt County No. 2 in 2015. That Colquitt team is the only one from Georgia since the 1990s to claim a national title. The Packers got the nod that year from High School Football America.
In 2002, Parkview finished ranked No. 2 in USA Today after winning 45 straight games in Georgia’s highest class.
Milton played a tougher schedule than 2002 Parkview or 2015 Colquitt County by most measures.
“Milton’s season was as good as it gets with seven of their wins coming against teams that finished inside the High School Football America 300,’’ HSFA founder Jeff Fisher said. “While our rankings are based on our proprietary algorithm, the Eagles were a fun team to watch with an offense that was a good as any other in America. Their high-quality wins over No. 16 American Heritage Plantation, Florida’s 4A champ, and No. 20 Buford at the start of the season bolstered their strength of schedule, which is an important part of our algorithm.”
Fisher said that Milton benefited from the overall performance of Georgia, which had 28 top-300 teams in his rankings. Only Florida and Texas had more.
Joe Maimone of NationalHSFB.com traced Milton’s success to its decision in 2018 to begin playing nationally renowned out-of-state opponents. Milton has played seven out-of-state teams since, beating four. The Eagles beat American Heritage 37-28 this season.
“The Eagles love to play the best, and they schedule any team anywhere anytime,” Maimone said. “Doing what their peers can’t or won’t do has been the key to their success.”
Milton’s run at a national title this season was not unexpected. Milton returned 18 of 22 starters from the 2023 team that won Georgia’s Class 7A and added a couple of major Division I prospects as transfers. Milton fielded nine seniors who signed this month with the Power 4 conference teams, the most of any Georgia team in history.
The nine were wide receiver C.J. Wiley (Georgia), offensive lineman Brayden Jacobs (Clemson), tight end Ethan Barbour (Georgia), quarterback Luke Nickel (Milton), tight end Ryan Ghea (Auburn), cornerback Dylan Lewis (Tennessee), defensive lineman Caleb Bell (Arkansas), cornerback Tyler Redmond (Tennessee) and safety Ma’khi Jones (Duke). Defensive lineman Caleb Ellis signed with Georgia Southern.
National rankings:
Blue Star Media
(Top 25)
2. (2) Milton
6. (NR) Grayson
12. (4) Carrollton
CalPreps
(Top 100)
6. (8) Milton
12. (30) Grayson
13. (13) Buford
15. (9) Carrollton
35. (52) North Oconee
41. (43) Lee County
51. (44) Hughes
54. (59) Douglas County
77. (72) Thomas County Central
79. (62) Marist
High School Football America
(Top 100)
2. (2) Milton
13. (32) Grayson
19. (8) Carrollton
20. (20) Buford
41. (41) Lee County
50. (49) Douglas County
52. (51) Hughes
55. (54) Collins Hill
61. (60) North Gwinnett
92. (92) Thomas County Central
94. (94) Coffee
MaxPreps
(Top 100)
2. (2) Milton
7. (24) Grayson
9. (4) Carrollton
12. (12) Buford
29. (29) Lee County
38. (39) Douglas County
41. (42) Hughes
64. (64) Collins Hill
72. (72) Thomas County Central
78. (78) North Gwinnett
84. (83) Roswell
99. (NR) North Oconee
Massey Ratings
(Top 100)
4. (11) Milton
5. (8) Carrollton
11. (23) Buford
36. (33) Grayson
37. (31) Lee County
39. (39) Hughes
53. (70) Douglas County
60. (55) Thomas County Central
84. (86) North Gwinnett
88. (90) Collins Hill
90. (93) North Cobb
93. (125) Coffee
100. (132) Lowndes
NationalHSFB
(Top 25)
2. (2) Milton
11. (NR) Grayson
14. (11) Carrollton
16. (15) Buford
SBLive/Sports Illustrated (final poll not released)
(Top 25)
2. Milton
5. Carrollton
21. Buford
USA Today (final poll not released)
(Top 25)
2. Milton
5. Carrollton
10. Buford
