Baylor and Marion County have moved to No. 1 spots in the latest Associated Press Tennessee high school football poll.
The climbs likely were less wanted by the two teams' coaches than they were unwarranted, but each moved into the top spot after last week's No. 1 in their respective divisions got beat over the weekend.
"Well, it ought to be pretty good bulletin-board material for Ensworth this week, but by the same token it's a huge challenge for our guys - wanting to stay there," offered Baylor coach Phil Massey. "It is a compliment to the kids and the program, and we'll take that. It's notice that we have people watching us and paying attention to our program."
Notre Dame jumped to No. 2 in Class 3A, and all three teams in Bradley County are ranked among the top 10 in their polls. Bradley Central is No. 4 in Class 6A while Cleveland is No. 6 and Walker Valley tied for No. 9 in 5A.
Baylor rose to No. 1 after Brentwood Academy lost to Trinity of Louisville, Ky. and Marion County moved up after West Tennessee power Trinity Peabody was upset. However, both of the Chattanooga-area teams have opened with strong showings, Baylor with victories over Rhea County and Red Bank and Marion taking wins against Hixson and Grundy County.
"We're not there yet, although it's nice that someone thinks that much of our program and our kids," Marion coach Joey Mathis said. "We're still concerned with the day-to-day and we're getting better, but the final poll of the year is the only one that really matters."
Being ranked No. 1 this early likely is something Mathis would just as soon have avoided. He has said on numerous occasions that he didn't think it was fair to compare this team to the 2015 group that spent much of the year ranked No. 1 and reached the Class 2A state final.
Baylor is making its first showing as a top-ranked team since 2011, the last year the Red Raiders defeated Ensworth, which they'll host Friday.
"I really don't think you can earn (No. 1) until you've played the big boys and beat them," Massey said.
The Red Raiders received nine of 13 possible first-place votes, the other four going to Brentwood Academy.
"This week is one of those times you think you're pretty good but you find out for sure," Massey said.
Marion, which got seven of 13 Class 2A No. 1 votes, also opens region play this week, hosting undefeated Meigs County (2-0).
"We've played well in spurts and I can see that we're improving each week," Mathis said. "We still don't know where we stand as a football team. We've played two quality opponents and come out with wins, but we're still learning to play as a team and we still have new voices all over the field."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.