In the updated high school football rankings created by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, three local teams earned spots while three more received votes entering Week 5 of the season.

In Class 7A, the Fairhope Pirates checked in at No. 2, the Gulf Shores Dolphins fell back to No. 7 in Class 5A and the Orange Beach Makos climbed to No. 8 in Class 4. Foley (7A), Spanish Fort (6A) and Bayside Academy (4A) all received votes in their respective classifications.

Fairhope is ranked the highest it has been since the final seven polls of the 2014 season. The Pirates won their first three games in the final minutes before they opened region play with a win over MGM last Thursday.

Both of the island teams, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, are ranked for the first time in their schools’ histories.

The Dolphins opened the season ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll and climbed to No. 4 after their first two wins. This week, Gulf Shores falls back to its Week-1 slot after last Friday’s loss to top-ranked UMS-Wright Prep. The Makos debuted at No. 10 in last week’s poll and moved up two spots following a win over Satsuma to improve to 3-0 overall.

Spanish Fort fell out of the rankings after a loss to No. 3 Saraland but still received votes in this week’s poll. In the preseason rankings, the Toros were No. 8 then fought back to No. 10 after wins over Blount and Baldwin County.

Foley similarly received votes in this week’s poll although the Lions have yet to crack the rankings again since the Week 10 poll in 2015. Foley opened with a loss, won twice then fell to Baker last Friday.

Bayside Academy, undefeated at 4-0, has yet to break into the Class 4A rankings yet this season as well. The Admirals have beaten Elberta, Pike Liberal Arts, St. Michael Catholic and Wilcox Central so far.