GHSA releases region proposals

THOMASTON -- The GHSA ended year-long speculation Tuesday when its reclassification subcommittee placed its member schools into regions as part of the biennial region reclassification schedule, and the moves resulted in significant changes for several Middle Georgia schools.

Houston County, Northside and Warner Robins will join Jones County in the new Region 3-AAAAA with four Augusta-area schools: Evans, Greenbrier, Grovetown and Lakeside-Evans. Houston County schools and Jones County have each shared regions with Columbia County schools in the past.

“We are kind of isolated in Class AAAAA with no schools our size around,” Warner Robins athletics director Bryan Way said. “We’ve made the trip before. There’s not a perfect world.”

The GHSA gave every region an opportunity to sub-divide to cut down on travel, but the regions with fewer than 10 schools probably won’t make that decision for football. Teams play football games once a week, and games are normally on Friday or Saturday, so long trips aren’t as big of a concern.

“(Sub-dividing) will help for the other sports, four and four seems pretty fair, but I don’t see football sub-dividing,” Houston County athletics director Greg Robinson said.

Northside athletics director Kevin Kinsler said he wanted to remain in a region with Columbus schools, Bainbridge, Thomas County Central and Lee County. Travel distance to the Columbia County schools will be nearly identical to the trips made to Bainbridge and Thomasville. But with only three other teams in a sub-region, the Houston County schools will need to schedule a large number of non-region games.

“We have the same issues we had before as far as travel,” Kinsler said, “Football-wise, we will do whatever we have to do, but I hate it for the spring sports and the other sports because the six classification plan has done zilch for the schools as far a travel.”

If a region chooses to sub-divide for football or other sports, the region must use the reclassification subcommittee’s sub-divisions.

In Class AAA, powerhouse football programs Peach County and Carver-Columbus both landed in the same sub-division of Region 2-AAA along with Central and Southwest. Henry County, Jackson and Pike County are also in the region.

“We could have played up (to AAAA) and been with the same guys, but we were going to play where we landed,” Peach County athletics director Chad Campbell said.

The new Region 4-AA is an all-Middle Georgia region consisting of Northeast, Putnam County, Lamar County, Bleckley County, Monticello, Macon County, Crawford County and Taylor County.

One region that stayed largely the same was Region 2-AAAA. The eight schools that moved up from the former Region 2-AAA make up the region: Baldwin, West Laurens, Perry, Veterans, Howard, Rutland, Westside and Mary Persons.

FPD jumped from an all-private school Region 5-A to a mostly public school region. The Vikings will be in Region 7-A with Aquinas, Glascock County, Hancock Central, Lincoln County, Taliaferro County, Warren County, Challenge Charter, GMC, the Georgia Academy for the Blind, Twiggs County and Wilkinson County.

FPD athletics director Greg Moore said he would speak with his administration to decide whether or not they would appeal the decision.

Schools have until Dec. 16 to ask for a lateral transfer. Appeals will be heard Dec. 19.

Hawkinsville head football coach Cam Black said he would be supportive of a FPD appeal that would push the Vikings to Region 4-A with the Red Devils, Central-Talbotton, Brookstone, Pacelli, Dooly County, Greenville, Marion County and Schley County.

“They have some long trips to make out to Augusta,” Black said. “I know Twiggs and Wilkinson are close by, but I think travel would be better for them (in 4-A). We’d like to have another Middle Georgia school with us, too.”

GHSA executive director Ralph Swearngin told the subcommittee we was concerned about the size of the larger Class A regions in the northern half of the state. The smallest northern region (7-A) has 12 schools. All four southern regions have 11 or fewer. He said that balancing regions could be justification for a school to move laterally to another region in an appeal.

Like the Houston County schools, Dublin will be headed to Augusta in Region 3-AA with Westside-Augusta, Josey, Harlem, Screven County, Laney, East Laurens, Davidson Fine Arts and A.R. Johnson.

“It’s not a favorable thing for us,” Dublin head coach Roger Holmes said. “It’s hard trying to place everybody. It’s going to be financially difficult to maintain our program with playing schools from so far away.”

The full executive committee will ratify region reclassification in January.

Middle Georgia in Reclassification

Class AAAAA

Region 2: Sub-region A: Evans, Greenbrier, Grovetown, Lakeside-Evans; Sub-region B: Houston County, Jones County, Northside, Warner Robins

Class AAAA

Region 1: Sub-region A: Albany, Cairo, Westover, Worth County; Sub-region B: Americus-Sumter, Crisp County, Dougherty, Monroe-Albany.

Region 2: Sub-region A: Baldwin, Perry, Veterans, West Laurens; Sub-region B: Howard, Mary Persons, Rutland, Westside.

Region 4: Sub-region A: Dutchtown, Eagle’s Landing, Locust Grove, Stockbridge, Woodland-Stockbridge; Sub-region B: Griffin, Jonesboro, North Clayton, Riverdale, Spalding, Upson-Lee.

Class AAA

Region 2: Sub-region A: Henry County, Jackson, Pike County; Sub-region B: Carver-Columbus, Central, Peach County, Southwest.

Region 3: Sub-region A: Jefferson County, Thomson, Washington County; Sub-region B: Dodge County, Southeast Bulloch, Swainsboro.

Class AA

Region 1: Sub-region A: Brooks County, Early County, Pelham, Thomasville; Sub-region B: Atkinson County, Berrien, Cook, Fitzgerald.

Region 2: Sub-region A: Bacon County, Jeff Davis, Metter, Toombs County, Vidalia; Sub-region B: Bryan County, Benedictine, Long County, MCA, St. Vincent’s.

Region 3: Sub-region A: Dublin, East Laurens, Johnson-Augusta, Josey; Sub-region B: Davidson Fine Arts, Harlem, Laney, Screven County, Westside-Augusta.

Region 4: Sub-region A: Bleckley County, Crawford County, Macon County, Taylor County; Sub-region B: Lamar County, Monticello, Northeast, Putnam County.

Class A

Region 1: Sub-region A: Irwin County, Telfair County, Turner County, Wilcox County; Sub-region B: Charlton County, Clinch County, Echols County, Lanier County.

Region 3: Sub-region A: Calvary Day, Claxton, Jenkins County, Portal, Savannah Christian, Savannah Country Day; Sub-region B: ECI, Johnson County, Montgomery County, Treutlen, Wheeler County.

Region 4: Sub-region A: Brookstone, Central-Talbotton, Greenville, Pacelli; Sub-region B: Dooly County, Hawkinsville, Marion County, Schley County.

Region 7: Sub-region A: Aquinas, Glascock County, Hancock Central, Lincoln County, Taliaferro County, Warren County; Sub-region B: Challenge Charter, FPD, GMC, Georgia Academy for the Blind, Twiggs County, Wilkinson County.

Schools have until Dec. 16 to appeal for a lateral transfer.