MAXPREPS
GOFAN
NFHS NETWORK
FOLLOW MAXPREPS
Football
Football Home
Teams
Players
States
Scores
Rankings
Stat leaders
Photos
Playoffs
Videos
Record Book
Game of the Week
News
Live Streams
Baseball
Baseball Home
Teams
Players
States
Scores
Rankings
Stat leaders
Photos
Playoffs
Record Book
News
Live Streams
B. Basketball
B. Basketball Home
Teams
Players
States
Scores
Rankings
Stat leaders
Photos
Playoffs
Videos
Record Book
News
Live Streams
G. Basketball
G. Basketball Home
Teams
Players
States
Scores
Rankings
Stat leaders
Photos
Playoffs
Videos
Record Book
News
Live Streams
G. Volleyball
G. Volleyball Home
Teams
Players
States
Scores
Rankings
Stat leaders
Photos
Playoffs
Record Book
News
Live Streams
Tickets
Digital Tickets
Content Contributors
Coaches
...
POPULAR SPORTS
All sports
Boys
Baseball
Basketball
Beach Volleyball
Cross Country
Football
Golf
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
Water Polo
Wrestling
Girls
Basketball
Beach Volleyball
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Flag Football
Golf
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
Water Polo
SEARCH
APPS
MaxPreps
Follow your favorite high school teams and players
MP Stats for iPad
Stat keeping for basketball teams
PRO PHOTOGRAPHY
Photo Galleries
Explore and purchase photos of your local teams and players
WATCH
Video Center
See top plays & highlights of the best high school sports
Live Streams & Replays
Get access to live game streams and full replays for 8000+ schools
SIGN IN
Reclassification shifts football balance of power in Georgia
Seven recent state champions drop in class for 2010 season.
By
Todd Holcomb
Aug 9, 2010, 11:53am
Rarely if ever has a reclassification cycle resulted in so many powerful schools moving to a lower class in Georgia.
Every two years, the Georgia High School Association undergoes the task of reclassification, the process that puts schools in one of five classes and then one of eight regions within those classes. This year, five schools that have won state titles since 2004,
Carver, Charlton County, Northside of Warner Robins, Sandy Creek and Warner Robins,
are moving down.
Here is a look at 10 schools that will profit from reclassification and perhaps reshape the balance of power in Georgia football for 2010:
Carver
(AA):
Carver won a Class AAA championship in 2007 and has averaged 12 victories per year since 2006. Now, the Tigers are playing down in AA with a half-dozen Division I-A recruits that include
Isaiah Crowell
, the state’s best running back. Carver will play three-time defending AA champion
Buford
on Sept. 3 in Columbus. The two state powers have never met. Those teams figure to start the season ranked 1-2 in most polls.
Charlton County
(A):
Charlton County, a south Georgia school that can boast being the alma mater of NFL All-Pro Champ Bailey, just finished a decade during which it won 117 games and three state titles – all in AA. Now, Charlton is back in A, where it won a state title the last time it played in Georgia’s smallest class, 1999. Charlton plays at defending Class A champion
Wilcox County
on Oct. 8. Those teams figure to start the season ranked 1-2 in most polls.
Dalton
(AAA):
Dalton is a northwest Georgia school known for its current streak of 50 winning seasons, perhaps the longest in the country. But Dalton hasn’t won a state playoff game since 2005. Class AAA might not fix Dalton’s 43-year state championship drought, but the Catamounts are probably co-favorites with
Ridgeland
in Region 7-AAA.
Hart County
, Hartwell (AA):
Hart County, a northeast Georgia team on the South Carolina border, has reached the state playoffs every season since 1992, one of the longest streaks in Georgia. The Bulldogs made a state final in 2001, the last year that they won a region championship. Hart will be considered the team to beat in 8-AA this season.
Kell
, Marietta (AAAA):
Kell, the Marietta school that sent Jonathan Dwyer to Georgia Tech and the NFL, is one of 12 metro Atlanta schools that went to AAAA from the largest class. The Longhorns will probably be the one that benefits the most, although there are several others, including Eric Barry's alma mater
Creekside
of Fairburn,
Union Grove
of McDonough,
Pope
of Marietta and
Chattahoochee
of Alpharetta. Kell won six of its last seven games last season and features a major prospect in
Brian Randolph
, who has committed to Tennessee.
Monroe Area
(AAA):
Monroe Area finished 0-10 in 2009, but has moved from 8-AAAA, which put three teams in the quarterfinals last year. Now in 8-AAA, many believe Monroe Area has a shot at its first playoff berth in 25 years. The Hurricanes have a star player in
Stephon Tuitt
, who is ranked among the top 20 defensive end prospects in the country.
Northside
(AAAA):
The last time Northside played in AAAA, it won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. In AAAAA, Northside reached the state final in 2009. Expect Northside to be ranked No. 1 in AAAA to open the season.
Sandy Creek
(AAA):
Rarely does a state champion drop in classification, but that’s the case for Sandy Creek, which went 14-1 in AAAA last season. Sandy Creek returns its quarterback, Ronnie Bell, and figures to challenge defending champ
Peach County
of Fort Valley for the title. Those two figure to be ranked 1-2 in the preseason.
Warner Robins
(AAAA):
If Northside is the preseason No. 1 in AAAA, then crosstown rival Warner Robins must be close. The Demons defeated Northside last season, although they finished 6-4 and were the best team in Georgia not to make the playoffs in 2009. Warner Robins won a state title in AAAA as recently as 2004.
Westside
, Macon (AAA):
Westside has reached the quarterfinals in AAAA each of the past two seasons. Defending champion Peach County comes to Macon to play Westside on Sept. 24. Expect both of these middle Georgia schools to be ranked in the top five in the preseason rankings.
Schools dropping into AAAA:
Chapel Hill (Douglasville)
Chattahoochee
Creekside (Fairburn)
Douglass (Atlanta)
East Paulding (Dallas)
Greenbrier (Evans)
Houston County (Warner Robins)
Kell
Lovejoy
Morrow
Mundy’s Mill (Jonesboro)
Northside
Pope
Redan (Stone Mountain)
Riverdale
South Forsyth (Cumming)
Union Grove (McDonough)
Warner Robins
Schools dropping into AAA:
Allatoona (Acworth)
Americus-Sumter
Butler (Augusta)
Cross Creek (Augusta)
Dalton
Glenn Hills (Augusta)
Grovetown
Harlem
Hephzibah
Josey (Augusta)
Monroe Area
Murray County (Chatsworth)
North Springs (Atlanta)
Richmond Academy
Sandy Creek
Stockbridge
Stone Mountain
Westside (Augusta)
Westside (Macon)
Schools dropping into AA:
Carver (Columbus)
Clarkston
East Hall (Gainesville)
Elbert County (Elberton)
Hart County
Jackson County (Jefferson)
Kendrick (Columbus)
Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe
Maynard Jackson
Morgan County
North Murray (Chatsworth)
South Atlanta
Therrell (Atlanta)
Schools dropping into A:
Charlton County (Folkston)
Macon County (Montezuma)
Mitchell County (Camilla)
Riverside Military (Gainesville)
Schools moving up to AAAAA:
Archer
Benedictine
Hillgrove
Langston Hughes
Mountain View
West Forsyth
Schools moving up to AAAA:
Carver (Atlanta)
Creekview (Canton)
Dunwoody
Flowery Branch
Johns Creek
Lambert (Suwanee)
Liberty County (Hinesville)
Northside (Columbus)
Richmond Hill
Woodland (Stockbridge)
Schools moving up to AAA:
Central (Macon)
Henry County (McDonough)
Howard
Walnut Grove
School moving up to AA:
River Ridge (Woodstock)
Related Content
Georgia Football Scores
Georgia Football Stat Leaders
Georgia Football Playoffs
Georgia Football Rankings