THOMASTON — Flowery Branch, Jefferson and Union County high schools each saw their athletic classifications change for the next two school years as the Georgia High School Association's Reclassification and Executive Committees met on Monday in Thomaston.
The GHSA's reclassification mid-cycle adjustment provided the opportunity for changes throughout the state in the case of schools that had seen their enrollment (FTE numbers) change significantly -- via district lines shifting and/or new schools being added to their systems -- or in the case of schools that had opted to "play up" (in classifications higher than their FTE numbers) or were effected by the "3 percent" rule (applied to schools whose enrollments included more than 3 percent of students from outside their district lines). These were the only changes made that will directly affect northeast Georgia schools.
(NOTE: For a look at region line-ups as they will be in 2018-19 and 2019-2020 school years for effected northeast Georgia schools, scroll down.)
Both Jefferson -- effected by the 3 percent rule -- and Union County -- playing up in Class AAA for the past two years -- won appeals to play in smaller classifications. Flowery Branch, meanwhile, discovered it will play in Region 7-AAAA in 2018-19 and 2019-2020.
The Falcons -- whose enrollment will drop significantly with the opening of Cherokee Bluff (which will play in Region 7-AAA) in next school year -- will drop down from Region 8-AAAAA, where they have competed for the last six seasons, and will join Chestatee, West Hall and White County, as well as Blessed Trinity, Marist and new Forsyth County school Denmark in the re-shaped 7-AAAA.
"There's some great rivalries there in that region with Chestatee and West Hall right here in Hall County, and we're excited about that," Falcons athletic director Jimmy Lawler said.
Certainly there are some natural rivalries within the changes enacted for Jefferson and Union County as well.
The Dragons, whose 2017 FTE numbers includes 1,103 students, will move down to Region 8-AAA, where they will join local foes East Jackson and Jackson County, as well as Franklin County, Hart County, Monroe Area and Morgan County.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are going back to their roots as a member of Region 8-AA, where they competed from 2000-2015 (as well as other earlier stints). Union County, which opted to play up in Region 7-AAA for the last two seasons, has a 2017 FTE count of 836 students.
"For us it was monetary," Union County High Principal C.T. Hussion said. "We were competitive in athletics, but we were not getting the gates that we had hoped when we made the decision to play up two years ago. From a football standpoint we were down $10,000 -- which may not sound like much, but that's 20 percent of our gate receipts for the year."
The Panthers hoped that travel times and costs in 7-AAA would prove advantageous in a league not as widespread as 8-AA -- which includes Putnam County and Monticello, as well as longtime mountain rival Rabun County -- but they saw that was not necessarily the case due to increased travel dates.
"We can play double headers in sports like baseball instead of going back to a school like North Hall or East Hall two-three times in a week, so it will enable us to offset some of the distance traveled," Hussion said. "We'll also still be able to schedule old mountain rivals like Fannin County, Gilmer and Towns County non-region."
The three rulings will also force changes to the regions those schools leave behind, as other programs now look to fill schedules. Not every region in northeast Georgia will be effected, Regions 5-AAAAAAA, 6-AAAAAAA, 8-AAAAAA and 8-A require no alterations.
NORTHEAST GEORGIA REGIONS UNDERGOING CHANGES
These regions are for the 2018-19, 2019-2020 school years
(Area schools in bold)
REGION 8-AAAAA
Buford
Cedar Shoals
Clarke Central
Johnson
Loganville
Walnut Grove
REGION 7-AAAA
Blessed Trinity
Chestatee
Denmark
Flowery Branch
Marist
West Hall
White County
REGION 8-AAAA
Madison County
North Oconee
Oconee County
St. Pius
Stephens County
REGION 7-AAA
Cherokee Bluff
Dawson County
East Hall
Fannin County
Greater Atlanta Christian
Lumpkin County
North Hall
REGION 8-AAA
East Jackson
Franklin County
Hart County
Jackson County
Jefferson
Monroe Area
Morgan County
REGION 8-AA
Banks County
Elbert County
Monticello
Oglethorpe County
Putnam County
Rabun County
Social Circle
Union County
