The GHSA voted yesterday to expand from the current 5-class structure to a new 6-class structure beginning with the 2012-13 school year. According to 2010 enrollment figures (which were used in the current classification cycle), here is where local schools will are projected to be placed. Remember, the initial re-classification process won't start until Fall 2011 enrollment numbers are submitted, so this could all change.
6A: Camden, Bradwell
5A: Brunswick, Glynn, Effingham
4A: Jenkins, Windsor, Groves, Johnson, Richmond Hill, South Effingham, Statesboro, Wayne, Ware, Liberty
3A: Beach, Savannah High
2A: BC, Sav. Christian, MCA, Claxton, Metter, Long, Screven
This is a golden opportunity for the public schools to form a solid 4A region, with Beach and SHS playing up.
BC will have some options, depending on what the public schools do. If the public schools continue to ride Camden's coattails up to 6A, I don't think BC will follow. If a Savannah-based 4A region is formed, that could be very appealing. Playing in 2A with SCPS is not a bad option either, considering that looks like it could be a small region and we would have room to schedule a few non-region games.
There is still something to be said, however, about being "above" the Savannah private schools, even if it is only perception. But to the average fan, perception is reality.
On the flip side, having SCPS on the schedule (and possibly Calvary and SCDS as non-region games) would draw huge gates and develop into real rivalries (SHS is now only a rivalry in the historical sense).
It will be very interesting to see what happens...
6 comments:
What about Memorial and Bible Baptist? What are the cracker implications? What about St. Andrews, the SCDS wannabes?
This should be a great break for BC judging by the fact that no Savannah city schools would have ever left AAAAA. This situation presents the best of both worlds for BC.
Playing AA allows the opportunity to be competitive in the state in every sport. This much is obvious.
Playing in a small region allows for four non-region games every year. We can schedule Savannah High, Windsor, and Johnson every year and still have the opportunity to add Groves, Beach, or an Atlanta School depending on the season. This allows for the constant reminder to every elite middle school athlete who is playing city football that every public school in Savannah is consistently being beaten by BC.
The old argument that simply being classified above the other private schools gives BC some kind of edge is ridiculous. No one in Savannah or the state of Georgia recognizes the Savannah AAAAA region as being anything but a mess.
Now all of this is made complicated by how big the AAAA region becomes. Assuming Beach and Savannah High play up to wherever the other city schools go, would we see a sub region? If not, it may be difficult to consistently find three or four Savannah city schools to add to the schedule every year.
No matter what classification we end up in, we will still be above every private school in Savannah and still wayyyyy above all the public school.
What will we be "above" the other schools in? Assuming we are talking about high school football, we are far and away a worse program right now than Christian, significantly worse than Windsor and Jenkins, and possibly worse than Johnson and Groves.
The attitude that we are better than every other school simply by default can only take you so far. It may give alumni a reason to justify continued support, but no one from the outside looking in sees BC football that way any longer.
We need to do whatever the public schools decide to do. That always has been and always will be the correct position.
I don't know Pat. Getting out of what is labeled as the joke region of the entire state, yet still maintaining the traditional rivalries and geting the press from beating the SAV public schools seems like a good deal. Especially when you combine it with a realistic shot of advancing in the state playoffs in most sports.
But staying with the SAV schools if they drop to AAAA would be okay with me. The thing is, Groves is the lone school that would remain in AAAAA by numbers, likely dragging all of the others up too.
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