Three of the most successful football programs in northwest Georgia will be moving into Region 5-AAAAAA this fall.
Perennial playoff contender Dalton will move over from Region 6-AAAAAA and traditional state powers Carrollton and Rome will move up from Class AAAAA as part of a massive overhaul of Region 5 as a result of the GHSA’s reclassification that will take effect for the 2020-2021 school year.
Those three schools will be among five (East Paulding and Paulding County are the others) moving into the region to replace the six teams that moved out. The departing schools include defending region champion Mays (dropped to Class AAAA), Hughes (moved to Region 4) and four schools that dropped to Class AAAAA (Creekside, Northgate, New Manchester and Tri-Cities).
Carrollton will come in as the favorite for the 2020 season. The Trojans went 12-1 last year and reached the Class AAAAA quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season. They also have three players among the top 50 seniors in the 247Sports Composite rankings – linebackers Chaz Chambliss (No. 24) and Chief Borders (No. 25) and defensive end Khristian Zachary (No. 43). The Trojans had the No. 2 offense (37.31 points per game) and No. 7 defense (14.08) in Class AAAAA last season. Carrollton ranks No. 7 in state history in victories (685) and tenth in state championships (seven).
Rome will enter the season with fewer high-profile prospects than the Trojans but will be building off of even better numbers than Carrollton posted last year. Rome averaged a Class AAAAA-best 38.58 points per game and ranked fourth in points allowed (12.75). Rome lost at Carrollton 24-20 last September in a 7-AAAAA game that ultimately decided the region championship. Rome, formed in 1992 by the consolidation of former state powers East Rome and West Rome, has won 70 percent of its games (229-98-1) over its 28 seasons and captured state championships in 2016 and 2017.
Dalton brings a tradition that includes winning records every year except one since 1959. The Catamounts’ only losing record during that time came in 2011, when forfeits of four games that they won by an average of 32 points turned an 8-3 season into a 4-7 year. The Catamounts finished fourth last season in 6-AAAAAA, a region that included state champion Harrison and runner-up Allatoona. The Catamounts were led by running back Jahmyr Gibbs, the Class AAAAAA offensive player of the year and a Georgia Tech signee. Dalton’s other first-team all-region players, offensive lineman Osbaldo Beltran and defensive lineman Christian Lama, also were seniors.
East Paulding and Paulding County will join Carrollton and Rome in the move up from Region 7-AAAAA. East Paulding went 19-23 overall in the four seasons since joining that region and made the playoffs in 2018, reaching the second round. Paulding County went 13-28 in that span, earning a playoff berth in 2017. The Patriots return the top-rated player among Class AAAAAA seniors – linebacker/running back Smael Mondon is No. 3 in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Only three schools that were in 5-AAAAAA will be back, but they are three pretty good ones.
South Paulding, which had some leans year since three consecutive trips to the playoffs from 2013 to 2015, experienced one of the biggest turnarounds in the state last year, improving to 9-3 from a 2-8 season in 2018. The Spartans finished second in the region behind Mays and reached the second round of the playoffs. This year, they’ll have to find replacements for the region co-player of the year (wide receiver Parker Self) and offensive player of the year (quarterback Austin Seymour).
Alexander, which finished in fourth place last year, went 6-5 and reached the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons. Led by three first-team all-region players – quarterback Blake Hembree and receivers Jordan Watts and Cooper Abernathy – the Cougars averaged a region-best 36.09 points per game. Only Abernathy from that group returns, as does first-team all-region linebacker Wesley Smith.
Douglas County took a small step back last year, finishing 5-5 overall and in fifth place in the region after back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018. However, the Tigers return six players who made first-team all-region, including defensive lineman Jonathan Jefferson, an honorable mention all-state selection. Jefferson is a four-star prospect ranked No. 12 among Georgia seniors and No. 13 among strongside defensive ends nationally. He has committed to Georgia.
2019 Region 5-AAAAAA standings
Team / Overall record / Region record / Playoff result
Mays (moving to 6-AAAA) / 10-2 / 8-0 / Lost to Coffee 59-36 in second round
South Paulding / 9-3 / 7-1 / Lost to Houston County 38-22 in second round
Creekside (moving to 3-AAAAA) / 7-5 / 6-2 / Lost to Lee County 49-7 in second round
Alexander / 6-5 / 5-3 / Lost to Johns Creek 59-34 in first round
Douglas County / 5-5 / 4-4 / Did not make playoffs
Northgate (moving to 2-AAAAA) / 3-7 / 3-5 / Did not make playoffs
Hughes (moving to 4-AAAAAA) / 2-8 / 2-6 / Did not make playoffs
New Manchester (moving to 6-AAAAA) / 2-8 / 1-7 / Did not make playoffs
Tri-Cities (moving to 3-AAAAA) / 0-10 / 0-8 / Did not make playoffs
(Teams moving in)
Carrollton (from 7-AAAAA) / 12-1 / 8-0 / Lost to Buford 24-21 in quarterfinals
Dalton (from 6-AAAAAA) / 7-4 / 5-3 / Lost to Dacula 49-18 in first round
East Paulding (from 7-AAAAA) / 4-6 / 4-4 / Did not make playoffs
Paulding County (from 7-AAAAA) / 3-7 / 2-6 / Did not make playoffs
Rome (from 7-AAAAA) / 9-3 / 7-1 / Lost to Warner Robins 25-17 in second round
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