Credit: Todd Holcomb
Credit: Todd Holcomb
The GHSA recently released football schedules for the 2016 season. This is the sixth in a series of articles on some of the schedule’s interesting features. Today, we look at Class AA in 10 blurbs.
-Class AA is free of private schools in football, except for Benedictine, which was controversially allowed to stay. That's a long story (read it here), but the GHSA essentially allowed the Cadets to escape the GHSA's 3-percent rule that moved up other AA privates such as Lovett and Greater Atlanta Christian because Benedictine is a single-gender (all-boys) school. Nonetheless, Class AA is quite different without Lovett, GAC and 2015 champion Pace Academy, not to mention Wesleyan, Holy Innocents' and Darlington. It's weaker, but more palatable for long-suffering public schools that struggle to win state titles in any sport, including football, which has been won by AA privates the past three seasons. Note that Dublin (2006) is only public school to win AA since 2000 that is still in AA.
-Benedictine, still a threat to keep the private-school streak alive, will face Glynn Academy (AAAAA runner-up last season), St. Pius (AAAA quarterfinals) and Southeast Bulloch (AAA playoff team) to get ready for a region it will be expected to win. Vidalia, which is 2-2 against Benedictine the past two seasons, is certainly a region-title contender, too.
-Fitzgerald, the Class AA runner-up last season to Pace Academy, is probably the team to beat statewide. Fitzgerald is playing Rockdale County and Tift County from AAAAAAA (7A) and Smiths Station, a good Class 7A program in Alabama, in pre-region. Fitzgerald’s region, 1-AA, is the best in AA. Brooks County (10-3 in 2015) beat Fitzgerald in the regular season last year and is the defending champion. Early County (7-4-1) also is capable, and Thomasville won’t be down for long.
-Washington County, the 2014 AAA runner-up, is back in AA but getting ready for Region 3 by playing bigger schools Jones County, Burke County, Baldwin and Evans. Based on last season, when Waco fell off to 5-6, Dodge County would be the region favorite. The Indians were 11-1 in AAA in 2015.
-Jefferson County, an 11-3 finisher last season, joins Fitzgerald as one of the preseason favorites. Jeffco lost to Fitzgerald 40-20 in the AA semifinals last season. Jefferson County’s Region 4 is tougher than it looks. Screven County has gone 10-2 three of the past four seasons, and underappreciated Laney was 8-3 in AAA last season. Jefferson County plays Screven County in the season finale.
-Speaking of Laney, the Wildcats have the most interesting schedule in 4-AAA. Laney opens with Thomson, then plays Aquinas for the first time since the 1970s. With Aquinas’ emergence as a state power in Class A, this will be a fun public-private matchup that might serve as the unofficial city championship of Augusta.
-Region 5 could be sneaky good. Callaway, Spencer, Heard County and Lamar County are all probably top-15 teams if they maintain their recent level.
-Region 6 won’t be all that good, frankly, but it should be fun for those involved. This region formerly housed private-school powers Lovett, Pace Academy and Greater Atlanta Christian. They’re gone. It’s now an Atlanta/South Fulton region of Washington, Douglass, Therrell, Hapeville Charter, KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, South Atlanta and BEST Academy. Four of the seven have never won a region title. The last region title in the group was won by Washington, in 2005. Some aren’t afraid to schedule tough pre-region opponents. Washington is playing Newnan and Mary Persons. Douglass is playing its opener at Calhoun. Hapeville is playing Pace Academy and Cartersville. Hapeville’s William Poole III, a four-star cornerback recruit, will be defending against Cartersville’s Trevor Lawrence, the top-rated junior QB in the nation.
-Model nearly won Region 7-AA last year but finished second to Darlington. It would’ve been Model’s first region title since 1979. Now, Darlington is out of the picture, leaving Model as perhaps the team to beat in a region that includes Pepperell, Chattooga and Dade County.
-Elbert County (10-3 in AAA) and Rabun County (11-2 in AA) have never played each other in football. Now, they are Region 8-AA rivals and co-state contenders, although it must be pointed out that each will be losing franchise players to graduation (Elbert County’s Mecole Hardman and Rabun County’s Charlie Woerner). Rabun will play at Elbert on Oct. 21.
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