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RECLASSIFICATION OUTLOOK
 
 Craig Sager II gives a rundown of some of the notable reclassification moves and how they'll affect the football season. Also, see our story on former Lanier athletic director and head football coach Billy Wells, who has become AD and asst. principal at North Hall.
 

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In This Issue
Trivia
2014-16 Class AA Regions 5-8 Alignment
GHSA Reclassification
Recruiting Update
Top Stories
Trivia
Question: 
Of the 14 football state champions in the past two seasons, how many were first-time champs?

Today's answer can  
be found in the newsletter!
 
Last Week's Answer: 
Marist offensive lineman Sage Hardin recently became UGA's 14th Class of 2015 commitment.
GHSA 2014-16 REGIONS

 

CLASS AAA

 

REGION 1

 

Sub-region A

Appling County 

Brantley County 

Cook (FB only) 

Dodge County 

Pierce County 

Toombs County 

Tattnall County

  

Sub-region B 

Beach
Islands
Jenkins
Johnson, Savannah 

Savannah 

Savannah Arts 

Southeast Bulloch 

 

 

REGION 2

 

Sub-region A

Jordan 

Kendrick 

Peach County 

Spencer

  

Sub-region B 

Central-Macon 

Jackson
Rutland 

Southwest-Macon

Westside-Macon 

 

 

REGION 3

 

 

Butler

Davidson Fine Arts
Glenn Hills
Hephzibah
Johnson-Augusta
Josey
Laney
Technical Career Magnet Washington County
Westside-Augusta 

 

 

REGION 4

 

Sub-region A

Cedar Grove

Jackson-Atlanta

McNair

North Clayton

South Atlanta

Towers

 

Sub-region B

Blessed Trinity

Coretta Scott King

Decatur

Douglass-Atlanta

Therrell

Washington

Westminster 

 

 

 





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Tuesday, July 8, 2014


BREAKING NEWS
By Craig Sager II
Lanier head coach takes job at North Hall

 

Lanier head football coach and athletic director Billy Wells has accepted the AD and assistant principal roles at North Hall after spending four years with the Longhorns. Wells stepped into his role at Lanier during the school's opening in 2010 and led the young

Lanier High School

program to a 17-10 record including a 9-3 finish last year and the school's first playoff appearance and victories.

 

Wells resides with his family in North Hall and when the doors opened for the job, it was a decision he felt was best for he and his family.

 

"I live in (the North Hall) community. It's been a good place to live," Wells told the Gwinnett Daily Post. "My kids go to school up there. It's a great area, a great school system, the athletic programs have done well the last few years. ...The pieces just came together."

 

The 32-mile commute down 985 to the Sugar Hill campus was not the ultimate factor, but taking the job with the Trojans will make it a lot more convenient for Wells, who has coached in Gwinnett County for the past 16 years.

 

Lanier opens its season at Lambert on Aug. 29 and is searching for both a head coach and athletic director for the first time since the school opened. 

 


RECLASSIFICATION OUTLOOK
By Craig Sager II
Realignment boosts competition statewide

 

 

We are less than six weeks from Georgia's newly classified regions opening up the 2014-15 school year and there are shifts and changes that set up must-see matchups this upcoming school year.

 

Reclassification drives competition. Prior to the 2012-13 school year, the GHSA expanded to a sixth classification for the first time in its history while also splitting Class A into separate private and public postseasons. This growth and change introduced a new era within the Georgia high school football landscape. 

 

In the first two years under the newly-formed system we saw seven of 14 football state champions

Photo by Perry McIntyre

win titles for the first time in their school's history. The GHSA had crowned 294 football state champions in its 64 season before the 2012 reclassification and yet half of the champions in the last two seasons had never won the state crown before (Norcross, Gainesville, Jefferson, ELCA, Aquinas, Creekside, Marion County).

 

Changes create fresh starts for programs and the massive restructuring in 2012 provided every team in the state with a formula to pin to the bulletin board and use as motivation entering the new season. An individual team may be driven by a heartbreaking loss that ended the previous season but reclassification has the power to motivate on a state-wide scale. 

 

POWERS COLLIDE

 

Throughout Georgia high school football history, certain teams have overmatched their region opponents. With reclassification, you can bet that eventually these powerhouses will cross paths with equal competition. This was certainly the case with Camden County, which joined arguably the state's most competitive region last year. 

 

Before 2012, Camden County was unchallenged in its region play. The Wildcats owned a streak of 94 consecutive region wins before entering the newly-formed Region 1-AAAAAA. 

 

In the final region game of 2012, Colquitt County topped Camden 13-12 and served the Wildcats their first region loss since the 1999 season. It took just one year in the realignment to end a streak that had lasted nearly 13 years.

 

Tucker is accustomed to playing in a highly-competitive region and they face a new challenge as the school returns to Georgia's highest classification after spending the last two years in Class AAAAA.

 

The Tigers' jump ignites their rivalry with Lovejoy and they'll open the season on opening week's biggest stage in the 2014 Corky Kell Classic against defending Class AAAAAA state champion Norcross. The biggest game of Tucker's season might come later with a visit to Lovejoy on Halloween. Tucker beat Lovejoy 22-7 in the 2011 Class AAAAA state championship game when Class AAAAA was still the highest classification. Both schools lost in the state championship during their two years in different classifications.

 

NOTEWORTHY MOVES

 

There are plenty of storylines to watch for with the 2014-16 changes. Region 1-AAAAAA lost Coffee and Brunswick to Class AAAAA and will add Lee County. Camden County will remain in Region 1 for football only. 

Region 3 saw movement as Tri-Cities dropped a classification and Campbell, Pebblebrook and Westlake moved in.

 

Region 4 traded Campbell and Pebblebrook for North Paulding and Region 5 added Pope while Region 6 added Habersham Central and Northview

 

In Class AAAAA, Region 1 got a make-over with LaGrange, Carver-Columbus and Shaw. Current AAAAAA Coffee and Brunswick are now classed into Region 3 in a sub-region with Camden County, Glynn Academy and Ware County.  Region 6 will divide a total of 12 teams into sub-regions with M.L. King, Miller Grove, Stephenson and Southwest DeKalb all housed in subregion A.

 

Region 5-AAAA welcomes Woodward Academy, which is moving up from Class AAA. Carrollton, Fayette County, Sandy Creek, Troup, Whitewater and Woodward Academy comprise a solid Region 5. 

 

St. Pius X has a new Class AAAA home and will be in Region 6 with long-time rival Marist and the pair are joined by Arabia Mountain, Chamblee, Columbia, Cross Keys, Grady, Lithonia, Redan and Stone Mountain

 

Region 7 welcomes newcomer (from Class AAA) Cartersville in a field with Gilmer, Heritage-Catoosa, Lafayette, Northwest Whitfield, Pickens, Ridgeland and Southeast Whitfield

 

Buford will be in

Photo by North Oconee HS

a nine-team Region 8 with Chestatee, Johnson-Gainesville, Madison County, Monroe Area, North Hall, North Oconee, Stephens County and White County

 

Calhoun, Jefferson and Westminster are notable schools moving up to Class AAA in 2014. Reclassification will impact every sport but football will give the first-hand look this fall.

 


KIDS & PROS
Kids & Pros brings two camps to Gwinnett

 

 

Former Atlanta Falcons Linebacker, Buddy Curry, in conjunction with Kids & Pros  Inc., and the Ingram Family and Donors, will host a free Youth Football Day in Gwinnett at Rhodes Jordan Park, Saturday, July 19 from 9 - Noon in memory of a very special young man with a passion for football, Brian Ingram.

    

The Kids & Pros Gwinnett Clinic is being offered free of charge to youth in the area, due to special funding by the Ingram family and their donors, in memory of Brian. 

 

"We wanted to do something in my brother's memory that supported his loves of football and working with children," said Liz Stiebel, Brian Ingram's sister.   

"Since Brian was a camp counselor, we thought this would be a wonderful tribute to him, to donate to Kids & Pros in his memory, to have his legacy live on, and help kids in need have the opportunity to attend a camp this summer."  

 

The donation the Ingram family is making to Kids & Pros will support this Gwinnett clinic, as well as provide camperships to kids in need to attend a football camp in metro Atlanta over the next year. To learn more about Brian or to make a donation to his fund, please visit his page at:  https://www.crowdrise.com/brianingrammemorialfund

 

In addition to the clinic, there will also be a free parent information session open to all Gwinnett County youth recreation and school coaches and parents interested in learning more about the following: the impact as a coach as a role model, character building through football and cheerleading, equipment fitting, concussion avoidance, and Heads Up FootballSM (the steps of proper football tackling technique and other skills to avoid injuries).

 

Former NFL players will be on hand to help lead the drills and the sessions at the clinic.  The clinics are brought to the city of Lawrenceville, compliments of the Ingram family and their donors, and supported in part by the Central Gwinnett High School Football program and Gwinnett Parks and Recreation. 

 

Curry, a USA Football Master Trainer, incorporates safe tackling techniques from USA Football's Heads Up FootballSM  program into his clinics along with life skill lessons.  The safe, non-contact football instruction teaches campers, parents and coaches the right way to play and how to avoid injuries, like concussions.

 

Space is limited for this event; athletes and parents interested in the event must RSVP on the Kids & Pros website by July 17, 2014 at kidsandpros.com; under the camps and clinics tab

 

http://kidsandpros.com/2014/06/20/kids-pros-rhodes-jordan-clinic-registration-july-19/

  

 

SEE INFORMATION ON THE JULY 20TH CAMP BELOW



 

 

Kids & Pros, Inc. is a non-profit organization, started in 2002 by former Atlanta Falcons Bobby Butler and Buddy Curry in order to teach character and skills through athletics. Through its unique football experience and combination of athletics and wellness education, the organization now provides weekly youth football camps, clinics and football safety training across the Southeast. 

 

Kids & Pros is an official LICENSED PARTNER OF HEADS UP FOOTBALL. For more information on Kids & Pros, Inc., please log onto our website at  www.kidsandpros.com , follow us on twitter @kidnpros, or connect with us on Facebook at Kids & Pros, Inc.

 



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