The GHSA is holding meetings regarding different proposals for the upcoming reclassification in 2016. The populations of the school, travel, time out of class and playoff spots are the main factors when it comes to sorting out the regions and classes each reclassification cycle.

Photo by Sonny Kennedy

And what this year's discussions are proving is that everyone wants to make the playoffs. This year's discussions are pushing for new change with the creation of a "Big 44". 

The driving force of making a Big 44 is to separate the Class AAAAAA giants that have enrollments nearly doubling other Class AAAAAA schools.

The Big 44 will be a classification consisting of approximately 44 of the biggest schools in the state in terms of enrollment and would be known as Class AAAAAA. 

Playoffs could look very different under this hierarchy because the plan is to still send 32 teams to the playoffs in sports like football. Using power rankings for the playoffs is something that is being addressed within the proposal as well.  Most of the talk surrounding Class A has been similar to the current divided Class A-Private and Class A-Public structure, so that leaves us with the big question. What do you do with the remaining schools in the middle?

Based on the math of having a Big 44 and keeping the current Class A structure, that will leave approximately 300 schools to be divided within classifications. GHSA executive committee member Dave Hunter suggests keeping the remaining teams in a traditional eight region, Class AA-AAAAA structure, but committee chair Earl Etheridge is proposing a tiered system to house the schools.  Etheridge's tiered system would create three classes in the middle with each one having an upper tier and lower tier. The tier's would be based off school size and play separate championships.

Under Hunter's proposal, the GHSA would continue to crown seven state champions in football, but Etheridge's would result in nine state champions each year. In sports with both genders like basketball, that would be 18 state title games.

Whatever structure is decided on, the other issues being discussed include out of zone students, selective enrollment and permissive transfers. All decisions must be made by August.

No. 3 seed Walton girls advanced to the Class AAAAAA state lacrosse championship for the second straight year with an 8-5 win over host Lassiter Tuesday night. The Raiders were facing Lassiter in the semifinals for the third straight year and with just two seniors on this year's roster were placed in a rematch of a Trojan team that handed them a 16-10 defeat at home on April 22.

 Walton never trailed and after piling

Photo by Craig Sager II

on a 3-0 advantage with a pair of goals from Erin McBride and one from Hunter Corvin 7:26 into the first half, had the lead they needed to control the game and keep the ball out of Lassiter's possession.

"We basically just ran a completely different game strategy than the last time we played them," explained Walton head coach Mandy Ryan. "More of a control game and we are a run and gun team so that was something completely different."

Lassiter was coming off a 16-4 quarterfinal victory over North Gwinnett and its lowest goal total this season against instate opponents before the semis was nine against No. 1 Milton. The Trojans managed just two first half goals in Tuesday's defeat and were down 8-3 until two late goals in the last seven minutes of the game.

"We wanted to control the pace from the get go and we know that Lassiter runs a zone so if we didn't go at them, then they had no chance to squash us with their zone," said Ryan. "So we just waited for them to make a mistake."

Walton extended its 4-2 halftime lead with a Carly White goal less than three minutes into the second half and after keeping the possession for much of the next 10 minutes of action, Erin McBride completed her hat trick with 9:28 left to grow the lead to 7-3. Summer Santivanez scored with 7:11 left in the game to put Walton up 8-3.

Protecting the Walton goal was sophomore Ashley Asbury, which also held Harrison to five goals in last Friday's 17-5 quarterfinal victory.

Nine-time state champion Milton awaits the third-seeded Raiders in the finals. The Eagles dominated in the semifinals Tuesday night and ran away with a 23-10 victory over Chattahoochee.

Boys

Class A-AAAAA

Westminster 13, Cambridge 1: Westminster opened up an 8-0 halftime lead over the host Bears and received a seven-goal

Photo by Craig Sager II

scoring performance from Blake Davis as they cruised into the Class A-AAAAA state title game. Westminster's Chase Williams contributed a hat trick, with all three goals coming in the first half. The Wildcats' defense is on a record pace, and after outscoring Blessed Trinity and Benedictine a combined 31-1 in the first two rounds, Westminster holds a 44-2 scoring edge entering Saturday's finals matchup with Lovett (14-10 winners over Allatoona on Tuesday).

Boys

Class AAAAAA

Duluth 1, Alpharetta 0 : Duluth goalkeeper Edgar Mozo had two saves to shut out second-seeded Alpharetta to advance in the AAAAAA tournament. Duluth allowed only two shots on goal all game, both in the first half. Carlos Delarosa scored the winning goal from 12-yards out in the 20th minute and was assisted by a feed from Hector Peralta. Duluth awaits the winner of the Brookwood vs. Parkview match, which will be played Wednesday night.

Class AAAAA

Dalton 6, Greenbrier 0: No. 1 seeded Dalton took advantage of a strong offensive presence to take care of No. 2 seeded Greenbrier and advance in the AAAAA state tournament. Dalton found goals from four players in the romp. Kobe Perez scored at the 27th minute and converted a penalty-kick at the 59th minute. Isai Hernandez added two goals at the 33rd and 55th minute. Hernandez assisted Gibby Perez on a two-yard goal in the 36th minute, while Justen Macias scored in the 48th minute.

Allatoona 1, Riverwood 0 : Allatoona Goalkeeper Matt Escodo amassed nine saves and denied one penalty kick in the win against Riverwood in the AAAAA tournament. Chris Udave scored the game-winning penalty kick to advance Allatoona to Macon to face Dalton on Thursday.

Class AAAA

St. Pius X 5, Woodward Academy 2 : St. Pius X clawed back after being down early, to overcome Woodward

Photo by Billy Laube

Academy and advance to the Class AAAA state championship. St. Pius found itself down 2-1 with 20 minutes left in the half. The lone goal came from Edmundo Robinson 15 minutes into the match. Luc Tatberg tagged a goal, with 17 minutes left in the half to tie the game. Robinson added another goal with 10 minutes left to give the Golden Lions a 3-2 lead at halftime. St. Pius' Austin Fain scored with 20 minutes left and Louie Aponte added the final goal with eight minutes to go. St. Pius faces Cross Keys Thursday.

Class AAA

West Hall 2, Oconee County 0: West Hall goalkeepers Cesar Villa and Jamie Hernandez stood like stonewalls in the shutout of Oconee County. West Hall's Richie Castruita scored on a six-yard try with 21 minutes left in the opening half. Bradley Hodgson's long attempt, with 13 minutes left in the half, was aided by the Oconee County goalkeeper who bobbled the ball allowing the final goal.

Class AA

Wesleyan 3, Pace 1: Pace led early and looked strong, but three quick Wesleyan goals late in the match secured the win. Pace's Ethan Robinson scored in the 33rd minute to apply pressure. Wesleyan answered quickly as Will Sharon scored in the 46th minute and then teammate Grant Saver added a goal two minutes later. Abraham Lopez tacked on the final goal at the 76th minute to put the game away.

Greater Atlanta Christian 7, Thomasville 1 : Greater Atlanta had from five different scorers in the rout of Thomasville in the AA tournament. Nate Beam scored three goals for GAC. Bennie Harris, Oscar Vanegas, Michael Williams and Sebastian Gomez each added one goal. Will Hamryka came away with three assists, Harris had two assists and Drew Johnson added one assist. Greater Atlanta faces Wesleyan  Friday in the state championship.

Class A

Atlanta International 4, St. Anne Pacelli 1: Atlanta International's Tomas Perez scored three times in the win against St Anne Pacelli. Perez scored at 7 minutes, 22 minutes and 50 minutes. Nick Rath added a goal for Atlanta International at the 40th minute. Atlanta International moves to play Stratford on Thursday at Mercer University in Macon.

Girls

Class AAAAAA

Grayson 2, Peachtree Ridge 0: Jennifer Westendorf propelled the Lady Rams into the Class AAAAAA state finals after scoring a pair of goals. Westendorf scored in the 19th minute and later scored in the 57th to seal the Lady Lions' fate.

Lambert 1, Lassiter 0: The Lady Longhorns advance to their first ever state championship in Class AAAAAA after shutting out Lassiter. Maggie Hanusek scored the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute off an Emily Haugen assist. Lambert will meet Grayson for the title.

Class AAAAA

Starr's Mill 4, Greenbrier 2: The Lady Panthers scored four unanswered 

goals to come from behind and overtake the Lady Wolfpack in Class AAAAA. Natalie Thompson scored for Greenbrier on a header in the 18th minute and in the 28th minute the Lady Wolfpack would score off a corner kick own goal. Riley Clark scored the first of her three goals with seven minutes remaining on a header off a Lauren Yoss corner. Clark scored again early in the second half to tie the game. Kayla Feigenbaum scored the go-ahead goal in the 45th minute while Clark added a late header.

Northgate 2, North Atlanta 1 (PKs): Katie Mitchell netted a goal in the 38th minute to give the Lady Vikings a 1-0 lead at the half. The Lady Warriors scored a dramatic game-tying goal in the final minute to force overtime. After a scoreless overtime, Northgate prevailed in penalty kicks 5-4. Goal keeper Taylor DeLoach stopped North Atlanta's second attempt and later scored on her own attempt to win the match. Northgate now faces Region 4-AAAAA rival Starr's Mill in the finals.

Class AAAA

St. Pius 5, Whitewater 0: Emory Wegner shutout the Lady Wildcats and Anya Mancinelli supplied a hat trick to carry the Golden Lions into the finals for yet another year. Melissa Pagoaga and Teagan Thompson both added goals in the victory. St. Pius aims for a three-peat this Thursday; this time in 

Class AAAA.

Marist 5, Woodward Academy 0: The Lady War Eagles advance to the state finals for a shot at their third consecutive championship after overpowering Woodward Academy. Natalie Northrop gave Marist a 1-0 lead at the half before Kelsey Carrier and Katie MacGinnitie took over. Both chipped in two goals apiece to secure the win. Carlin Zaprowski made some big saves in the first half and stopped a penalty kick to preserve the shutout. Marist now faces Class AAAA newcomer St. Pius in the state championship.

Class AAA

Westminster 6, Decatur 1: Five different Lady Wildcats scored in a rout of Decatur. Ella Shamburger, Sarah Lawrence McGwill and Elizabeth Izlar all scored in the first half. Delaney Graham chipped in a goal and Logue Shamburger added two in the second half. Westminster now will play Blessed Trinity in the Class AAA championship.

Class AA

Greater Atlanta Christian 3, Holy Innocents' 0: Senior Halle Huff's two second-half goals powered the Lady Spartans into the state finals. Kaylann Boyd kicked off the scoring with a blast in the 23rd minute in the first half to give Greater Atlanta Christian a lead. Reagan Glisson added an assist. The Lady Spartans now seek their second consecutive state title and third in four years in Class AA.

Lovett 1, Wesleyan 0: In the 73rd minute, Evie Johnson found Ally DiOrio for the game deciding goal. Lovett finally broke through after creating many good chances. The Lady Lions will now meet Greater Atlanta Christian in the Class AA final. GAC has beaten Lovett 1-0 and 3-2 in their two meetings this year.

Class A

Hebron Christian 1, Stratford Academy 0: Lydia Powell connected with Alex Probst early in the second half to score the game's only goal. Defense was the story with Lexi Kent making nine saves to preserve the victory. The Lady Lions now face Fellowship Christian in the Class A championship.

Fellowship Christian 3, First Presbyterian Day 2 (PKs): A back and forth game saw the Paladins survive in penalty kicks, 6-5 and remain undefeated. The Lady Vikings scored first on a Kate Patterson header off a corner kick from Maisyn Samples in the seventh minute; the first of Patterson's two goals. Fellowship Christian answered on a Megan Hudgens goal off a Sarah Kate Jones free kick, but Patterson's second goal in the 40th minute gave the Lady Vikings a halftime lead. Abigail Freemyer knotted the game up on a Hudgens assist with 14 minutes remaining. Shannon Milhollin blocked Maggie Johnston's shot to end the game in penalties.