December 15, 2021
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Here are the new football region assignments for teams in and around Calhoun County; 3A Region 5 broken up, PV goes to 2A, Jacksonville stays 4A
Class 3A Region 5 (sometimes 6) has traditionally been one of the strongest football leagues in the state, but it is no more.
The region that several times had all four teams playing in the 3A North semifinals, guaranteeing somebody playing for a state title, is splitting up after Tuesday’s announcement of AHSAA reclassification for the next two years.
The league had contained all six 3A schools in Calhoun County, but in the latest reshuffle Piedmont and Ohatchee are breaking off with Saks, Wellborn and Weaver heading south, and Pleasant Valley moving to a different classification altogether.
Piedmont, which won its fourth state title in the last seven years 10 days ago, and Ohatchee will now be in Region 6 with Sylvania, Hokes Bluff, Geraldine, Glencoe, Plainview and Westbrook. Saks, Weaver and Wellborn will now be in Region 4 – a South region – making for some tough travel. Pleasant Valley will be in 2A the next two years.
And while some will wax nostalgic over the breakup, those most directly involved accept it for what it is.
“This has always been my take it,” Piedmont coach Steve Smith said. “We tell our kids to control the things they can control. If there’s one thing about high school athletics that the member schools don’t have any say in, it’s reclassification. That is strictly done by the AHSAA and approved by the Central Board.
“We sit there on a day like today just like everybody else just waiting on it to be revealed to find out where we are. The message I always give to our kids is we’ll sit there and let them tell us who we’re supposed to play and then we’re just going to go play whoever they tell us to play.”
The new football alignment places the 32 largest high schools in Class 7A, 57 in 6A, 56 in 5A, 62 in 4A, 60 in 3A, 60 in 2A and 62 in 1A. There will be nine teams in some regions and six in others.
“I used to get myself all worked up over it; this year I’m not,” Wellborn coach Jeff Smith said. “We have no say over it. This is the region they put us in and we’re going to be in that region and we’re going to make the best of it and that’s all you can do. There’s no reason to complain about it because it’s not going to change anything. I’m just thankful there are still some local teams in it for gates.”
For the most part, there was not much movement within classifications among local schools, but the region placements changed.
Jacksonville, which was uncertain it would be a 4A or 5A when the alignments were announced, remained in Class 4A Region 4 (South) with Anniston, Cleburne County, White Plains, Munford, Handley and Talladega. It is the eighth largest 4A school in the state.
“I knew we were close,” Jacksonville athletics director and volleyball coach David Clark said. “There was a lot of talk across the state about moving more teams into 7A because of adding more teams to the AHSAA. If they’d have done that, we’d have been 5A, I don’t think there’s any way we’d have been around it.
“Personally, for our programs overall staying 4A was a good thing. Anytime you don’t have to play a classification up, when you go from one of largest 4s to the smallest 5 it’s a huge difference. I went through that two different times and it cost us in volleyball one of those years.”
Cherokee County and Pleasant Valley seemed to catch the biggest breaks.
Cherokee County moved out of 4A Region 4 and into the more geographically favorable Region 6 (North). The Warriors had been the northernmost South region team in the state the last two years, a lot closer to Tennessee than Florida..
“We are excited about the opportunity to go back to the North,” Cherokee County principal Bobby Tittle said. “This transition should help our travel expenses. We are excited about the opportunity to play some great teams in 4A Region 6.”
Travel expenses will be a concern at Saks, Weaver and Wellborn. They are the northernmost outposts in their region where the farthest one-way trip is just about 100 miles.
Pleasant Valley, as projected, went down from Class 3A to 2A for the first time since 2013. It is now the fourth largest 2A school in the state (10 students fewer than Saks, the next to smallest team in 3A).
The Raiders get out from under the gauntlet of 3A Region 5 where they’ve been in a constant battle for the league’s fourth playoff spot. They’ve made the playoffs only three times in school history and not since 2010.
“We’re excited about it, no doubt,” PV coach Jonathan Nix said. “One thing is fresh teams. For so many years, ever since I’ve been there, you got the traditional powerhouses in your region, which makes it tough.
“Every year there’s a couple teams that could go to another region and win it, but you’re kind of left out (where you are). Getting a playoff spot in our region usually means you’re ready to go three or four rounds deep. Most of the teams in our region rematch at some point.”
PV is the easternmost dot in its seven-team region. Being one of the largest 2As will have its advantages. Ohatchee dropped down from 3A Region 5 in the 2018 reshuffle and won back-to-back region titles. The Raiders will still have to play well to succeed. Cleveland played for the state championship this season.
And while they might have avoided one potential direct roadblock among the top 3As, any playoff longevity the Raiders might hope to enjoy for the next two years at least now goes through Fyffe, another 3A juggernaut that has dropped down as well.
“Just because you’re dropping down doesn’t mean good ball doesn’t exist,” Nix said. “There are some really good teams in this region. We’re just got to worry about us and stay in the weight room and stay focused on our grades and be ready to compete when it gets here.”
Now that alignments are out, schools can start going about the business of completing their schedules for the next two years.
Alignments for volleyball and cross country also were approved Tuesday.
The Donoho volleyball team, as expected as a two-time state champion and one-time runner-up the last three years, was bumped into 2A due to accommodate the AHSAA’s competitive balance for private schools. The Lady Falcons will be in the same area as Pleasant Valley.
PV’s move into 2A will set its cross country teams on a collision course with former Ohatchee coach Casey Howell’s Cold Springs team for future state championships.
“Me and Casey have been talking about that for a while,” PV coach Brad Hood said. “We kind of knew it was coming and we’re both excited about it. We’re good buddies and we’re happy we’re going to race and one of us is gonna get a red (trophy) and one’s gonna get a blue and we’re both gonna be tickled to death.”
Area assignments will be made for the winter and spring sports following the conclusion of those seasons.
Here are the local alignments:
CLASS 1A
Region 6: Ragland, Spring Garden, Talladega Co. Central, Donoho, Victory Christian, Wadley, Winterboro
CLASS 2A
Region 4: B.B. Comer, Coosa Central, Fayetteville, Isabella, Ranburne, Thorsby, Vincent, Woodland
Region 6: Cleveland, Gaston, Holly Pond, Locust Fork, Pleasant Valley, Southeastern, West End
CLASS 3A
Region 4: Beulah, Childersburg, Dadeville, Randolph County, Saks, Weaver, Wellborn
Region 6: Geraldine, Glencoe, Hokes Bluff, Ohatchee, Piedmont, Plainview, Sylvania, Westbrook Christian
CLASS 4A
Region 4: Anniston, Cleburne County, Handley, Jacksonville, Munford, Talladega, White Plains
Region 6: Ashville, Cherokee County, Etowah, Fultondale, Good Hope, Hanceville, Oneonta
CLASS 5A
Region 6: Alexandria, Leeds, Lincoln, Moody, St. Clair County, Southside, Springville
CLASS 6A
Region 6: Center Point, Clay-Chalkville, Huffman, Oxford, Pell City, Pinson Valley, Shades Valley [**read more]
**When you click read more you will be taken to the EA Sports Today website. Please make sure to come back to read more Calhoun County News.
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