Can you believe it? It’s time to start talking high school sports again already.
Aiken County (S.C.) schools have already jumped back in session. Richmond County schools head back next Monday and Tuesday. Columbia County reconvenes next Monday, as will the rest of the CSRA.
It’ll be that same week that high school sports begin in earnest, starting with a full slate of softball (in Georgia) and volleyball games, including an in-county tilt between Evans and Grovetown Monday, Aug. 5 and 5 p.m.
Each school sports year brings a bunch of storylines with it. And here are a few things I’ll be taking a look at as the 2024-25 sports calendar begins, none more than the new intrigue that will surely come as a result of the GHSA’s new region and classification alignments.
Several schools across the area have shifted to play in new regions that feature less travel for most and more close-to-home rivalries. That should make for even more exciting matchups and more hotly contested rivalries which are now not just rivalry games, but region games as well.
Take, for example, Burke County which is jumping down from Class AAAA to Class AA and joining a region with Butler, Glenn Hills, Josey, Laney and…are you ready for this?
Thomson!
Yes, that same football rival Thomson. The two teams have been playing each other annually since 2007, whether in the same region or not. The schools have met a total of 40 times with Burke County hold a 22-18 record against the Bulldogs.
They’ve met the last two seasons to kick off the season as non-region foes. Now, they’re back in region play against each other for the first time in three years.
You don’t think that’ll heat up what’s already one of the most intense rivalries in the CSRA?
Speaking of new or strengthened local rivalries, how fun will the retooled Region 4-AAA, especially when basketball season rolls around?
You’ve got the defending Class AA state champion Westside boys basketball team moving up to Class AAA and a region that includes Richmond Academy, Cross Creek, Harlem, Hephzibah and Aquinas.
The Patriots and Razorbacks basketball games will be must-see action, as those matchups will pit two of the state’s top hoops coaches against each other for region supremacy. But don’t sleep on a school like Harlem, armed with new Harlem basketball coach Jeff Williams who comes back to the area after a stint at New Hampstead.
Not only is he bringing his coaching acumen with him, but also his rising sophomore point guard son, Jeffery Williams, who’s had a stellar summer. Aquinas will likely be assumed to be the class of the region, but Westside, ARC and Cross Creek football should be much improved this year, along with an always stout Harlem program. So the action on the gridiron shouldn’t disappoint.
Harlem baseball’s region slate won’t be as rigorous, so the Bulldogs may find themselves piling up that non-region schedule with heavy hitters to make up for it. Although West Laurens baseball has been more than formidable lately, especially last year after making a deep run in the Class AAAA playoffs.
The Evans-Greenbrier-Lakeside Columbia County trio will be fun to watch from the local rivalry standpoint. Especially during baseball season. And how about Grovetown entering Region 4-AAAAAA with Archer, Grayson, Newton, Rockdale County and South Gwinnett.
Having covered the east metro Atlanta area extensively over the years, I can guarantee you that you’re going to love seeing football stalwarts like Grayson and Archer doing battle with Grovetown. And Newton is a longtime basketball powerhouse which should stage some awesome intrigue when they meet the Warriors on the basketball court.
With just one week before it all gets started, there will be a plethora of reasons for local sports to pay close attention to the action this year.
Let the games begin.
Gabriel Stovall is the sports editor for The Augusta Press. He can be reached at Gabriel@theaugustapress.com.
