Newspaper Page Text
The Oglethorpe Echo
Volume 150, Number 12
December 21, 2023 ??? Oglethorpe County, Georgia
$1
SWEET SWEEP
MCCAIN BRACEWELL/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Oglethorpe County's Kenzie Henderson (top) shoots over
Hart County's Dakota Phillips on her way to scoring 21 points
in a 60-54 victory on Monday. Jordan Johnson (bottom) goes
in for a layup in the Patriots'53-45 win over the Bulldogs.
Move to 8-A Division I
presents challenges
Larger region likely means tougher competition
ByTrevyn Gray
and Lauren Hill
The Oglethorpe Echo
Oglethorpe County High School
athletic programs are set for a new
region, a move co-athletic director
and football coach Mike Holland
said was ???necessary.???
Gone is five-team Region 5-A
Division I.
In comes 10-team Region 8-A
Division I, including traditional
football powers Commerce, Elbert
County and Rabun County.
???I want making the playoffs to
mean something, and I want it to
be a big deal,??? Holland said. ???So, I
want that: bigger regions.???
The Georgia High School Asso
ciation goes through reclassifica
tion and region realignment every
two years to make sure schools re
main with schools with similar en
rollments.
This year, the GHSA did away
with Class 7A and released the
new region alignments and clas
sifications in November. The
new alignment will be in ef
fect for the 2024-2026 academ
ic years.
As part of the reclassification,
Oglethorpe County will move to
Region 8-A Division I, which in
cludes nine other schools: Athens
Academy, Athens Christian, Banks
County. Barrow Arts and Sciences,
Commerce, Elbert County, Provi
dence Christian (Lilbum), Rabun
County and Tallulah Falls.
The region will be split into two
subdivisions. One side will include
Athens Academy, Athens Chris
tian, BASA, Providence Christian
and OCHS, while the other will be
Banks County, Commerce, Elbert
THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
OCHS co-AD and football
coach Mike Holland said he's
looking forward to the chal
lenge in the new Region 8-A
Division I next fall.
County, Tallulah Falls and Rabun
County.
OCHS was a part of Region 5-A
Division I during the last reclassi
fication cycle, along with Prince
Avenue Christian Academy, Jasper
County, Social Circle and Stilwell
School of Arts.
OCHS appealed its region
placement in Region 8 to Region 4
last month, but it was denied.
DeKalb County officials said
travel time would place an auto
matic disadvantage on its athlet
ic teams, as the drive between the
counties is close to two hours.
Following the motion, ???a bunch
of hands went up to vote against
us,??? Holland said. ???I???m not sure of
the motivations of those who vot
ed against us.???
He added: ???We were trying to
move with Social Circle and Jas
per County, but we were able to
get a handshake agreement with
Social Circle to play them the next
two years.???
Here???s how the realignment
will affect the student-athletes and
coaches at OCHS.
Football
OCHS will play six region
games next fall and non-region
games against Social Circle,
East Hall, Washington-Wilkes
and Laney. Previously, it had
only three region games, which
automatically granted a playoff
berth to all four teams in the re
gion.
Under the new alignment, the
teams will have to earn their spot
in the postseason: A change wel
comed by the Patriots.
???There is no pride in making the
playoffs in a four-team region if
you are the No. 4 seed,??? Holland
said.
He said he feels good about
state champion Prince Avenue not
being in the new region. Prince
Avenue outscored OCHS 105-17
the past two seasons.
However, even without the Wol
verines, the Patriots??? road isn???t any
easier. Their region as a whole is
more competitive.
???Trading the No. 1 team in the
classification for three in the top
10 (Commerce, Elbert Coun
ty and Rabun County) ... I think
our schedule will be much tough
er top to bottom,??? Holland said.
???But, it???s time for us to take the
next step and start competing with
those guys.???
See DIVISION I, Page B4
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QJteWUf G/etcdtmad
From our families to yours, we wish
you a blessed holiday season.
Reid Coley, Will Daniels, Keith Gabriel,
Jackson Hairston, Daniel Higdon, Blake
Howard, Keegan Moats, Phil Paradise,
Mitchell Reed, Danny Sanders, Hudson
Sanders, Karen Sanders,
Stewart Sanders, Logan
Tatum, Ethan Thaxton,
Hannah Wilson
1998
Hudson, Danny and Stewart Sanders
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