With school back in session, the thoughts begin to turn towards high school athletics and fans of all sports are looking forward to the 2006-2007 season because of region realignment.
Fayette County and Starr’s Mill have dropped from Class AAAAA to Class AAAA and will join McIntosh and Whitewater in Region 2-AAAA. Their opponents in the nine team region will be Banneker, Creekside, Northgate, Westlake and Woodward Academy.

Sandy Creek, which was in Class AAAA last year, will now be in Class AAA. Their region, 6-AAA, includes Carrolton, Cartersville, Cass, Cedartown, Central, Carroll, Haralson County and Villa Rica.

Volleyball is the sport that gets underway first with Starr’s Mill hosting a jamboree on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Fayette County and McIntosh will be two of the teams playing in the tournament and the regular schedule will get started next week.
Starr’s Mill won the region 4-AAAAA title last year and made the state playoffs, while McIntosh, which finished as region-runners-up to Woodward Academy, made the Class AAAA final four.

With the Lady Chiefs and Lady Panthers duking it out with Woodward Academy and Fayette County, fans can expect a seriously competitive region with important matches nearly every week. For instance, McIntosh starts the regular season with a home match against Woodward Academy next Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Sandy Creek, which fielded a solid program last year and has been competitive and contending for state playoff spots for a number of years, will certainly benefit from not being in a region with McIntosh and Woodward. The Lady Patriots will still have their work cut out for them but should be in the hunt for a region title and possibly a state title as well.

Softball will be another sport where the region realignment creates an incredibly compelling season. Starr’s Mill and Fayette County, both state playoff teams in Class AAAAA last year, drop down to Class AAAA and find themselves in the same region as McIntosh, Whitewater and Northgate. The Lady Wildcats and the Lady Vikings were both in the Class AAAA state playoffs last year and McIntosh was in contention for a spot as well.

While every team from the county has some big bats in the line-up, pitching will be in premium at all of these schools with each team having at least one ace to take the mound.

Sandy Creek’s drop to Class AAA takes them out of a very crowded and highly competitive region and places them in one that is likely to be tough but perhaps not as tough. Central, Carroll and Cedartown were among the region’s top teams last year and Haralson County and Villa Rica, who were in Region 4-AAAA North, will join the new region as well.

Things get started with the Sandy Creek tournament next week. Fayette County and Sandy Creek will meet at the Tiger’s Den next Thursday at 6 p.m. and McCurry Park will a host a number of games on Friday and Saturday.

Cross Country will get underway with the Early Bird Invitational on Aug. 26, which is the same weekend as the Walton Stage Races. The region 2-AAAA meets will be fun to watch as Starr’s Mill and Fayette County will now race head to head with McIntosh and Whitewater and the county meet, which will include Our Lady of Mercy, should be as great as last year, if not greater.
Fayette County has produced some incredible runners and McIntosh’s girls are hoping to repeat as region and state champions this season. Their local region rivals will be right there with them in many races, creating what will undoubtedly be a fascinating season to follow.

While all of the sports have some great story lines, the football season is what has tongues wagging already.

For the first time in years, the Fayette County/McIntosh game will have region implications and, for the first time ever, Whitewater will get a crack at Starr’s Mill in a regular season game. With all four of these teams playing head to head in the region and with teams like Northgate, Creekside and Woodward Academy thrown into the mix, each week gives football fans in the county some great games to watch. Jamborees will take place on Friday, Aug. 25 and among them are Whitewater hosting Heritage and Fayette County playing at Stockbridge.

Sandy Creek’s drop to 6-AAA puts them in a tough region with four other teams that made the state playoffs last year. It will be a tough season for the Patriots but they will be ready to play.
Things will heat up in all these sports before you know it and The Citizen will have the all the sports news here and on the Web site, www.thecitizen.com. Feel free to post news and brag about about your team there.

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