By Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



First in a series. Today we look at the impact of region and class realignment for our area school’s football schedules.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association has officially released the new alignments for high schools beginning with the fall 2008 sports seasons. All five area high schools will be impacted by the changes announced.

The Gardendale Rockets will play 6A football for at least the next two seasons.

The Rockets are listed by the AHSAA as the second smallest 6A school in the state with 690 students. Jess Lanier is the smallest 6A school with 689 students.

Selma High School is now the largest 5A school in the state with 682 students. Had Gardendale’s enrollment been nine students less, the Rockets would have continued as a Class 5A school.

The Rockets reward for being the second smallest 6A school is being placed in what many coaches believe is the toughest 6A region in the state—Region 6.

Four of the teams from Region 6—Hoover, Mountain Brook, Spain Park and Vestavia Hills—are still alive in the quarterfinals of this year’s 6A playoffs.

Gardendale finds itself in a nine-team region beginning next fall and will have only two non-region games to play, instead of the three non-region games that teams in eight-team regions play.

According to the AHSAA, schools in nine-team regions will play non-region opponents on the season’s 10th week and will draw for the week of their second non-region game.

The drawings will be conducted among the school’s head coaches by the AHSAA.

Gardendale’s move to 6A, left an opening in 5A, Region 6 where the Rockets were region foes with Hayden and Mortimer Jordan the past two seasons.

Starting next year, the Wildcats and the Blue Devils will welcome Brewer and Pleasant Grove into Region 6.

The addition of the two schools, creates a nine-team region, so both Hayden and Mortimer Jordan will lose one non-region game a piece in both 2008 and 2009.

Fultondale will switch regions beginning with the 2008 football season.

The Wildcats will leave 2A, Region 5 and enter 2A, Region 4.

Fultondale will likely be traveling more miles each season due to the switch, as they will have road trips to American Christian Academy (Tuscaloosa County), Isabella and Thorsby (both in Chilton County), and to Pickens County (located west of Tuscaloosa County).

The Wildcats will be a eight-team region and will therefore play three non-region games. According to the AHSAA, schools in eight-team regions will continue to play non-region games on the 1st, 5th and 10th weeks of the regular season.

The Corner Yellow Jackets are one of only three schools to remain in Class 4A, Region 5, along with Dora and Midfield.

The Jackets will pick up new region rivalries with five schools, including Fayette County (located west of Walker County), Haleyville (located in Winston County), Oak Grove (located in Bessemer), West End-Birmingham and with West Point (located in Cullman County), which is moving down to 4A from class 5A.

Corner, which will remain in an eight-team region will keep three non-region games for at least the next two seasons.