[December 06, 2009] Coaches react to realignment Tweet Dec 06, 2009 (Americus Times-Recorder - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Americus-Sumter has awaited the day when it moved to Class AAA. The day is now. The Panthers are now in Region 1-AAA, and head football coach and athletics director Mark Wilson believes it's a good move for all sports. "I really felt like it would be the region they put us in," said Wilson. "These are teams that we've sort of been in with before. I think it's a good region. Instead of being a smaller school in 4A, we're one of the bigger schools in triple-A. As far as numbers-wise, it will help us out." It will also help in travel. Instead of making trips to Bainbridge, Upson-Lee and Jones County, the farthest the school will travel now is to Cairo and Worth County. The region also includes Crisp County, and Albany-based schools Dougherty, Monroe-Albany and Westover. "Hopefully it will be good for fans and other teams bringing their fans," said Wilson. Moving out of the region were Perry (2B-AAA) and Peach County (2A-AAA). Wilson said the middle school football teams have played Cairo and Worth County the past few years and will help in familiarity. Cairo has been the power of the remaining teams, going 63-14 over the past six seasons, including a state championship in 2008. The Panthers were 3-1 against Dougherty, 2-2 against Crisp and 1-1 against Westover as members of 4A. "It's a good athletic region with a lot of athletes," said Wilson. Girls basketball coach Evelyn Wright, whose team beat Dougherty on Tuesday night, said basketball will be tougher than 1-AAAA all the way around. "It's a higher-caliber region, and all these schools are basketball-oriented," said Wright. "We just have to get in there and play. We'll have to turn it up another notch again." Region 4-A added more teams in 2008 and was sub-divided outside football, and the same is happening with the new alignment. Schley County will join Macon County, Dooly County, Hawkinsville and Taylor County in one sub-region. Marion County, Brookstone, Pacelli, Chattahoochee County, Greenville and Central Talbotton are in the other. While nothing's set in stone yet, Schley football coach Jim McFather said the only decision now is whether or not the region will play a full football schedule or play sub-divided. All teams played each other the past two seasons with nine region games. "Ultimately, the decision will lie with the majority of the region," said McFather. "We're probably going to look at every scenario, but I lthink we will probably lean toward being sub-divided." McFather said either way, it will be tough to make the postseason as Macon County, Dooly County and Hawkinsville take the place of Webster County and Stewart County. "We're in a tough (sub-region) over there. There's no patsies on that list," he said. "It was already a pretty tough region, but that will make it that much more. You're looking at more traditional football schools. When the competition goes up, it makes you have to work that much harder. "There's no great solution. We've still got a couple of weeks. There's nothing permanent, but it's probably setting in concrete and wet." Baseball coach Chuck Cheek really hasn't liked the past realignments, and he said the current one will make it even harder to reach the postseason if a straight region schedule is played. "It's kind of scary to think about it that way," he said. "There's a chance if we stay sub-divided, you've really got six playoff teams fighting for four spots." The softball team has won region championships in three of the past four years. Brandy Conner said being sub-divided has its pros and cons. "If you are subdivided, you can pick up more regular season games with tougher opponents to prepare you for end-of-season playoffs," said Conner. "Also, there is the philosophy of the more you play someone, the tougher it is to beat them. If we had to play everyone in the region and then have a region playoff, the odds may get you in the end. "I think that us and Taylor being in the same side of the region will spark the rivalry that has always been there between us. The competition will be somewhat the same as it has been the last two years within the sub-region and region though." To see more of the Americus Times-Recorder, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.americustimesrecorder.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Americus Times-Recorder, Ga. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]