[5/28/03]Beginning in the fall sports season, Vicksburg High and Warren Central will see new divisional alignments in Region 2-5A.

In football, Northwest Rankin and Callaway are both gone from the region and are replaced by Grenada and Greenville-Weston.

Callaway’s enrollment dropped the school down to Class 4A, while Grenada makes the jump from 4A to 5A.

The change will strongly affect the driving distances as the schools replace the 58-mile road trip to NW Rankin and the 49-mile voyage to Callaway with a 95-mile trek upriver to Greenville and a 155-mile journey North to Grenada.

The Gators won’t be traveling this year as both games against their new regional opponents are at home, but Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said he’s not looking forward to the travel next year.

“We’re just going to have to suck it up,” he said. “That’s the only negative thing about this the travel.”

Warren Central football coach Robert Morgan said driving distance will be an important factor, and he also thinks the bar will be raised on the football field this season.

“We’re picking up Greenville and Grenada, who are both very competitive,” Morgan said. “Anybody that we’ve lost, we’ve picked up somebody as good or better, so the competition in the division is going to be very good.”

Stevens said he is looking forward to the new alignment that will solidify the district.

“Greenville and Grenada have strong programs,” he said. “You add two quality teams to an already good division and it makes one of the most exciting divisions next year.”

Greenville finished the 2002 season at 6-5. The Hornets had no trouble scoring, averaging 27.2 points per game, but often found themselves on the losing end because of a defense that allowed 22 points a game.

Grenada dominated opponents for most of the season, en route to a record of 11-2. The Chargers averaged 25.3 points on offense while giving up only 9.7 a game.

Grenada was eliminated from the playoffs in the second round with a 10-3 loss to West Point.

“Last year in the North, Grenada had a good record and has a good team coming back,” Morgan said. “It’ll be a great challenge for us. It’ll be seven straight tough ballgames there ain’t no week-off stuff.”

In soccer, perennial powerhouse Clinton is no longer in the same division as Vicksburg’s two local high schools, much to the delight of their coaches.

Last season, Clinton swept the Vikings in boys and girls soccer and the Gators in boys. Clinton lost to Vicksburg’s girls in the regular season, but showed them the exit in the playoffs.

With Clinton a serious playoff contender nearly every season, Vicksburg and Warren Central often found themselves scrapping for the final postseason spot.

“When you have three teams that can go to the playoffs and only two can go, it’s tough,” said Warren Central boys coach Jay Harrison, whose team lost to Clinton 3-1 last season. “So we definitely think the change is a good thing.”

The Vicksburg girls team has clashed with Clinton on numerous occasions in both the regular season and the playoffs, with Clinton winning the 1997 state championship over VHS and the Gators winning five of the last eight state championships.

Vicksburg girls soccer coach Kevin Manton said he hates losing a rival like Clinton, but it will help his team’s chances next year.

“We’ve still got Warren Central,” he said. “So it will be a battle between the two of us for the division.”

Vicksburg and Clinton will continue to play each other, and Manton predicts the rivalry will be just as fierce.

“It’s still going to be good,” he said. “The last couple of years we’ve knocked each other out of the playoffs, so it’ll still be intense.”

NEW DIVISIONS

Class 1A

Football: St. Aloysius, Mize, Stringer, Wesson, West Lincoln, Bogue Chitto, Enterprise-Lincoln, Salem, Dexter, Mount Olive

Baseball: St. Aloysius, West Lincoln, Cathedral, Bogue Chitto, Enterprise, Pelahatchie

Soccer: St. Aloysius, St. Andrew’s, Madison-St. Joe, Crystal Springs

Fast-pitch softball: St. Aloysius, St. Andrew’s, Loyd Star, Wesson, West Lincoln, Bogue Chitto, Enterprise-Lincoln, Salem

Basketball: St. Aloysius, West Lincoln, Cathedral, Bogue Chitto, Enterprise, MSD,Pelehatchie

Class 5A

Football: Warren Central, Vicksburg, Greenville, Grenada, Madison Central, Clinton, Murrah, Forest Hill

Basketball: Warren Central, Vicksburg, Forest Hill, Natchez

Baseball: Warren Central, Vicksburg, Forest Hill, Natchez

Soccer: Warren Central, Vicksburg, Forest Hill, Natchez

Softball: Warren Central, Vicksburg, Natchez, Forest Hill (FP)