Flashes, Gators face new football landscape

Published 11:28 am Friday, November 30, 2012

The Mississippi High School Activities Association released its 2013-15 reclassification this morning, and plenty of changes are in store for all three member schools in Warren County.

Schools have 10 days to appeal the new alignment, which will take effect in the upcoming academic year.

Vicksburg, which is moving down to Class 5A, is in Region 2-5A for football and Division 4-5A in other sports with Callaway, Lanier and Pearl. Region 2-5A is those four schools plus Canton, Germantown, Neshoba Central and Ridgeland.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

“It is what it is,” Vicksburg football coach Tavares Johnson said. “I think it’ll be a pretty good region, but we’ve got to line up and play who we’ve got to play. We’ll just take it one game at a time and get this program turned around.”

Warren Central stays in Region 2-6A. In other sports, the Vikings will play in Division 4-6A, with Clinton, Greenville-Weston and Murrah. Columbus, Madison Central, Northwest Rankin and Starkville, which moved up to 6A, will complete the region lineup.

St. Aloysius will move to Division 2-1A for football with Broad Street, Durant, J.F. Kennedy, McAdams, Montgomery County, Ray Brooks, Shaw and Catholic school rival Greenville-St. Joe.

With the exception of Greenville-St. Joe, it will be a cast of unknowns for St. Al.

“We don’t know too much about any of these teams,” St. Al coach B.J. Smithhart said. “I think for travel purposes, it’s going to be about the same for us.”

In other sports, the Flashes will be Division 7-1A with Bogue Chitto, Cathedral, Hinds AHS, Mississippi School for the Deaf, Pelahatchie and Piney Woods.

Speaking of Hinds AHS, the War Dawgs will play in Division 4-1A for football with Bogue Chitto, Cathedral, Dexter, Lumberton, Mount Olive, Resurrection, Sacred Heart, Salem and Stringer.

Port Gibson’s assignment to Division 6-4A will be a familiar one, as Florence, Magee, Mendenhall and Richland return to the Blue Waves’ schedule.