It’s time, once again, to play everyone’s favorite game show — Wheel. Of. Reclassification!

The MHSAA released the enrollment figures this week that will serve as the basis for who plays in what classification for the next two years. The final region and division alignments will be released in early December, and the next three weeks will be full of speculation on who’s shifting to what league.

For the most part, Warren County’s high schools won’t notice a big difference.

Warren Central gained about 60 students since the last reclassification in 2012 and will remain firmly entrenched in Class 6A. Vicksburg High lost about 50 and will stay in Class 5A. St. Aloysius stayed about the same and isn’t in any danger of leaving Class 1A.

Some of the county schools’ leaguemates, however, weren’t as static, and that’s what’s really likely to shake things up.

Pearl, George County and Callaway are moving up to Class 6A, while Hattiesburg, Provine and Grenada go down to 5A. Pearl and Callaway, of course, are in Vicksburg High’s region for all sports, meaning the Gators will have some new opponents on the schedule next season.

That might be good news. Pearl has been one of Vicksburg’s tougher opponents in football, baseball and basketball the past two years. Callaway single-handedly thwarted the Gators’ run toward a boys basketball state championship last spring.

Provine, another Jackson school, is likely to slide into Callaway’s slot in Region 2-5A. Who joins it to replace Pearl is still uncertain. Grenada or Natchez seem most likely, since both are in a sort of geographical no-man’s land when it comes to arranging the state’s divisions.

Callaway and Pearl’s jump to Class 6A could also have a big effect on Warren Central.

The MHSAA probably won’t shake up the longstanding core of Region 2-6A — Warren Central, Madison Central, Clinton, Murrah and Northwest Rankin — but the addition of two schools in the I-20 corridor could shift other parts of the lineup.

Grenada’s drop opens a spot in Region 1-6A, and the addition of two schools near Jackson makes for easier travel within Region 2-6A.

A Region 2-6A lineup of Warren Central, Clinton, Madison Central, Murrah, Northwest Rankin, Greenville (another geographic orphan), Pearl and Callaway would be welcome relief for road-weary teams from this part of the state — not to mention Starkville and Columbus, who have to make those trips three or four times per season instead of one.

Sadly, Hattiesburg messed things up. Its move down to 5A opens a spot in Region 3-6A that seems a natural fit for Pearl. The Pirates have a strong Rankin County rivalry with Brandon and easier road trips to the Pine Belt down Highway 49.

It’s also questionable whether the MHSAA would be willing to split up Starkville and Columbus, who provide each other with one reasonable road trip each football season.

All of this, of course, will be firmed up in a few weeks. Until then, feel free to play along. Pull out your road atlas and a list of schools and shuffle them up. Speculating on it is almost as much fun as the actual games.

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Ernest Bowker is a sports writer. He can be reached at 601-619-7120 or by email at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com