River Ridge Headed for AAAA

will find itself in some new company athletically next school year when the Georgia High School Association shifts to six classes from the current five.

The Knights are moving from AA to AAAA, where River Ridge will be among the biggest of the 71 schools at that level, according to the proposal the GHSA unveiled Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, not much is likely to change for Cherokee County’s biggest schools, , and , but many of the opponents will be different for and .

The GHSA grouped its member schools for the next two years based on their reported enrollments this year from ninth to 11th grade.

All schools have until Dec. 5 to ask to move into a higher classification, usually for geographic convenience. The GHSA will reveal the proposed regions for each class Dec. 6.

River Ridge plans to accept the AAAA assignment, the Cherokee Tribune reported.

As things stand now, River Ridge’s road trips to places such as Armuchee, Coosa and Rockmart won’t be part of the next two years. None of the other 14 teams in Region 7-AA is moving to AAAA, although about half are going to AAA.

Instead, the Knights will find themselves grouped with the likes of , Pickens, Southeast and Northwest Whitfield, Gilmer, and Ridgeland.

One step higher are Creekview and Sequoyah, which will remain in the state’s second-highest classification, just with an extra A on it.

But their region in AAAAA will look different from their current 7-AAAA. Of the 11 schools in the region, four—, , and —are moving to the top level, AAAAAA, and two—Cass and Northwest Whitfield—are staying in AAAA.

, Rome and are joining the Grizzlies and Chiefs in AAAAA. If they remain in a region together, they’ll need to add three or four other schools. Candidates include Cobb County’s , , and .

In AAAAAA, the new region for Etowah, Woodstock and Cherokee should look a lot like their current 5-AAAAA. All seven teams in that region—, , and are the others—are making the move to AAAAAA.

The only difference is that the region likely will add an eighth team, possibly or .

The attached PDF file shows all six classifications, including each school’s current or projected enrollment of ninth- to 11th-graders. There are 65 schools in AAAAAA, 71 each in AAAAA and AAAA, 70 in AAA, 66 in AA and 97 in A, although only 71 of the A schools play football.

You can read more about the reclassification from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Score Atlanta.