*Moving in: Arabia Mountain, Bainbridge, Benedictine, Cedar Shoals, East Hall, Fayette County, Hapeville Charter, Islands, Jefferson, Jenkins, Jordan, Kendrick, Mays, Miller Grove, Monroe, Mount Zion (Jonesboro), New Hampstead, Riverdale, Spencer, Stephenson, Thomas County Central

*Moving out: Americus-Sumter, Blessed Trinity, Burke County, Cartersville, Chapel Hill, Cross Creek, Denmark, Gilmer, LaFayette, Mary Persons, Northside (Columbus), Oconee County, Richmond Academy, Sandy Creek, St. Pius, Stephens County, Thomson, Upson-Lee, West Hall, White County, Woodward Academy

*Defending champion: Blessed Trinity, the three-time champion, moved to Class 5A. The only 2019 quarterfinal teams returning are Madison County, Marist and West Laurens.

*Best region: Region 6 has four of the top 11 teams.

*Story lines: The class lost more top-10 programs than any during reclassification, but it also picked up four state champions from the past decade – Bainbridge, Benedictine, Hapeville Charter and Jefferson, plus Stephenson and Thomas County Central. In fact, the average 4A team is only 0.5 points weaker than the average 5A team, according to the Maxwell Ratings. ... Benedictine is the only team eligible for the Region 3 title because Savannah-Chatham schools Islands, Jenkins and New Hampstead are playing intra-district schedules with no playoffs. Fourteen of 4A’s 54 teams have delayed their season openers by at least two weeks. ... The last Region 5 team to win a region title was McDonough (then Henry County) in 2008.

1. How do you feel about your school district’s decision to play a region-only schedule? “To be honest, elated is the word that can be used. It’s not that we didn’t want to play some of these great programs [Washington County, Burke County, Ware County were on the pre-region schedule] because we’ve done that in the past, and playing playoff teams in September gets you ready for the playoffs in November. But because we’re in a COVID hotspot, I felt it would be smart to play just the region schedule. My hope was that the Georgia High School Association would go to a spring season. Of course, that didn’t happen. There wasn’t enough people raising h-e-l-l about it. But I am very happy that our board and administration thought enough about our young people and our community to push it back.”

2. What has been the reaction to your statements that football isn’t safe this fall and that the GHSA doesn’t care enough about the welfare of the student-athletes? “I’ve never been met with anything negative. I didn’t think anything I said was negative. I thought it was fact. I try to respect everybody’s voice and hope they’ll respect mine. I thought I might get a call from the GHSA because I was the only person saying [publicly] don’t do this. I feel like the GHSA listens to two people – politicians and superintendents. I feel we’re treated like underlings by the GHSA. I could’ve called them just to say some coaches don’t agree with them, but that’s not the order. It doesn’t seem like we have a voice. There have been a lot of people from principals to coaches to parents, even people from churches, saying they appreciate me speaking out. I just felt somebody had to voice that opinion, that we should keep our kids safe and not put sports over life. What angers me sometimes, though, is that people coaching will tell me they agree on the phone, but they won’t speak publicly.”

3. Did you consider not coaching this fall because of your concern over safety, or even as a protest? “The reason I said push back the season was for the safety and betterment of young people. If you take the job of stewarding young men as seriously as I do, then what kind of coach would I be if I try to protect kids, but then when they decide to play, I desert them? I was between a rock and a hard place. I don’t see myself bailing out on them when things get tough, but I did feel the need to speak up. I felt that pushing back [against the GHSA’s decision] was more important than not coaching.”

4. How have your players done through the pandemic and the uncertainty of the season? “That’s a great question because not enough people ask our kids how they feel. One thing we’ve done here is get the opinion of our kids. We’ve constantly tried to educate them on the safety protocols and the numbers. We have a meeting just about every day and we’ll ask, ‘What would you guys like to see happen?’ Some of them will say, ‘Hey, coach, we want to play.’ I say, ‘I want to play, but I don’t want to bury you.’ Some say, ‘Coach, you’re talking took harshly.’ But I want to let them know where I’m coming from. I care about my children. Why would I do anything to put people in harm’s way? They’ve told me how they feel, and I’ve given them an honest opportunity to express themselves. They’re excited about playing a region schedule and still getting a chance to play for a state championship. They lost some games and hope nobody thinks we’re afraid to play anybody. But we just think it’s best, and I think our kids have been very receptive to that, and the parents have too.”

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This season will be unlike any other. Many fans will be unable to attend games, making your broadcasts bigger than ever. Get ready to broadcast with tips and instruction from 12-time Emmy award winning sportscaster Bob Rathbun. Join Bob on Wednesday, Sept, 2 at 8 p.m. for a one-hour seminar. Play-by-play, color, sidelines and studio will be covered, plus a Q&A session after the seminar. Cost is $20. Click here to register.

Former UCF standout and NFL running back Storm Johnson has joined The Learning Company in offering services to middle and high school students and student-athletes through a boys only academy with NCAA approved classes (in person one-to-one or virtual); final semester program for high school seniors; ACT/SAT prep; athletic training; and Camp Storm, a residential camp facility located in southeastern Georgia on 40 acres. For information, call 770-652-7542 or click here to email.

Chattahoochee High School is seeking a freshman boys basketball coach for the 2020-21 season. Click here to send your letters and resume to head coach Chris Short. There are no teaching positions currently available.

Mitchell County High School is seeking two football games to complete its 2020 schedule. It has open dates on Sept. 25, Oct. 2 and Oct. 9 and would like to play one of the games in Camilla. Click here to contact coach Deshon Brock.

Sequoyah High School is accepting applications for a varsity boys basketball assistant coach for the 2020-21 school year. Teaching certificate needs to be in science or SPED Math. If you are interested, click here to contact head coach Allen Carden.

The assistant coach in volleyball and boys basketball will assist in all matters concerning the varsity teams. We are looking for someone who wants to help build a competitive program in an elite academic environment. We are only in the fifth year of competing at the varsity level. St. George’s competes in GISA AA athletics. These are part-time jobs through the season with the possibility of expanding roles in the coming years. Click here to contact athletic director Britt Gaylor.