When is a Class A region not a Class A region?
In northwest Georgia, that’s essentially the case with Region 7-A Division I, which, after a controversial round of GHSA reclassification, has four former Class AA programs, private school Darlington and city schools Armuchee and Trion, which won 10 games a year ago when Class A was split between private and public schools. Now the class is divided based on enrollment, with the larger schools in D-I.
“I know this, we’re going to be tested,” said Dade County coach Jeff Poston, who guided the Wolverines to seven wins and a playoff berth last year out of Region 7-AA. “It’s pretty much the same region except they added Trion and Darlington to it, which makes it tougher.”
Region coaches tabbed Darlington as the preseason favorite, based partly on tradition — the Tigers have made the playoffs in all but one season since 1995 while winning 10 region titles — and returning talent up front. Coach Tommy Atha lost a lot of offensive production from last year’s quarterfinal team, but a powerful line led by Gatlin Hancock, Gus Gammage, Briant Powell and Truitt Hayworth can consistently dominate opponents.
Pepperell, which has played in the postseason 17 consecutive seasons, returns quarterback Matthew Waddell, who had close to 2,000 yards of total offense last year, and the region’s leading returning rusher in DJ Rogers, who had 1,481 yards and 21 touchdowns. Despite making the playoffs, however, the Dragons had just one victory against a team with a winning record.