The departure in recent weeks since reclassification and region alignments were drawn up by the Georiga High School Athletic Association (GHSA) has seen a shakeup in the Class A-AAA schools in recent weeks.

Thus requiring a move for the Rockmart Yellow Jackets from a prime spot and good competition in 5-AA to a new 7-AA region that is much smaller and without some of the traditional Floyd County foes.

Instead, the new region as it tentatively stands finds the Jackets facing Haralson County as its closest foe in the new 7-AA, and only one Floyd County team left from the longstanding 7-AA of old is Model.

The 7-AA football champ Fannin County will also remain in the region as well as Gordon Central.

A pair of opponents from 6-AAA moving down with the Jackets in this new region are Murray County and North Murray.

Being bumped up a level is Gordon Lee, who previously was a Single A team.

If everything stands after the December 15 appeals process runs out for high schools wanting to move up, down, or around in region alignments with the GHSA, the new 7-AA should see the Jackets having to hustle around once again in athletic contests against a wide variety of teams across Northwest Georgia, stretching from Chickamauga to Tallapoosa, and as far eastward as Blue Ridge and Chatsworth.

Cedartown in Class AAAA was not impacted by the loss of Single A private schools who elected to leave the GHSA and move to the GISA (Georgia Independent Schools Association) instead of being moved around in classification and region alignments this year with the increase caused by the multipliers put in place for student population.

New region alignments also impacted Bremen High School southward in Haralson County, who moved up to Class AAA and if their region stood would have to face Cedar Grove, Douglass-Atlanta, Carver-Atlanta, and Sandy Creek in a newly-formed region. The Jackets move out of 6-AAA sees that region shrink after it expanded with the change in Class A-AAA. It now includes Adairsville, Coahulla Creek, LaFayette, Lakview-Fort Oglethorpe, Ridgeland and Ringgold.

The old 7-AA is now mostly the new 7-A, made up of Armuchee, Chattooga, Coosa, Dade County, and Pepperell. New additions include Dalton Academy, Darlington and Trion should appeals process not change the makeup any further in one division of the region. A 7-A D-II includes a number of private and charter schools in the Metro Atlanta area, but also Bowdon, Christian Heritage, Mt. Zion, Carroll, Georgia School for the Deaf, Towns County, and Pinecrest Academy. Atlanta Classical, Ben Franklin Academy, DeKalb School for the Arts, Greenforest Christian, Southwest Atlanta Christian, W.D. Mohammed and Woody Gap are also in the division, but don’t field athletic teams.

Schedules will have to be redone to accommodate the new alignments, that will take effect if no appeals are made starting in August 2022 with the opening of football, softball, cross country and cheerleading.