Richmond Hill High School’s bid to stay in Class 6A was shot down by the Georgia High School Association, which means a lot of travel for the Wildcats for the next two years in 7A, the states classification for its largest schools.

 As a result, the Wildcats appear to be bound for Region 1-7A, which includes Camden County, Colquitt County, Lowndes and Valdosta. In football alone, those four schools have won 35 state titles, 24 of them by Valdosta, and Region 1 in the state’s largest classification – which since the 1980s has gone from 4A to 5A to 6A and now 7A – long been considered one of the state’s toughest in that sport.

It was not immediately clear why GHSA denied the appeal by RHHS administrators, but the school has been “playing down” in classification as a result of its rapid population growth since 2012. With an enrollment in excess of 2,300 in 2020, the school has more than doubled in size since 2004, when RHHS had 1,025 students, according to data on the Georgia High School Football Association website.

Bryan County High School, on the other hand, will be allowed to remain in 1A, the GHSA’s smallest classification, after BCHS officials appealed the school’s classification into 2A. 

That means the Redskins will likely be in Region 3-1A with familiar foes such as Claxton, Emanuel County Institute, Jenkins County, McIntosh County Academy, Metter, Portal and Screven County. Also slated to be in the region are Savannah Classical Academy, Savannah Early College and Steam Academy.

 For Richmond Hill, the issue of travel will be a big one, with Camden County the closest region opponent at 89 miles one way and Colquitt County the furthest, at 179.5 miles one way. Valdosta is 150 miles away. There’s little expectation RHHS will become smaller.

 Bryan County Schools is in the process of building a new school expected to hold around 3,500 students as the district tries to keep pace with the county’s growth.

If you would like to see the entire 2022-2024 reclassifications and regions, click here.