Commerce has no plans to leave the Georgia High School Association, according to Tigers athletic director Donnie Drew.
“We’re not interested in seceding from the union, so to speak,” Drew said.
The Tigers are one of two Class A public schools in the area, along with Towns County, that have no plans to join the nearly three dozen Class A public schools that met in south Georgia town of Rochelle earlier this week to discuss the possibility of leaving the GHSA and forming their own league.
Drew does, however, sympathize with the schools, mostly located in the southern part of the state.
“I regret the dissatisfaction,” Drew said. “But I do understand the frustration they feel.”
The school’s main message, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that the playing field is not level between the public and private schools. All four football state semifinals participants in Class A this year were private schools.
“All of us sulk sometimes about the private schools having benefits, but that’s a fact of life,” Drew said. “But we’re perfectly content, and we try to get along with everybody.”
Commerce will be in 8-A for the next two years, along with Lakeview Academy, Pinecrest Academy, Rabun Gap, Tallulah Falls, Towns County, Woody Gap, Athens Academy, Athens Christian, George Walton Academy, Hebron Christian, Prince Avenue Christian and Providence Christian.
BUFORD SENIOR PROGRESSING: The 2010-2011 Class AA Player of the Year might soon be back to help lead the three-time defending state champion Buford girls basketball team.
Senior Andraya Carter, a Tennessee commitment, is steadily progressing as she rehabs from a knee injury, to the point where she was able to warm up with the team before Monday night’s game against Clarkston.
“We’re excited about the progress she’s made,” said Buford coach Gene Durden. “She’s progressing with her rehab and we feel good about her for the near future.”
She didn’t play in the game, although the Lady Wolves still cruised to a 78-16 win to improve to 4-0 this season.
In her absence, a number of talented players have stepped, including fellow Tennessee recruit Kaela Davis and Kristina Nelson, who scored a game-high 26 points in the latest win.
“We’ve had a lot of kids step up and take the load,” Durden said.
Carter’s abilities, however, would come in handy for the next stretch of the schedule.
Buford plays Columbia High, which won a Class AAA state title in 2010, 7 p.m. Dec. 23 in Decatur. Following that, the Wolves will travel to Phoenix for the Nike Tournament of Champions. Buford plays in the top bracket of the 94-team tournament against teams that are all ranked in the top 15 in the nation in at least one poll, Durden said.
It’s no easy task, even for one of the top teams in Georgia, but that’s not all; the Lady Wolves open against the 2010 National Champions, Mater Dei High out of Santa Ana, Calif. The Lady Monarchs are the two-time defending California state champions and two-time defending national champions and boast UCLA and USC recruits.
Mater Dei is currently No. 10 and Buford is 12th in the latest ESPN Powerade Fab 50 girls basketball rankings.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how we compete,” Durden said.
HAMPTON SURPASSES 1,000 POINTS: First it was Johnson’s Matt Hollis. Last week it was East Hall senior J.C. Hampton who surpassed 1,000 career points.
Hampton nearly did it on Dec. 6, scoring 39 points in a 90-84 win against Gainesville. Just two points shy of the mark, Hampton opened the Vikings scoring Friday at North Hall with a 3-pointer to give the sharpshooter 1,001 career points. Hampton finished the game, a 68-54 loss, with 14 points.
WILLIAMS CONSISTENT AT BUFORD: It’s not easy to score 20 points in a high school basketball game, but Buford’s Isaiah Williams is making it look that way.
The Wolves’ junior point guard is averaging 20.1 points per game this season, leading No. 1 Buford (6-2, 3-0 Region 6-AA). Williams added another 22 points in the Wolves’ 74-52 win over Clarkston on Monday.
TOWNS COUNTY GIRLS ROLLING: The Lady Indians (7-2, 2-0 Region 8-A) are off to a fast start due in large part to the play of Gabby Arencibia, who scored 33 points in a 84-34 win against Lakeview last Saturday.
The senior guard averaged 15 points per game last season for a team that reached the second round of the state tournament and lost just two games.
This year’s team is rounding into form for another run.
Towns County steps out of region play at Union County at 7 p.m. Friday in Blairsville.