There goes that plan.

At their meeting Friday, Region 7-AAA’s football coaches had hoped to do away with the subregion system for the 2008 season, but that course of action will have to be scrapped after Thursday’s ruling by the Georgia High School Association.

Among other business, a rule mandating that any region with 12 or more teams must be subdivided was passed at the GHSA state executive committee meeting Thursday in Forsyth. Last season 7-AAA was an 11-member league, but Creekview’s request to join the region was approved at the Dec. 17 GHSA meeting and West Forsyth will be joining after playing a non-region schedule in 2007. Now at 13 teams, it appears the coaches’ hands are tied.

Region 7-AAA secretary Chris Mance did not return phone calls requesting a comment.

During their Friday meeting, the coaches had planned to decide between an eight-game region schedule with two non-region games, or a nine-game region slate with one non-region game. That plan would have dissolved the subregion system used in 2006 and 2007. Instead, it seems that the subregion system is here to stay for at least another two seasons.

At Friday’s meeting, the coaches will be able to determine how many subregion games and how many cross-over games are played, as well as how many dates are left open for non-region games.

But the way the region is subdivided and the fact that it will be subdivided is locked, according to Steve Figueroa of the GHSA.

According to the region classification released after GHSA’s Dec. 17 proceedings, Creekview, Chestatee, Gilmer, Lumpkin County, North Hall, Pickens and White County will compete in subregion A. Subregion B will consist of East Hall, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Johnson, West Forsyth and West Hall.

In other business of local interest, Buford’s appeal for a lateral move from Region 6-AA to Region 8B-AA was denied.