Local coaches will soon have an idea of which teams they will be competing against for the next two seasons.
On Tuesday in Thomaston the Georgia High School Association will place schools into respective regions for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years.
This follows on the heels of schools being placed into classifications on Nov. 21. Schools have until today to request to move up in classification.
After being placed into regions, schools will have another two weeks to petition to change which region they will play in.
After that, the GHSA expects to ratify the new alignment on Jan. 10 in Macon, giving coaches time to put together their new schedules, and fans plenty of time to find the key matchups and rivalry games for the next two seasons.
With area schools now in all six classifications, region alignment will have a big effect on future competition.
In Class AAAAA Hall County rivals Gainesville and Flowery Branch are projected to be in
Region 8.
In Class AAAA, Chestatee and Johnson will be joining a region full of new faces after leaving Hall County-centric Region 8-AAA.
And in Class AAA, Buford could very well join up with Hall County schools North Hall, East Hall and West Hall in the latest incarnation of Region 8-AAA.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Buford is now the lone area team still alive in the GHSA state playoffs after a 28-13 win over Carver-Columbus, will play for a fifth straight state championship at 4 p.m. Friday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta against a very familiar opponent.
Calhoun will try to break a three-game losing streak to the Wolves in the state title game, including a 31-24 overtime loss last season.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Two of the top basketball programs in Hall County meet Tuesday night when East Hall travels to Gainesville.
The Lady Red Elephants and Vikings each won three state titles in the last decade, and the Gainesville boys and East Hall girls teams both reached the state tournament last season.
Both games will also feature a matchup of preseason All-Area players. Lady Red Elephants senior Rebecca Webster will face off against Lady Vikings senior Jasmine Jenkins, while in the boys game Gainesville junior Shaquan Cantrell will lead his team against East Hall and senior Joshua Hampton.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Georgia and Georgia Tech meet on the basketball court at 7 p.m. on Wednesday when the Bulldogs travel to Atlanta to face the Yellow Jackets. The game can be seen on Fox Sports South.
ATLANTA FALCONS: Atlanta heads back into NFC South play when the Falcons travel to Carolina to face Cam Newton and the Panthers at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game can be seen on Fox.