All three local high schools will remain in their same classification for 2022-2024, with both Fort Mill and Nation Ford remaining 5A and Catawba Ridge remaining 4A.
All three will still be in Region III, but will have new opponents in those regions. In Region 3-5A both Spring Valley, Blythewood and Rock Hill have been added to the region to go along with Fort Mill, Nation Ford, and Clover. Region 3-5A will be a six-team region and will give Fort Mill and Nation Ford an easier drive down I-77 than they currently have in driving to Boiling Springs and Gaffney along a dangerous I-85. All of these realignments are just proposals currently and can be appealed by schools if they don’t like the region they are in. Appeals will be heard in January and February by the S.C. High School League. The new regions won’t be finalized until February.
Boiling Springs and Gaffney will stay together and move to Region 2-5A with Byrnes, Dorman and Spartanburg. Having Boiling Springs and Gaffney leave the region should help both Nation Ford and Fort Mill when it comes to travel.
“We are excited about having Rock Hill back in our region along with Blythewood and Spring Valley,” said Fort Mill athletic director Dwayne Hartsoe. “It will definitely help with travel.”
From a competitive standpoint, neither Fort Mill nor Nation Ford should lose a step.
“We are in a really good region,” said Nation Ford athletic director Jaybe Shackleford. “It will be competitive. It makes our region schedules easier (in football). There won’t be a bye week.”
Catawba Ridge will remain in Region 3-4A, but will have a new opponent that is used to being a 5A school. Northwestern in Rock Hill will drop to 4A with the reclassification that happens every two years. That region will keep Indian Land, Lancaster, South Pointe and York. Northwestern would give Region 3-4A a six-team conference, much like Region 3-5A. Having Northwestern drop came as a surprise.
“You are playing the best of the best,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Rick Lewis. “We will be fine. The good side is when it comes to playoffs, we will be battled tested going in.”
Region 3-4A should be one of the better ones in the state come football season with powerhouses South Pointe and Northwestern being in the same conference.
“I feel like our Region was already one of the best, if not the best in the state,” said Catawba Ridge head football coach Zac Lendyak. “With Northwestern coming in, it makes it all that much stronger. We know how hard we need to work to compete in a region with two perennial state champions, but if you look at York, Indian Land and Lancaster, they all had great years and makes our region the best from top to bottom.”
However, in other Copperheads related football news, one thing Catawba Ridge won’t have next year in football will be quarterback Jadyn Davis, who will be transferring back to North Carolina to play at Providence Day.
Davis came to Catawba Ridge as a freshman from Providence Day and played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Catawba Ridge. He played at Providence Day as an eighth grader. Davis is considered the top recruit in the country for the class of 2024. His last day of school at Catawba Ridge was Friday. He will be transferring come January back to the North Carolina school, according to school officials.
Here is a breakdown of what the proposed regions will look like in 5A and 4A:
5A
Region 1-Hillcrest, JL Mann, Mauldin, TL Hanna, Woodmont
Region 2-Byrnes, Boiling Springs, Dorman, Gaffney, Spartanburg
Region 3-Blythewood, Clover, Fort Mill, Nation Ford, Rock Hill, Spring Valley
Region 4-Chapin, Dutch Fork, Lexington, River Bluff, White Knoll
Region 5-Carolina Forest, Conway, Socastee, St. James, Sumter
Region 6-Berkeley, Cane Bay, Goose Greek, Stratford, Wando
Region 7-Ashely Ridge, Fort Dorchester, Stall, Summerville, West Ashley
4A
Region 1-Berea, Easley, Greenville, Greenwood, Pickens, Westside
Region 2-Eastside, Greer, Laurens, Riverside, Wade Hampton
Region 3-Catawba Ridge, Indian Land, Lancaster, Northwestern, South Pointe, York
Region 4-Aiken, Airport, Midland Valley, North Augusta, South Aiken
Region 5-AC Flora, Irmo, Lugoff-Elgin, Richland Northeast, Ridge View, Westwood
Region 6-Darlington, Hartsville, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, South Florence, West Florence, Wilson
Region 7-Bluffton, Colleton County, Hilton Head, James Island, Lucy Beckham, May River
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
