Last week, athletic directors voted 33-15 in favor of a proposal to divide Class 2A football for the coming season. The proposal still has to be approved by the activities committed and the South Carolina High School League executive committee.
Under the proposal, Class 2A would be split into Division 1 and II upper and lower state. Dillon, Lake City, Manning, and Kingstree would be in Division I lower state and Mullins and Marion would be in Division II.
Cheraw would be in Division I upper state and Lee Central would be in Division II with this year’s state champs, Central, moving to Division II. That would mean there will be no fourth clash for Dillon and Central for the Class 2A state championship next year.
Also under the proposal, there would be no points system to determine playoffs in Class AA. Instaed, all 48 Class 2A teams would make the playoffs with the top four teams in the lower and upper state getting byes in the first round.
The location for the state championship games for the new divisions will likely be held at Benedict College in Columbia, according to Dillon’s head coach Jackie Hayes. By playing at Benedict College, the teams playing for the championships would receive more revenue because of fewer expenses involved, as opposed to the cost of holding it at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Hayes was one of many coaches voting in favor of the proposal. He was quoted as saying that “It won’t affect us so much because we will be playing with the bigger schools, but it gives smaller schools a chance to compete for a state championship.”
He added that “It gives everyone an 11th game and a chance to make an extra game.”
Hayes and Central’s coach Joey Mangum were the coaches responsible for coming up with the propsal two years ago. It was narrowly defeated last year. The next vote should be held on April 28, 2011.
