Football - Region 8-A likely to be one of state's best again - ABH Article

By Ryne Dennis

Within a 10-mile radius of downtown Athens sits three private school rivals that don't care much for each other on the gridiron.

Athens Academy, Athens Christian and Prince Avenue Christian have battled each other in the same region over the years and there is usually no love lost when the clock reaches the 48-minute mark.

So that begs the question: How did Athens Academy's region rivals respond to the Spartans reaching last year's state finals?

Region pride or disgust?

Perhaps a little of both.

"I was excited for them. I wanted them to go and lose, but I was excited for them," Prince Avenue coach Greg Vandagriff said Wednesday at the third annual Clarke/Oconee Media Day at UGA's Terry College. "You know, it's a thing where if we're going to win a state championship in Athens, we want it to be us."

Athens Academy defeated Prince Avenue in the regular season finale to claim the Region 8-A title, breaking Prince Avenue's four-year run as kings of the conference.

After barely escaping Athens Christian at home in 2016, Athens Academy had their way with the Eagles on the road last year in a 47-0 win.

Still, after injuries forced Athens Christian to limp to a 4-6 record last season, it found a way to root for its rival in the state title game.

"I think, obviously, on Friday night, the No. 1 team that Athens Christian wants to see be successful is Athens Christian," Eagles coach Chris Williams said Wednesday. "The other side of that, when one team is out of the playoffs, we'd love to see our region advance and see them do well."

Region 8-A has proven to be one of the best in Class A Private, placing a team in the state semifinals or better each of the past seven seasons.

Prince Avenue has been the standard for the current makeup of Region 8-A, reaching the Class A private semifinals five times and the state finals once in that span. Commerce, also in Region 8-A, reached the Class A Public semifinals twice.

Prince Avenue (2012) and Athens Academy (2017) have each fallen to Eagle's Landing Christian in the state title game.

Now the 10-team region is split into subregions, with the three Athens area schools dividing into a subregion with George Walton Academy and Providence.

Commerce, Hebron Christian, Lakeview Academy, Riverside Military and Towns County make up the other.

The top two teams from each subregion will play for the region championship in a crossover game on Nov. 2. The region champion is guaranteed a spot in the state playoffs while other berths and seedings will be determined by the Georgia High School Association's Power Ratings, a numerical value that ranks teams based on strength of schedule, record and other factors.

"The region is a great region, you've got a lot of great teams there," said Athens Christian linebacker Lovic Smith. "(Athens Academy) obviously went to the state championship; and Prince Avenue and Hebron are there, too. It's a challenge every week."

With its reputation preceding it, Prince Avenue views itself as the team everyone in the region should be gunning for, even after last year's results.

"I think our culture has been winning ever since we've had a program," Prince Avenue safety Elijah Hynes said. "I think we'll be a great team this year and win the region championship."

Sitting next to Hynes during the media day, Vandagriff didn't stray too far from his player's train of thought.

Yes, Athens Academy was the region champions last season, but Prince Avenue feels like it should be sitting on top.

"I think they're the team to beat, but it still has to come through us," Vandagriff said. "We've had the tradition. Now, I think they have done a better job of getting some folks come to their school and help them. But that's part of it. That's why it's called single A football."