Under a new proposal being considered the South Carolina High School League, every football team in the state could be facing major changes to the regular season, region play and postseason.
The new proposal calls for a five-division system with five-team regions. Each region (except for certain Division I regions) would qualify just two schools for a 16-team playoffs, and the number of state titles each season would decrease from seven to five.
The change will help some schools more than others, but it will certainly decrease what has been a growing complaint that the current system is too "watered down."
It's clear that football coaches and athletics directors have enough issue with the current system to create this type of discussion.
The proposal will not affect other sports.
Under the proposed realignment, area teams could break down like this:
Division 5 - Carolina Forest
Division 4 - Conway, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Socastee, St. James
Division 3 - Aynor, Georgetown, Loris, Waccamaw
Division 2 - Andrews
Divison I - Carvers Bay, Green Sea-Floyds
Below are how the proposed region alignments could appear. They were created via the most recent 45-day average daily attendance figures from each school, as well as ties to other area teams. This isn't concrete, but it's a good starting point.
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Division 5 |
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REGION 1 |
REGION 2 |
REGION 3 |
REGION 4 |
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Easley |
Byrnes |
Boiling Springs |
Blythewood |
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Hanna |
Hillcrest |
Dorman |
Clover |
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Mann |
Mauldin |
Gaffney |
Fort Mill |
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Westside |
Riverside |
Northwestern |
Rock Hill |
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Woodmont |
Wade Hampton |
Spartanburg |
Ridge View |
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REGION 5 |
REGION 6 |
REGION 7 |
REGION 8 |
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Dutch Fork |
Carolina Forest |
Ft. Dorchester |
Ashley Ridge |
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Irmo |
Lugoff-Elgin |
Goose Creek |
Bluffton |
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Lexington |
South Florence |
Stratford |
Colleton County |
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River Bluff |
Spring Valley |
Sumter |
Summerville |
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White Knoll |
West Florence |
Wando |
West Ashley |
***
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Division 4 |
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REGION 1 |
REGION 2 |
REGION 3 |
REGION 4 |
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Greenwood |
Blue Ridge |
Lancaster |
A.C. Flora |
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Laurens |
Eastside |
Nation Ford |
Airport |
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Pickens |
Greenville |
South Pointe |
Chapin |
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Travelers Rest |
Greer |
Westwood |
Dreher |
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Wren |
Union County |
York |
Lower Richland |
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REGION 5 |
REGION 6 |
REGION 7 |
REGION 8 |
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Aiken |
Hartsville |
Conway |
Beaufort |
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Midland Valley |
Lakewood |
Myrtle Beach |
Berkeley |
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North Augusta |
Marlboro County |
N. Myrtle Beach |
Cane Bay |
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O’Burg Wilkinson |
Richland Northeast |
Socastee |
Hilton Head |
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South Aiken |
Wilson |
St. James |
James Island |
***
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Division 3 |
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REGION 1 |
REGION 2 |
REGION 3 |
REGION 4 |
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Berea |
Belton Honea Path |
Broome |
Clinton |
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Daniel |
Emerald |
Chapman |
Columbia |
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Seneca |
Palmetto |
Chester |
Fairfield Central |
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Walhalla |
Pendleton |
Indian Land |
Mid Carolina |
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West Oak |
Southside |
Woodruff |
Newberry |
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REGION 5 |
REGION 6 |
REGION 7 |
REGION 8 |
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Brookland-Cayce |
Camden |
Aynor |
Battery Creek |
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Gilbert |
Crestwood |
Dillon |
Georgetown |
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Pelion |
Darlington |
Lake City |
Hanahan |
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Strom Thurmond |
Lake Marion |
Loris |
Stall |
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Swansea |
Manning |
Waccamaw |
Timberland |
***
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Division 2 |
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REGION 1 |
REGION 2 |
REGION 3 |
REGION 4 |
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Abbeville |
Batesburg-Leesville |
Blacksburg |
Andrew Jackson |
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Crescent |
Eau Claire |
Buford |
Central |
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Liberty |
Fox Creek |
Carolina |
Chesterfield |
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Ninety Six |
Keenan |
Chesnee |
Lee Central |
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Powdersville |
Saluda |
Landrum |
North Central |
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REGION 5 |
REGION 6 |
REGION 7 |
REGION 8 |
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Barnwell |
Andrews |
Cheraw |
Academic Magnet |
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Edisto |
Calhoun County |
East Clarendon |
Bishop England |
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Hardeeville-Ridgeland |
Johnsonville |
Latta |
Garrett |
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Silver Bluff |
Kingstree |
Marion |
North Charleston |
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Wade Hampton (H) |
Woodland |
Mullins |
Whale Branch |
***
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Division 1 |
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REGION 1 |
REGION 2 |
REGION 3 |
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Calhoun Falls |
Blackville-Hilda |
C.A. Johnson |
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Christ Church |
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler |
Great Falls |
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Dixie |
North |
Lamar |
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McCormick |
Ridge Spring-Monetta |
Lewisville |
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Southside Christian |
Wagener-Salley |
McBee |
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St. Joseph’s |
Williston-Elko |
Timmonsville |
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Ware Shoals |
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Whitmire |
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REGION 4 |
REGION 5 |
REGION 6 |
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Allendale Fairfax |
Creek Bridge |
Baptist Hill |
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Bamberg-Ehrhardt |
Carvers Bay |
Burke |
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Bethune-Bowman |
Green Sea-Floyds |
C.E. Murray |
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Branchville |
Hannah-Pamplico |
Cross |
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Denmark Olar |
Hemingway |
Lincoln |
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Estill |
Lake View |
Military Magnet |
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Scotts Branch |
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St. John’s |
