Ware County’s new region alignment features three familiar foes and four of the top 31 winningest programs in state history.
One could classify the proposed 1-AAAAA alignment as one of the “Blue Blood” regions in the state. Both Benedictine and Augusta’s Richmond Academy will be entering their 121st year in 2026. Statesboro will be playing in its 108th season and Wayne County in its 105th campaign.
The Cadets, Musketeers and Blue Devils all are in the top 25 in wins — each with more than 600 victories. Statesboro is currently 18th sporting a 658-36533 all-time record with five state titles to go along with 12 region titles.
Benedictine is 19th with a 656-427-34 mark with four titles and 17 region crowns. Richmond Academy is 608-504-44 sitting in the 25th spot. The Musketeers have captured two state titles and 14 region championships.
Wayne County is 31st with a 586-418-32 mark with two titles and 15 region crowns.
Together, these four programs have posted a 2,5081,714-143 won-loss-tie mark covering 4,365 games. They have combined for 13 state titles and 58 region championships.
Ware County and Evans are the two youngest programs entering their 68th seasons. The Gators are a distant fifth in wins sporting a 416-334-7 mark with one state championship and 15 region titles. The Knights are 348-336-11 with six region titles.
Both Jenkins and Groves are a year older and will be playing in the 69th seasons. The Warriors are 308-391-8 with five region titles while the Rebels are 244-437-8 with two region crowns.
The Georgia High School Association placed its 454 member schools into regions for the 2026-28 academic years Monday, November 10. Region formations were done following the appeals to move up or down.
Seventeen schools won appeals Monday, November 10 to play in lower classifications than they were assigned last week.
Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, the highest class will be 7A instead of 6A. Classes A divisions I and II will become 2A and A.
Ware County, Benedictine (region champion) and Wayne County are the only schools remaining from the 2024-25 region alignment. Perry and Warner Robins were slotted for Region 2-5A. New Hampstead dropped in classification and will play in Region 3-4A.
Evans (3-7) is dropping down in classification. The Knights opened up the decade going 19-5 and winning a third region title (2020) in four years. Over the last four years the Knights are 16-26 with three losing campaigns. They are 0-3 vs. Ware County.
Groves (0-10) is moving up in classification. The Rebels are 8-86 since a 6-4 mark in 2014, their last winning season. Groves has a 2-2 series record with Ware County.
Jenkins (9-1), Region 3-AAA champions, is also moving up in classification and returning to Region 1 (member in 2022 and 2023). The Warriors are 35-24 this decade. They have recorded four 10win seasons since 2016, the only ones in the programs’ history.
Richmond Academy (5-6) in Region 43A is another program moving up in classification. The Musketeers’ last winning season (10-2) was during the region championship season of 2020. They are 27-36 this decade.
Ware County is 2-0 against Richmond Academy.
Statesboro (7-4), who lost in the first round of this year’s Class 5A playoffs, dropped down in class. The Blue Devils notched their first winning season since 2013 (10-2), which ended a 15-year run going 155-34.
SHS and the Gators have been region foes on four different occassions (198889, 2006-09, 2014-19, 2022-23) with Ware County winning 10 of the 14 matchups.
