142 KICKOFF ‘22
File
Marietta and McEachern return to being region rivals in the new-look Region 3AAAAAAA. The Indians return to the west Cobb region with
Hillgrove, Harrison and North Paulding for the first time since 2019.
New regions bring new rivals, old rivalries
By Stuart Steele
MDJ Sports Writer
The 2022 high school football season will
be the first of a new two-year region alignment
for the G eorgia High School Association
that will be in effect for the next two
school years before the next realignment.
The new regions will bring about quite a
few different matchups for schools in Cobb
and Cherokee counties. The 27 schools are
spread across nine regions. While some
teams are set to face a number of new opponents
this season, some will renew rivalries
of the past and others remain in very
similar positions to the last two seasons.
Region 5AAAAAAA is one of the most
Cobb-heavy regions, featuring K ennesaw
Mountain, North Cobb, O sborne, Walton
and Wheeler. This brings several longplayed
rivalries together, including Walton
Wheeler which has been played 45
times, North Cobb-Cherokee which has
occurred 28 times and North Cobb-K ennesaw
Mountain, originally known as the
“Civil War,” that has been played 18 times,
every season from 2002-2019. The familiarity
among the teams in this region will
lend added intensity to the matchups over
the next two seasons.
The realignment also brings a change to
the status quo for the teams from Cherokee
County. U sually the Cherokee teams have
been split between two regions with three
in each. In this alignment Cherokee is in
Region 5AAAAAAA with five Cobb teams.
The other five Cherokee teams: Creekview,
Etowah, River Ridge, Sequoyah and Woodstock
are grouped together in Region 6AAAAAA
along with Allatoona and Rome. This is a
big change for Allatoona despite staying in
the same region. The last alignment had
Region 6 AAAAAA made up of nine Cobb
County teams. The Buccaneers have played
Creekview, Sequoyah and River Ridge in
the past but have never faced Etowah or
Woodstock.
Region 3AAAAAAA is similarly filled
with four Cobb teams: Harrison, Hillgrove,
Marietta and McEachern. North Paulding
rounds out the group as the region’s fifth
team. Even with Walton and North Cobb
being moved out of this region, the rivalries
in this region remain strong.
McEachern-Marietta will renew their rivalry
for the 35th time. Even though the
two teams faced off in 2020 and 2021, as
a region contest, the game will have even
more meaning. McEachern leads the series
20-13-1, but lost last year’s meeting 42-21.
The last time they met as region foes was in
2019 . The Indians won 14-12 and went on
to capture the region crown, but the Blue
Devils got the last laugh as they won the
Class AAAAAAA state title.
The recent rivalry between Hillgrove and
McEachern, two schools that have played
each other every season since 2010 will continue.
O ne team will also take the lead in
the Marietta-Harrison series that currently
sits knotted at 8-8.
Region 2AAAAAAA has Campbell and
Pebblebrook representing Cobb County.
SEE REGIONS, 143