LIVE BLOG: Spartans vs. Tigers for the Class AAA state boys basketball championship

Glenn Hills boys go for the Class AAA state championship! .... LIVE from The Macon Coliseum.

Glenn Hills boys and girls at the Class AAA semifinals in Macon.

Glenn Hills sweeps its games in the state quarterfinals on Saturday.

National Signing Day: Your inside scoop

OVERTIME: A few extra points on new Greenbrier coach Brian Smith

Here's a few other nuggets about Greenbrier coach Brian Smith that we didn't have enough room to run in the paper on Saturday.

Smith takes over for Scott Chadwick, who I've been told spent his last day at Greenbrier High School last week. I was told he's taken a job in another state.

Laney's new football schedule should carry an "R" rating.

Laney wanted to do the right thing. The Wildcats are trying to fall in line with the rest of the Richmond County schools even though they decided not to move up to Class AAAA.

Laney athletic director Otis Smart is very passionate about this. He cites travel needs, lost instructional time and a desire to fit in with the rest of the county on travel. He wanted to move out of a Macon-based region and cut down on travel like the rest of the county was doing.  

That decision looks very complicated.  The status of the bell-cow football team that generates all the revenue for the rest of the school's teams as the only perennial playoff team in Richmond County looks seriously compromised.

The bottom line is now very good Laney football teams will struggle to reach the playoffs in its new region. The Catch-22 would be that Laney would not have struggled to reach the playoffs if it moved to Class AAAA, but would have struggled to win playoff games against schools three times its size.

What's more important? Playoff success or just getting there? You can't have playoff success if you can make it to the playoffs in the first place.

If you love the scarlet and gray, get ready for a doozy of a schedule this fall.

Is your football team free on August 29? Have I got a date for you!

Ever wanted to give that varsity head football coach in your life something special? How about a game against one of the top coaches in area history?  

Thomson coach Luther Welsh can't find a game for his team to play in the opening week of the Georgia High School football schedule. Coach wanted some help getting the word out.

Don't make him buy a Classified Ad!

New Georgia High School regions are announced.

The Georgia High School Association's new regions are out.

It means another drain in the gas budget if you're a supporter at Greenbrier or Laney. Fans at Burke County, Thomson and Washington County will get ready for more of the same long trips that they've been making along with an ultra-competitive regular season schedule with the likes of Baldwin and West Laurens joining them in region play.

Lincoln County fans see a sub-region dwelling with longtime rival Washington-Wilkes. Evans can just about pencil in a football playoff berth for the next few seasons picking on the smaller-sized enrollments from Richmond County.

Where's your team headed? Check out Jeff Sentell's blog for a full list of details.

Class AAAA? Could be on the way for Richmond County.

Some folks are mad. They have every right to be.   

The Richmond County Board of Education hopes to move its schools to Class AAAA for Georgia High School Association competition.

Every school that makes this move will see its chances at a strong playoff showing reduced. The chance of winning a state championship in any sport will be virtually eliminated.

EXTRA POINTS: Jefferson Co. 27, Burke Co. 17

Augusta Chronicle preps editor Jeff Sentell will go overtime on his blog after each high school game he covers this season.
Most of it will be opinion. Everyone has one. He asks you to share your own impressions. What did or didn’t you like? Who did you think was the star of the game?
Think of this as a virtual barber shop. We encourage everyone to share their thoughts on the big game each week. Everyone has an opinion. Share yours. Show the world what you know.
This blog covers the Burke County-Jefferson County contest.
Jefferson County tamed the Bears in a 27-17 game that was not that close.

EXTRA POINTS: North Augusta 27, Strom Thurmond 17

Augusta Chronicle preps editor Jeff Sentell will go overtime on his blog after each high school game he covers this season.
Most of it will be opinion. Everyone has one. He asks you to share your own impressions of the game. What did you like? What didn’t you like? What concerns you the most as a fan of one of the teams involved? Who did you think was the star of the game?
Think of this platform as a virtual barber shop. We encourage everyone to share their thoughts on the big game each week. Everyone has an opinion. Share yours. Show the world what you know.
This blog covers the North Augusta-Strom Thurmond contest.
North Augusta overcame a 17-0 deficit along the way to a 27-17 win.
It has to be seen as a turning point for the Dan Pippin era at North Augusta.

Greenbrier vs. North Augusta. Is it just fantasy baseball?

Can you name the biggest high school baseball game between two teams from our area? Ever?

Which high school will have the best baseball team around next season?

Staff writer Jeff Sentell has learned of a potential game that may provide an answer to both those questions next season.

Is A.J. Harmon a Clemson Tiger? The answer is yes. For now.

He's the biggest college football recurit in the area. Both in size and in scouting circles.

Jefferson County rising senior A.J. Harmson is 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds. He burned up the college football recuriting message boards on the internet when news of his committment to Clemson surfaced late Friday night.

Harmon chose the Tigers over Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and South Carolina, among others.

So is it over? Staff writer Jeff Sentell doesn't sound totally convinced.

Thomson loses a mighty fine Bulldog.

Thomson assistant football coach John Barnett didn't get much sleep this week when he learned of a former player passing away. He felt so moved that he wrote out a tribute to Jerry Winfrey.

It was very well done. It's worth sharing with a broader audience. You'll want to learn about Jerry Winfrey.

Trust me.

Class AAAA State Championship Series -- Live from Greenbrier

Wish you were pluggd in to the Georgia High School Association Class AAAA championship series at Greenbrier? But you just couldn't make it out to the park? Join staff writer Jeff Sentell as he blogs live from Greenbrier High School beginning today at 4 p.m.

Greenbrier (29-4) will try to defend its state championship and preserve its 27-game winning streak against Heritage (32-4) of Conyers.

In-game blogging from the Class AAAA state baseball semis.....Marist at Greenbrier

GHSA Class AAAA State Baseball Playoffs ........Marist (26-8) at Greenbrier (28-4)

In-game playoff blogging from the state semifinals at Greenbrier High School

Greenbrier won the first game of today's series 10-3. They also won the second game 6-2 to advance to the Class AAAA state championship series on Friday.

Calvary Day at Aquinas in the GHSA Class A quarterfinals. The rest of the story.

Sometimes there's not enough room in the printed edition to round out the scope of a sporting event. That's where this forum can be a benefit. It's a chance for the coverage to go into extra innings.

Augusta Chronicle staff writer Jeff Sentell empties out his notebook from Tuesday's Aquinas-Calvary Day Class A state quarterfinal series at Aquinas Stadium.

GHSA State Baseball Playoffs..........Calvary Day (27-3) at Aquinas (24-5)

GHSA State Baseball Playoffs ........Calvary Day (27-3) at Aquinas (24-5)

In-game playoff blogging from Aquinas Stadium

GHSA State Baseball Playoffs at Aquinas

In-game state baseball playoff blogging......Providence Christian at Aquinas. 

Inning-by-Inning Updates from Aquinas Stadium.

The day Sissy Barnes went 2-for-2.

I go to an intriguing area sporting event just about every day. I ask the questions. Record the answers. Some days I get to chronicle more than who ran for the most yards, struck out the most guys or scored the most points.
Those are the days when this job just can't be beat. I had one of those moments recently at Westside High School.