By a razor-thin margin, Vicksburg High kept its place among the big boys.

Vicksburg ranked 31st in enrollment among Mississippi’s high schools, allowing it to remain in Class 6A under the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s bi-annual reclassification plan. Vicksburg had 1,086 students. Natchez, at No. 32, had 1,085 and Starkville was 33rd with 1,079. The 32 largest high schools in the state are placed in Class 6A, while the next 32 make up Class 5A.

Vicksburg football coach Alonzo Stevens was hopeful the school would drop down a class, giving it an edge on some competitors. Instead, he’ll hit the field in 2011 with a team made up from one of the smallest student bodies in Class 6A.

“You’ve got to play the hand they dealt you. Coming off being the biggest 4A (in 2006) and now being the smallest 6A, it’s going to be a challenge,” Stevens said. “Just being that small, it creates a double challenge. We’re up for it. We’ve just got to compete.”

Warren Central remained solidly in Class 6A. Although it ranked 27th in enrollment, WC had 1,165 students when the final count was taken in October.

St. Aloysius will also remain in Class 1A. It ranked 18th out of 52 schools grouped into the state’s smallest classification with 160 students. The largest Class 1A school, H.W. Byers, had 196.

Although Vicksburg’s three MHSAA members — as well as Class 4A Port Gibson — will stay put, others in the surrounding area will be on the move:

• South Delta, located in Rolling Fork, will drop from Class 3A to 2A. It will be the largest 2A school, missing the cut for 3A by just four students.

• Hinds AHS will drop from Class 2A to 1A and could end up in a division with St. Al when those are announced in early December. Hinds was the sixth largest Class 1A school with 186 students. Football coach Michael Fields said the drop came as no surprise.

“I kind of expected that. The only bad part is that when you’re dropping numbers, you’re dropping athletes,” Fields said, adding that he wasn’t necessarily sure the drop in class would benefit his team. “It’s hard to say, because if we’re in that district it doesn’t matter. Those teams are as good as the teams we’re playing.”

The biggest remaining question when it comes to reclassification is the divisional alignment. Hinds AHS could join St. Al and University Christian, a newcomer from the MAIS, in a vastly reconstituted Region 4-1A. Meanwhile, in Class 6A, a shakeup in the southern half of the state could bring a radical change to the lineup.

Three schools — Starkville, Wingfield and Pascagoula — dropped from 6A to 5A. Moving up to replace them are Forest Hill, St. Martin and D’Iberville. Starkville’s drop will likely shift either Grenada or Greenville-Weston from Region 2-6A to 1-6A, which covers the northern half of the state.

Region 2-6A, which includes Vicksburg, Warren Central and a smattering of schools located along I-20, will likely add Natchez, Brandon, Terry or Forest Hill to its roster. All of those schools except Forest Hill are currently in Region 3-6A, which covers a huge swath of southern Mississippi.