[11/26/04] When the Mississippi High School Activities Association meets next week to hash out its new reclassification plan, a number of schools will go up to Class 5A or drop to 4A.

Warren Central and Vicksburg High aren’t expected to be among them.

According to unofficial enrollment figures released this week by the MHSAA, Warren Central ranks 27th and Vicksburg 29th. The top 32 will be classified as Class 5A, and no significant changes are expected to take place before the MHSAA board meets Dec. 3.

“They won’t drop to 4A,” Vicksburg Warren athletic director Lum Wright said. “They had a few more (students) the last few years, but I don’t see them dropping anytime soon.”

Since the MHSAA went to the current classification model in 1984, Warren Central has always been in Class 5A. Vicksburg was a 4A school until 1987, and has been in 5A ever since.

A relatively small senior class WC has 189 students in 12th grade, while VHS will have 204 put the two schools on the brink of dropping to 4A this time. Both have large freshman classes, however, and both made the cut by about 40 students. According to the MHSAA figures, Warren Central has 1,088 students and Vicksburg has 1,085.

Wingfield, one of four schools that will move up to 5A, was No. 32 on the enrollment list with 1,070 students. No. 33, Long Beach one of four schools to move down to 4A has 1,047 students.

Even if VHS and WC were to move to Class 4A one day, Wright said little would change in the way of scheduling. The annual football game between the two would continue, and they would still play in other sports.

“It doesn’t matter if we’re 4A or 5A. We’re still going to play ball and still going to have as good a program as we’ve always had,” Wright said.

While their classification seems secure, what region Vicksburg and Warren Central end up in is still unclear. Of the 32 Class 5A schools, 10 are squarely north or south. That leaves 12 schools in the I-20 corridor from Vicksburg through Meridian that could go either way, or both.

Under the current plan, VHS and WC compete in the north in football only. They play in the south for all other sports.

“It just depends on who’s moved in and who’s moved out,” MHSAA executive director Ennis Proctor said. “Some are obvious. Some on the edge, it’s a little tougher. Like Natchez and Meridian, who are out there by themselves.”

Most of the schools in the Vicksburg area also figure to be unaffected by the new classification.

St. Aloysius (Class 1A), Hinds AHS (Class 2A) and Raymond (Class 3A) are squarely in the middle of their respective classifications. Port Gibson and South Delta could switch classes, however.

Port Gibson is on the bubble between 3A and 4A, and would probably end up in Class 4A if the unofficial enrollment numbers hold. Port Gibson dropped to 3A in the 2003 reclassificiation, but was previously in 4A.

South Delta, likewise, has been in Class 3A for several years but has been in 2A in the past. If the same number of teams are included in each class as in the last reclassification, South Delta would be the next-to-last school to make the cut for 3A.