The newest series on AccessWDUN, our 2020 Region RunDown webcast, will look at each region involving northeast Georgia area teams as we, hopefully, begin preparations for the upcoming 2020-21 sports season.
We are starting with football, looking at each region beginning with Class 7A. We will work our way down to Class A Private and Public and every classification in between.
This week we will look at Region 8-2A, which features northeast Georgia programs Banks County, Rabun County, Riverside Military Academy, and Union County.
Banks, Rabun, Union, and Elbert County all return to a region that has been trimmed from eight teams to just five. Gone is Monticello, Oglethorpe County, Putnam County, and Social Circle. Riverside is the only new addition.
However, before the season could even get going Riverside, because of time concerns related to the COVID-19 virus, has already announced that it has dropped fall sports for the upcoming season.
That still leaves what should be a fun playoff race despite the fact that all of the four teams left will qualify for the playoffs. Rabun County is the six-time defending champion and has advanced to the quarterfinals for five consecutive years. Union County is coming its best season in program history (10-2) and snagged its first-ever Georgia High School Association playoff win in 2019.
Elbert County has a new coach in former Mill Creek coach Shannon Jarvis and features at least two, and maybe four, Power 5 players. Banks County returns 14 starters to a squad that was just two plays from a .500 season and possible playoff berth in 2019.
(Click play above to watch the entire webcast.)