THOMASTON — The Georgia High School Association officially released football schedules for the 2024 season Friday.

While most schools had already released schedules on their own, the listing offers insights into what others in the state have planned.

The elimination of Class 7A brings Colquitt County, Lowndes, Tift County and Valdosta all back together in 1-6A. Tift and Valdosta had played in different classifications in recent years. 1-6A also contains Camden County and Richmond Hill.

Non-region schedules for these teams have a heavy Florida flavor. Camden, as usual, loads up on the Sunshine State as there are more larger schools in north Florida than there are in southeastern Georgia.

Only Richmond Hill, whose schedule is incomplete, has not announced a Florida opponent. Lowndes will play Manatee. Valdosta travels to Jesuit. Colquitt has Rickards and Tift continues its series with Gadsden County. The Packers are the only schools playing an-out-of-state team from another location. Their first game on Aug. 16, sees West, Utah, come to Mack Tharpe Stadium.

Both Valdosta and Lowndes play three from Metro Atlanta: Mount Zion, Central Gwinnett and Kell for the Vikings and Tucker, Mundy’s Mill and South Gwinnett for the ‘Cats.

Tift kept two teams from their old region, Houston County and Lee County. They also have one of the more unique games. Months after being hired by the Blue Devils, Jeff Littleton will coach against his old school, Bainbridge, which hired former Tift head coach Jay Walls.

Over at Lanier County, new head coach — and former Valdosta State leader — David Dean, will get acquainted with the Georgia backroads immediately, playing at Mitchell County in his first week.

The removal of Class 7A saw several other schools pushed downward in size. Region 1 in Class A, Division I consists of Bacon County, Berrien, Brantley County, Fitzgerald, Jeff Davis, Thomasville and Worth County.

Fitzgerald hasn’t been a Class A school since 1970. Thomasville has to go back to 1954, when Class A was the GHSA’s second largest classification. Berrien was last an A school in 1978.

Cook remains in AA, where it is the western outpost in a region that contains Appling County, Crisp County, Pierce County and Tattnall County. Berrien and Cook retain their rivalry, though it’s been pushed up to the opening game of the season Aug. 16.

Valwood pops up on one GHSA schedule. The defending GIAA Class 3A champions will host Pelham on Sept. 6.

Elsewhere in the state, Southwest Georgia STEM fields its first varsity football team, as does Spring Creek Charter. Southwest Georgia STEM, from Shellman, opened in 2016. Spring Creek, located in Bainbridge, began in 2019.

Calhoun County returns to 11-man football for the first time in 2020 this fall. The Cougars have been playing 8-man football since.