Pigskin Preview - BCHS faces the mountain schools

It is time – Banks County gridiron Leopards retake the field Friday night for the start of the 2010 season.

The only question is, how are the Leopards going to handle playing with the mountain schools?

Banks County joins the north side of the region this season as region realignment forced the 8-AA region to be subdivided once again.

Head coach Blair Armstrong is happy with the split, and that Banks County will be able to hold its own against the north side better than if the Leopards stayed on the south side.

Playing on the north side, Banks will contend with Dawson, East Hall, Fannin, Rabun and Union. There will also be one crossover game between Banks and East Jackson during the season. All this builds up to the region play-in game and hopefully another shot at the playoffs for Big Blue.

Besides region rising power, East Jackson, the south side of 8-AA also features Elbert, Hart, Oglethorpe, North Oconee, traditional powerhouse and defending region champs Jefferson, and AAA drop down Jackson County. Early looks at the south side appear that East Jackson and Jefferson will be the dominating forces.

While Banks County looks to settle into the subdivided region, the main goal is to get something started and shake off the past.

According to Armstrong, the team is excited about this week and the fact that fair weather has led up to Friday’s opener. Banks County did not scrimmage last week, instead optioning for the extra time to prepare to face Social Circle.

“Social Circle has lots of tradition,” Armstrong said. “They have great speed and have made it to the playoffs a lot of the past years.”

How Armstrong prepares to handle Social Circle boils down to what Banks County has set as a primary goal for the season. ...

For more Banks County football, see the Pigskin Preview in this week's Banks County News.