Bibb County high schools get busy basketball schedule after Macon’s bout with snow

Folks called it Snowmaggedon. 

That’s how one high school basketball coach referred to the recent spate of winter weather that hit Macon last week, at least. The snowfall and subsequent icy roads that put most of Bibb County and many other Georgia communities out of commission had all but wrapped up by the end of last week, but the effects of the cold fronts are still running their course in the world of high school sports.

Even with Bibb County schools back in session Friday, the district elected to delay its high school basketball games for the night, adding more make-up games to an already crowded slate after games the past two Tuesdays had been postponed.

“Our first concern with our kids in athletics, and everywhere, is always going to be safety,” Bibb County Athletic Director Kevin Grooms told The Melody. “When their safety is at risk, things like that can wait, and we felt that it was safer to play the games another day.

“That decision process also came down to our athletic directors and coaches — our coaches are the ones that drive the buses out there, and they didn’t feel comfortable driving with the roads how they were… There was also a lot of travel outside Bibb County, and those schools we were playing outside the county were also facing the same weather.

Most of the rescheduled hoops showdowns will have to be pushed to this weekend or next weekend, though some make-up games went down Monday evening. Grooms said the district actually lucked out, ironically — all three of the regions that Bibb County schools compete in across the A-Division I, 2A and 3A levels postponed roughly the same number of games.

“They all had the same weather problems we had… Augusta got six inches of snow… it snowed in Dublin, it snowed in Bleckley County, it snowed in Pike County, all those places. That helps us work with them on rescheduling the games,” he said.

Because of this, the regions should still have balanced schedules between teams. Basketball’s region tournament format also makes regular season record a bit less important, rendering cancelled games somewhat less problematic compared to sports like football where standings can mean everything. Missed games could still impact power rankings, positively and negatively.

“Another difference from football that we considered when delaying games is that you can play three basketball games in a week. Some teams did that this week,” Grooms said. “Winter sports are more favorable that way, and we considered that in our decision as well. We thought of the players and coaches, but also the fans and their safety.”

Macon’s private schools, in the GIAA instead of the GHSA, went with a similar format, moving games from last week and playing their games Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead of only Tuesday and Friday.

“We actually have three more games this week,” Tattnall basketball coach Matt Chambless said after his boys and girls teams played Monday night in the first of four games in five days. “It’s a massive week because of the scheduling change.”

With teams hunting for momentum before region tournaments and state playoffs in February, the last week of January could give some teams the chance to get hot as well. Some Macon teams also get the chance to play key rivalry matches — Central and Southwest, two of Macon’s oldest schools and traditional rivals, played Tuesday night and will face off for a second time in a week
Saturday.

Friday basketball schedule

• Boys teams: 
• Central @ Northeast, 7:30 p.m.
• Southwest vs ACE, 7:30 p.m.
• Rutland @ Westside, 7:30 p.m.
• ACE @ Southwest, 7:30pm
• Howard vs ARC, 7:30pm
• FPD @ John Milledge Academy, 7:30pm
• Stratford Academy vs Piedmont Academy, 7:30
• Tattnall vs Mount de Sales, 7:30 p.m.
• CFCA @ Trinity Christian, 7:30
• Girls Teams:
• Central @ Northeast, 6 p.m.
• Southwest vs ACE, 6 p.m.
• Rutland @ Westside, 6 p.m.
• ACE @ Southwest, 6 p.m.
• Howard vs ARC, 6 p.m.
• FPD @ John Milledge Academy, 6 p.m.
• Stratford vs Piedmont Academy, 6 p.m.
• Tattnall vs Mount de Sales 6 p.m.
• CFCA @ Trinity Christian 6 p.m.