Football fans are excited about their favorite high school teams getting back on the field for Savannah’s version of Friday Night Lights.
But coaches, parents and players also have to deal with long trips across the state of Georgia that take a toll on programs in a variety of ways. We took a look at how far each team in the Greater Savannah area has to travel this season and came up with some interesting numbers.
Memorial Day, which plays in the Georgia Independent School Association, leads the pack with mileage on the road totaling 1,746 miles on the season, which is 100 miles more than a one-way bus ride to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Matadors longest round trip is a 548 voyage to play at Notre Dame Academy in Duluth, a nearly 8-hour round trip.
The Matadors have just three home games — with a pair at Memorial Stadium this season and one at Pooler Stadium. In recent years, the program has had seasons where they only hosted one home game, so things are improving on that front.
“It’s actually better than usual for us,” said Memorial Day coach Jaha Taylor, in his second year leading the program. “But our goal is to get a more balanced schedule and be able to play in front of our home crowd more often. It costs a lot of money to travel with gas and food and everything else, and we’d like to put that money in other places to help our program.
“It’s tough to get off a bus after a four-hour trip and go out and play. It also cuts down on practice time — it puts you in a tough situation with so many variables. But we’re going to do our best to deal with it this season.”
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The longest round trip for a local team will be made by Jenkins, which is isolated in Region 1-5A and will make a 580-mile round trip to play at Carrollton.
Playing in Region 3-3A has its travel advantages with three local stadiums hosting games, while Calvary Day and Savannah Country Day have stadiums on campus. Savannah Christian hosts games at Pooler Stadium.
Islands, which has a stadium across the street from its campus, is set to travel the least miles of local schools this season with trips set for 242 miles.
Here’s a list of Savannah teams and the miles they will travel in the 2023 regular season.
Memorial Day
Total mileage for seven road trips: 1,746 milesLongest round trip: 548 miles to Notre Dame Academy
Benedictine
Total mileage for six road trips: 1,536 milesLongest round trip: 536 miles to Chambers High in Charlotte, N.C.
Jenkins
Total mileage for six road trips: 1,372 milesLongest round trip: 580 miles to Carrollton
Bethesda Academy
Total mileage for five road trips: 1,172 milesLongest round trip: 332 miles to Thomas Sumter
Bryan County
Total mileage for six road trips: 842 milesLongest round trip: 280 miles to Lincoln County
Savannah Christian
Total mileage for six road trips: 814 milesLongest round trip: 524 miles to Marist
South Effingham
Total mileage for five road trips: 762 milesLongest round trip: 234 miles to Lakeside-Evans
Savannah High
Total mileage for five road trips: 744 milesLongest round trip: 250 miles to Richmond Academy
Calvary Day
Total mileage for five road trips: 642 milesLongest round trip: 456 miles to Eagle’s Landing Christian
Richmond Hill
Total mileage for three road trips: 634 milesLongest round trip: 386 miles to Colquitt County
Windsor Forest
Total mileage for five road trips: 590 milesLongest round trip: 192 miles to Brantley County
Effingham County
Total mileage for five road trips: 578 milesLongest round trip: 222 miles to Grovetown
St. Andrew’s
Total mileage for four road trips: 526 milesLongest round trip: 266 miles to Thomas Jefferson Academy
Bradwell Institute
Total mileage for five road trips: 462 milesLongest round trip: 184 miles to Coffee
Johnson
Total mileage for five road trips: 448 milesLongest round trip: 212 miles to Brantley County
Beach
Total mileage for five road trips: 418 milesLongest round trip: 204 miles to Brantley County
New Hampstead
Total mileage for five road trips: 406 milesLongest round trip: 202 miles to Camden County
Groves
Total mileage for five road trips: 382 milesLongest round trip: 206 miles to Brantley County
Savannah Country Day
Total mileage for five road trips: 248 milesLongest round trip: 110 miles to Pinewood Christian
Liberty County
Total mileage for three road trips: 246 milesLongest round trip: 86 miles to Islands
Islands
Total mileage for five road trips: 242 milesLongest round trip: 162 miles to Brunswick
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
