The AHSAA announced football re-alignments for the 2006 season Friday with a number of Shelby County teams on the move in the coming year.

The Chelsea Hornets, Montevallo Bulldogs and Calera Eagles will be playing in new classes next season while Pelham, Thompson, Shelby County and Vincent all make moves to new regions in 2006.

The Chelsea Hornets move from Class 4A to 5A and into Region 5 with the likes of Briarwood Christian and Benjamin-Russell.

Hornets head coach Watt Parker said his team’s move was expected.

&8220;We knew we were going to move up,&8221; Parker said. &8220;It’s a good region we’re going into, and it’s going to be interesting to see how we respond. Some of the guys are excited about moving into 5A while some of them are a little worried.&8221;

The Shelby County Wildcats were originally set to stay in Region 5, but a late adjustment, announced Monday, moved the Wildcats to Region 3. The Wildcats will face the likes of McAdory and Demopolis in 2006.

Montevallo and Calera both made class shifts for next season, with the Bulldogs moving down from Class 4A to 3A and the Eagles moving from 2A to 3A. The two teams meet in Region 3 next year, making the in-county rivalry game even more important next season.

Pelham and Thompson found themselves out of the high-powered Class 6A, Region 6 in 2006 and into the Tuscaloosa-centered Region 5. The two teams will face off against new region opponents in Tuscaloosa County and Paul Bryant.

The Vincent Yellow Jackets find themselves in the same class next season but shifted to Region 5 where they will face the likes of Cold Springs and Victory Christian.

The Homewood Patriots make the jump from 5A to 6A next year and join the Region 6 teams that include Oak Mountain, Spain Park, Mountain Brook and Hoover.

Briarwood head coach Fred Yancey said his team, which has been a region opponent of the high-powered Patriots for the past few seasons is happy to see Homewood go.

&8220;You know that any team that doesn’t have to face the Homewood Patriots in their own region is smiling right now,&8221; he said