Charlton County Indians
Charlton County Indians 2026 Preview
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Football has always meant something in Folkston.
For generations, Charlton County has built one of South Georgia’s proudest football traditions, a program defined by toughness, discipline and a belief that every season brings another opportunity to compete for championships.
Those expectations don’t disappear simply because the calendar changes or a new coach arrives. Instead, they grow.
The 2026 season marks the beginning of a new era for the Indians as Brandon Byram takes over a program that reached the second round of the Class A Division II state playoffs a year ago.
Charlton finished 6-6 overall in 2025, battling through a demanding schedule before seeing its postseason run come to an end against Screven County. Now, the focus shifts from what was accomplished last season to what lies ahead.
And what lies ahead won’t be easy.
The Indians open the season with three consecutive road games, beginning August 21 with perhaps their toughest non-region challenge.
Charlton travels across the state line to face West Nassau, a Florida powerhouse that finished 12-2 last season and reached the postseason after placing third in its district. It will be an immediate measuring stick for a team looking to establish its identity under a new coaching staff.
The road doesn’t get much easier a week later when the Indians visit McIntosh County Academy. While the Buccaneers finished just 5-6 a year ago, they reached the state playoffs and will present another early challenge before Charlton heads to Berrien on September 4.
The Rebels struggled to a 4-8 record last season, making that contest one the Indians will hope to use to build momentum before returning home.
Fans in Folkston won’t have to wait long for a marquee matchup.
Charlton’s home opener comes September 11 against Frederica Academy, a defending region champion that finished 8-4 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
One week later, the schedule becomes even more demanding when Early County visits. The Bobcats posted a 10-4 record in 2025, won their region and advanced all the way to the state semifinals before their impressive season came to an end.
Region play begins October 2 when Lanier County visits Folkston. Although the Bulldogs finished just 2-9 last season, region games often have a way of ignoring the previous year’s records, making every Friday night significant.
Charlton then travels to Atkinson County on October 9 to face a team that finished 9-1 a year ago, one of the biggest challenges on the region schedule.
After an open week to regroup, the Indians return home October 23 to host Mitchell County, a playoff team that lost a heartbreaking overtime game in the opening round last season.
The regular season concludes with two road games that could ultimately define Charlton’s postseason hopes.
First comes the annual showdown with Clinch County, one of the state’s perennial Class A powers. The Panthers finished 13-1 last season, captured the Region 2 championship and advanced to the state semifinals. Every year this rivalry delivers a physical, hard-fought contest, and 2026 should be no different.
The finale sends the Indians to Irwin County on November 6. While those Indians struggled to a 1-9 record in 2025, road region games are rarely easy, particularly when playoff berths and postseason seeding may still be hanging in the balance.
There are certainly questions surrounding Charlton County entering a season with a new head coach. There always are.
But the Tribe from Folkston has never been short on confidence. Confidence that hard work will win games. Confidence that tradition matters. Confidence that when the lights come on Friday night, Charlton County will be ready to compete.
The road through the 2026 schedule is demanding, but that has never discouraged football in Folkston.
If the Indians embrace the challenges ahead and continue building on last year’s playoff success, another memorable chapter in Charlton County football history could soon be written.
War Chant
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2025 season is shaping up to be a big one for the Charlton County Indians, and with a tough schedule, they won’t have much time to ease into it.
Head Coach Demario Jones enters his second season leading the Tribe, after finishing 5-6 overall in 2024.
The Indians were 2-3 in region play last year and claimed the fourth playoff seed before falling to Lincoln County in the first round of the Single A, Division II state playoffs.
Coach Jones will rely on the return of last year’s leading rusher, Omari Jones. The rising Senior averaged 63.8 yards per game and had six total touchdowns in 2024.
Rising Junior AJ Glover is expected to play QB for Charlton after backing up Ayden Crews, who graduated last spring.
Glover does have some playing experience after seeing action in 5 games last season, going 13 for 31 passing, with 4 touchdowns.
Things get going with a preseason scrimmage against Berrien, but the real action starts on August 15 when the Indians hit the road to face Brantley County.
After that, the Indians get a couple chances to settle in at home. McIntosh comes to Folkston on August 22, and then Jeff Davis visits on August 29.
That Jeff Davis game might come with a little extra edge since the Yellow Jackets were the only team to hold Charlton scoreless in a game last year, so expect the Indians to be fired up for that rematch.
From there, it is back on the road for two more non-region tests. The first is a trip across the Florida line to take on Yulee on September 5.
Then it is off to Toombs County on September 12, another strong program that will not make things easy. Those two games could tell us a lot about where this team stands heading into the most important part of the season.
And then comes region play, where the playoff hopes either get built or broken.
Charlton kicks off Region 2A Division II action on September 26 with a home game against Lanier County, who was winless in the region last year.
But things really heat up in October.
Clinch County comes to town on October 3 and you know the deal. They are always tough and always in the region title conversation. A win here could go a long way toward making a statement.
Then it is another home game; against Irwin County on October 10, and that one is no picnic either.
After a well-timed bye, the Indians head to Brooks County on October 24 for a contest against last year’s region champ. Brooks is a legit contender once again, and getting a win there would be huge.
The regular season wraps up with another road trip on October 31, this time to face Turner County, a team that is hungry to bounce back under their second-year head coach.
Top to bottom, this is a tough slate. The non-region schedule is packed with teams that will push Charlton to get better fast. Once region play starts, there is not a single game they can afford to take lightly. Every Friday night matters.
The key for Charlton will be to win at home, stay healthy, and try to grab one or two of those big ones on the road. If they can do that, they will be right in the thick of the playoff picture in November.
No doubt about it, the road will not be easy, but if this group can grow up quickly and find its identity early, they have a real shot to make some noise. One thing is certain, the 2025 season is going to be a fun and wild ride in Folkston.
New War Chant
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Charlton County High School Indians are heading in the 2024 football season with a new chief.
After finishing the 2023 season with a disappointing record of record of 2 – 9, and what has admittedly been a difficult last few years, the Charlton County Indians made a change at the top.
In December, the Tribe hired Demario Jones as their new head football coach. Coach Jones arrives in Folkston after spending the last two seasons as the head man at Godby High School in Tallahassee, FL.
Jones spent those two years at Godby working to put the once-proud Cougar program back on the track to success. Even though the win/loss record wasn’t what fans might have hoped for right away (the Cougars finished last season 3-6), Coach Jones is confident they were moving in the right direction.
Jones said, “At first things were a little rough out on the football field, but a lot more competitive this past year. I knew what a rebuilding job it was going to be coming into Godby, maybe not a lot of people would have wanted it considering it wasn’t going to be instant success.”
Coach Jones is a native of Jacksonville and played football at Raines High School. He was a walk-on defensive lineman at Valdosta State University. He worked hard and played well, eventually earning All-Gulf South Conference status. He ultimately received two first team all-conference nods in 2008 and 2010, and won a national championship with the Blazers. Jones was also the president of the Student Government Association at VSU.
After spending eight years as an assistant coach at Valdosta High School, Coach Jones became familiar the region Charlton plays in (GHSA Region 2, Single A Division II) by spending a couple of seasons calling the defense for Charlton’s long-time region foe, Turner County.
Coach Jones is known as a defensive coach, but he has made a splash on the offensive side of the ball by bringing in new Offensive Coordinator, Arturo Meza.
Coach Meza will handle play calling duties for the Indians after spending last season as an offensive assistant at Lowndes High school.
The Indians will be expecting continued growth out of sophomore QB A.J. Glover, who accounted for 6 touchdowns and finished his freshman year with the third most passing yards in the region.
Also returning is last year’s leading rusher, Omari Wilson, who carried the ball for 453 yards, averaging 56.6 yards per game played.
The defensive unit will be young and hungry. Only a few starters from last season will return for 2024. Junior free safety Brandon Woolard returns for the Indians as one of last year’s leading tacklers, along with senior outside linebacker/running back Maurice Sims and sophomore defensive tackle, Tim Sapp.
As with all GHSA regions, there will be realignment in 2024 for Region 2-1A Div. II. Along with Charlton County, the region will include Lanier County, Turner County and last year’s region champ, Clinch County.
New for this season will be the removal Atkinson County, while adding Irwin County and Brooks County to the group. The region will now have six teams, with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs.
With a 2-2 record in the region last year, Charlton qualified for the playoffs but fell in the first round to Jenkins County.
There is a new attitude in Folkston this summer, and certainly a new energy. Coach Jones is focused on getting his team prepared to compete for region championships for many years to come. His philosophy is to empower his young men. He plans to use his experience to give his players the tools they need to be successful and then hold them to that expectation.
The 2024 Schedule for the Indians:
August 16th vs Brantley County
August 23rd at Mcintosh County Academy
August 30th at Jeff Davis
September 6th vs Yulee
September 13th vs Toombs County
September 27th at Lanier County (Region Opponent)
October 4th at Clinch County (Region Opponent)
October 11th at Irwin County (Region Opponent)
October 25th vs Brooks County (Region Opponent)
November 1st vs Turner County (Region Opponent)
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