By: Joseph Stuckey

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Valwood Valiants are looking to take charge during the 2026 football campaign.

Valwood is located in one of South Georgia’s football hotbeds in Valdosta.

The Valdosta area is also home to GHSA football powerhouses Valdosta High School and Lowndes County High School, and they are right down the road from Thomas County Central High School.

Valwood will compete in the GIAA 2A classification that will send 8 teams to the state playoffs based on MaxPreps power rankings.

For Region play, they will play in A/AA District 3, which consists of Brookwood School (Thomasville), Sherwood Christian Academy (Albany), Southwest Georgia Academy (Damascus), and Southland Academy (Americus).

In 2024, Valwood competed in the GIAA AAA classification and made it to the State Championship at Georgia Southern University’s Paulson Stadium, where they fell to Deerfield-Windsor 19-15.

Last season, they went 6-4 and lost in the Elite Eight to Frederica Academy. John Milledge Academy would eventually win the AAA state title.

So for this season, with Valwood moving down to the AA classification and having success at the AAA classification, one could expect Valwood to make a strong run in the state playoffs.

Some of the AA teams that are contenders and that they could meet come playoff time include The Brentwood School (Sandersville), which won the AA state title last season, and Pinewood Christian Academy (Bellville), which is also coming down from the AAA classification alongside Valwood.

Now let’s take a look at their very unique 2026 schedule.

To start the season, the Valiants will take on nearby Atkinson County, which will be one of the rare matchups between a GHSA and GIAA school this season.

In years past, there were plenty of these matchups, but with the GHSA’s new power ranking system being implemented across all classifications, it has caused that number to drop drastically.

From my understanding, GHSA teams receive no added benefits of playing a non-GHSA team in terms of power rankings.

But for GIAA schools, it does affect their MaxPreps power rankings; the thought is GHSA teams play tougher opponents and normally benefit GIAA teams’ power rankings, even with a loss.

Even with that said, On3 gives Valwood a 74% chance of winning this game against Atkinson County.

As the season continues, they will play Deerfield-Windsor, which, as I mentioned above, beat Valwood in the 2024 state championship. Deerfield-Windsor is an AAA school, and On3 basically has the game at a coin toss, with a 53/47 split.

Valwood will also take on Cottonwood High School, which is just over the state line near Dothan, Alabama. This is also one of the rare matchups between a GIAA school and an out-of-state school.

The Valiants will also take on George Walton Academy, which made a deep run in the AAAA state playoffs last season.

Frederica Academy is also on the schedule for a revenge game against Valwood, as Frederica was the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. Valwood is slated to win this game based on On3’s prediction.

Then they will have 2 higher-classification opponents in Tiftarea Academy (AAA) and Calvary Christian Academy (AAAA) before opening district play against the other 4 teams in their district to finish the regular season.

I predict the Valiants could only have a few losses this season and could end up being really close to the 10-win mark and compete for the #1 seed in the AA playoff bracket.