GHSA
Jason Bishop Show September 30 2026
October In Region 1-7A
By: Ron Reagin
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Region play has not started in Region 1-7A. That changes in October.
The five-team region — Valdosta, Lowndes, Colquitt County, Camden County and Richmond Hill — has spent September on non-region slates.
The records look good, but the standings do not mean as much yet. The next five weeks will decide the region title, the first-round home game, and most of the PSR seeds that follow.
The non-region schedules for the majority of Region 1-7A has been managed well by all teams. Colquitt has suffered a couple of early losses, as well as Camden. Luckily for them, Region 1 is an equalizer if they can win in one of the toughest regions in the state.
The October-November gauntlet
Region games come in a tight cluster:
Oct. 9 — Colquitt at Richmond Hill; Lowndes vs. Camden
Oct. 16 — Valdosta at Colquitt, Richmond Hill @Camden
Oct. 23 — Camden at Valdosta; Lowndes at Richmond Hill
Oct. 30 — Lowndes vs. Valdosta (Winnersville Classic); Colquitt at Camden
Nov. 6 — Lowndes at Colquitt; Richmond Hill at Valdosta
That is 10 region games in a five week span spilling over into the first week of November.
Every one of them counts twice: once in the region standings, and once in the PSR formula that will seed the 7A playoffs statewide.
What each team needs:
Valdosta has the best early PSR profile in the region and is projected as a high seed if it takes care of business.
The Wildcats still have to go to Moultrie, host Camden, go to Lowndes for the Winnersville Classic, and close with Richmond Hill. An unbeaten region run would lock up the title and a first-round home game.
Lowndes is 5-0 and has been dominant at home. The Vikings’ non-region wins have not carried much PSR weight. Region wins will.
Hosting Camden, going to Richmond Hill, hosting Valdosta, and finishing at Colquitt is a four-game stretch that will define Adam Carter’s fourth season.
Colquitt has a winning record after losses to Thomas County Central and Lee County.
Those two losses hurt the record and helped the schedule strength. The Packers still have a path to a high seed if they win their share in region play. The home date with Valdosta on Oct. 16 and the finale against Lowndes are the measuring sticks.
Camden needs region wins more than anyone. A decent start and a mid-teens PSR projection leave little margin.
Games at Lowndes, at Valdosta, and at home against Colquitt will decide whether the Wildcats are a playoff team with a decent seed or a team looking in from the outside.
Richmond Hill is off to a tremendous start and still the team the formula has treated the harshest. The early wins have not built much opponent winning percentage.
Hosting Colquitt, hosting Lowndes, and going to Valdosta in the finale is the chance to change that. Those games could flip the PSR picture fast if Richmond Hill can win continue winning in the Region.
Why October matters more this year
The region champion still gets a first-round home game. After that, PSR seeds the field 1 through 32.
A second-place team with a tougher résumé can be seeded higher than a champion from a weaker region. That is why these eight games are not just about first place. They are about who you beat and when you beat them.
Late-season upsets can wipe out a high PSR in a hurry. Region wins, in a tough region, can also climb a team several spots in a single Friday night.
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The takeaway
September was about getting ready. October is about the region.
Valdosta and Lowndes enter as the favorites. Colquitt has the schedule profile to stay in the high-seed conversation. Camden and Richmond Hill have to prove it against the teams that will actually show up on the playoff résumé, and more importantly, show up in their PSR.
South Georgia fans are already looking forward to these matchups. This year they also decide the playoff seeds, and that makes October in Region 1 as important as it has been in a long time.
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Jason Bishop Show September 17 2026
1-7A Rankings
By: Ron Reagin
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Region 1-7A has five teams this year — Valdosta, Lowndes, Colquitt County, Camden County and Richmond Hill — but the new GHSA Post-Season Ranking Formula is already separating them.
The formula is winning percentage (35%), opponents’ winning percentage (35%), and opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (30%). Region champions still get a first-round home game. After that, the 1-32 seeds are driven by PSR, not region finish.
Maxwell’s model takes current results and plays out the rest of the season. For Region 1-7A, the projection (current PSR rank → predicted final seed, with Maxwell power rank in parentheses) looks like this:
Valdosta:                   2 → 1 (8)
Lowndes:                   7 → 9 (17)
Richmond Hill:            8 → 27 (23)
Camden County          16→ 17 (20)
Colquitt County:        18 → 5 (13)
That is the clearest snapshot of how the formula is working. Valdosta is projected to finish as the No. 1 seed in Class 7A.
Colquitt, sitting 2-2 and 17th in the live PSR, is projected to climb all the way to a No. 5 seed. Lowndes stays in the field as a No. 9. Camden holds around a mid-teens seed. Richmond Hill, unbeaten right now and ninth in the live PSR, is projected to slide to 27.
Who is benefiting
Valdosta is the early winner. The Wildcats are unbeaten and already carrying the region’s best opponents’ winning percentage. Maxwell has them finishing 10-0, winning the region, and coming out as the top seed in the class.
Colquitt County is the other big winner in the formula. The Packers lost to Thomas County Central and Lee County, two of the strongest teams in Georgia. Those losses hurt the record, but they help the schedule strength. That is why a 2-2 team is projected as a No. 5 seed when the season is over.
Camden is holding its ground. A 3-1 start and a decent Florida mix keep them in the playoff picture as a projected 17-seed.
Who is lacking the competition
Lowndes is projected to fall from a high current PSR spot to a No. 9 seed. Wins over Jenkins, Harris County, Lithonia and Blanche Ely look clean, but they do not move the OWP needle much.
Richmond Hill is the cautionary tale. Unbeaten, tied for eighth in the live PSR, and projected to finish 27th.
Wins over Effingham, Liberty County, Jenkins and Ware County have not built enough opponent winning percentage. Unless region play changes that, the formula will treat them as a bubble team, not a high seed.
Schools that play Non-GHSA opponents get no benefit from OWP or OOWP, and only get 0.9 credit in their own WP.
How the region is predicted to finish
Maxwell’s most likely predicted outcomes:
Valdosta 10-0, region champion, PSR No. 1
Colquitt around 7-3, PSR No. 5
Lowndes around 8-2, PSR No. 9
Camden in the mid-teens
Richmond Hill fighting to stay inside the 32
Region play has not started. When these five start playing each other — Colquitt at Richmond Hill, Valdosta at Colquitt, Camden at Valdosta, Lowndes at Valdosta, Lowndes at Colquitt — both the standings and the formula will move at the same time.
Late season upsets could derail a high PSR for post season. Conversely, region wins are going to be key to maintain or gain spots in the PSR for seeding in the playoffs.
The takeaway
PSRF is doing what it was built to do. It is rewarding who you beat, not just that you won.
Valdosta is ahead because it is winning against teams that win. Colquitt is still in the high-seed conversation because it scheduled TCC and Lee County. Lowndes and Richmond Hill have the records. They still need the remaining games, especially region games, to raise the quality attached to those wins.
Bottom line, stats and projections are entertaining to speculate about, but wins in the region are going to be the final determining factor for PSR in 2026.
In a five-team region, every Friday of region matchups matters twice: once in the standings, and once in the formula that will seed the playoffs. October is going to be entertaining in Region 1-7A.
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