Lowndes County Vikings

GHSA 7A Playoff Projections

Published October 25, 2026 | By Jason Bishop

By: Ron Reagin

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Valdosta beat Camden County by 53 points Friday night and its PSR went down.

That’s how the GHSA formula works. What happens on everybody else’s scoreboard counts almost as much as what happens on yours.

Here’s my projection of the Class 7A PSR after Week 10.

It’s based on scores I’ve collected from GHSA and GPB Sports. These numbers are unofficial and subject to change.

A quick refresher: the PSR is 35 percent a team’s winning percentage, 35 percent its opponents’ winning percentage, and 30 percent its opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage.

Valdosta (8-0) stays No. 1 at .77992, down slightly from last week.

When you’re unbeaten, another win barely moves the needle, and the Wildcats’ strength of schedule took a small hit when former opponent KIPP Atlanta lost 13-12 to Holy Innocents. The lead still grew, though. Newton was off this week and stayed No. 2, about .046 back.

Lowndes (8-0) beat Richmond Hill 36-15 but still slid from fourth to fifth.

The Vikings got hurt by their schedule. Three former opponents lost Friday: Jenkins fell 17-0 to Ware County, Harris County lost 31-7 to Griffin, and Camden lost to Valdosta.

That pulled down Lowndes’ strength of schedule just enough for Carrollton to pass them.

Brookwood held third, and Carrollton jumped from sixth to fourth after a 66-27 rout of a Westlake team that came in 6-1. Beating a team with a record that good gave Carrollton’s schedule a big boost.

Camden County (5-4) slipped from 15th to 16th. The loss knocked its winning percentage down, but it didn’t fall further because playing an unbeaten Valdosta team strengthened its schedule and got back most of what the loss cost.

Richmond Hill (5-4) took the biggest hit in the region, falling from 17th to 18th. The loss to Lowndes lowered its winning percentage, and Lowndes’ schedule hasn’t been strong, so it dragged down Richmond Hill’s opponents’ opponents number.

Colquitt County (5-3) was idle and slipped from eighth to ninth without playing. Richmond Hill, a Packers opponent, losing to Lowndes dinged Colquitt’s schedule, and that was enough for Westlake to stay just ahead of them even after its loss to Carrollton.

Elsewhere, North Gwinnett made the biggest jump in the top 10, from 12th to 7th, after beating a 6-1 Peachtree Ridge team 39-18.

Peachtree Ridge fell from 9th to 15th.

North Cobb shows how strange the formula can be: theyy beat winless Wheeler and still dropped from 11th to 14th, because adding an 0-7 team to its schedule hurt more than the win helped.

My projected 7A top 10: 1. Valdosta, 2. Newton, 3. Brookwood, 4. Carrollton, 5. Lowndes, 6. Buford, 7. North Gwinnett, 8. Westlake, 9. Colquitt County, 10. North Paulding.

Next Friday, Valdosta and Lowndes meet in the Winnersville Classic with the Region Title and plenty of PSR on the line.

October In Region 1-7A

Published September 22, 2026 | By Jason Bishop

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.

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.

Posted in High School Football | Tagged Bishop Media Sports Network, Camden County Wildcats, Colquitt County Packers, GHSA, Lowndes County Vikings, October In Region 1-7A, Richmond Hill Wildcats, Ron Reagin, Southern Sports Edition, Valdosta Wildcats

Bedeviled

Published October 12, 2025 | By Jason Bishop

By: Jason Bishop

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Week nine of the high school football season was full of unexpected outcomes and the playoff picture beginning to solidify.

The Brunswick High Pirates looked as if they may coast to another region title in region 1-5A. However, the Statesboro Blue Devils had other plans hosting the Pirates at home at Womack Field.

BHS entered the game at 6-1 and they were undefeated in the region. The Pirates’ lone loss came way back in week 1 to the Camden County Wildcats. Statesboro entered the game tied for second place in the region with their lone region loss to Glynn Academy and 4-2 overall.

The Blue Devils got up early 14-0. Brunswick battled back in the second half and held a 21-20 late. However, the Blue Devils took a 26-21 lead and sealed the game with a late safety for the 28-21 final.

The win for Statesboro gives them an inside track for their first region title since 2005; they won the state title that year.

There is no better rivalry in GISA than Frederica Academy and Bulloch Academy. The Knights and Gators renewed their rivalry with Bulloch Academy a significant favorite to win the game. That did not matter to the Knights.

In this rivalry you can throw all records and stats out the window and Frederica showed us why.

The Knights Head Coach Brandon Derrick was fresh off his 100^th career win the week before against the Robert Toombs Christian Academy Crusaders.

The underdog Knights beat Bulloch handily 35-20 in the ‘Bloody Marsh’ on St. Simons.

With the win Frederica improved to 5-3 on the season and 1-0 in region play. It also makes them the favorite to win their win, which comprises of Frederica, Bulloch, Pinewood and St. Andrews.

For Bulloch Academy it was their second loss of the season and made them 6-2 overall.

The MCA Buccaneers came into their game against the Bryan County Redskins having lost four of their last five games and needing a win just to stay in the playoff picture.

The Bucs lone two wins coming into the game were against the Islands and Claxton, not exactly state title contenders.

MCA had lost a heartbreaker to Jenkins County the week before 7-0 in a region tilt. Against Bryan County they turned the tables, this time winning the game 7-0.

The loss for Bryan County more than likely eliminated them from being able to make the playoffs.

The win kept slim hopes alive for MCA in Region 3-A Division 2 as far as making the playoffs. The Bucs have games against Metter, Savannah and Portal remaining. More than likely, The Bucs must win out to get into the playoffs.

Down in Kingsland the Camden County Wildcats continued to struggle in region play. The Cats hosted the Lowndes County Vikings at Chris Gilman Stadium and were downed by the undefeated Vikings, 35-14.

Lowndes has a pretty firm grasp on winning Region 1-6A. Their final two games are both on the road with Richmond Hill and then against rival Valdosta.

Meanwhile for Camden, not making the playoffs is beginning to look like the reality. The Wildcats are 5-3 and 0-3 in the region. The Cats started 5-0 but have now lost three straight, all region games. Those losses include Valdosta, Richmond Hill and Lowndes.

Camden has Colquitt and Tift left on the schedule.

Historically, two region wins will get you in the playoffs in this region. That would not be the case for Camden. The Wildcats need to win out and have Colquitt drop their last game to Richmond Hill for a #4 seed.