Richmond Hill Wildcats

1-7A Week One

Published August 25, 2026 | By Jason Bishop

By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

If the opening weekend of Georgia high school football told us anything about Region 1-7A, it’s that nobody should expect many easy Friday nights once region play begins.

Camden County, Valdosta, Lowndes and Richmond Hill all opened with victories, while Colquitt County suffered the region’s lone defeat. That makes Region 1-7A a combined 4-1 after week one.

Of course, we’re only talking about one game. Nobody wins a region championship in August. But first impressions are still important, and each of the five teams gave us something to think about.

Let’s start close to home with Camden County. The Wildcats’ 35-21 victory at Brunswick might have told us something about Tucker Pruitt’s first Camden team that won’t show up in the box score.

Camden led 14-7 Friday night when lightning interrupted the game. After a lengthy delay, the decision was made to suspend play and resume Saturday morning.

Think about that from a high school player’s perspective. You prepare all week, travel to a rival’s stadium, get yourself emotionally ready, play one quarter….. and then go home. A few hours later, you’re getting up, loading the buses and doing it all over again.

Brunswick tied the game at 14 before halftime Saturday, but Camden responded by taking control in the second half.

That’s a pretty good first test for a new coaching staff.

Valdosta probably made the loudest statement of anybody in the region. The Wildcats went on the road and absolutely dismantled Jones County, 52-14.

It’s only Week One, but putting 52 points on the scoreboard away from home gets my attention. If anyone wondered whether Valdosta would once again be a serious factor in Region 1-7A, the first answer appears to be yes.

Lowndes wasn’t quite as explosive, but the Vikings did exactly what good football teams are supposed to do.

Jenkins scored first, but Lowndes responded with 31 unanswered points and cruised to a 31-6 victory.

The game itself was delayed nearly two hours by lightning, so apparently Mother Nature decided everybody in South Georgia needed a little extra adversity on opening night.

Richmond Hill had a much more stressful evening. The Wildcats escaped Effingham County with a 22-21 victory after Effingham scored on a long touchdown run with just over two minutes remaining. The potential tying extra point was blocked, allowing Richmond Hill to survive.

It wasn’t pretty, but I’ve never seen a standings column that asks how pretty the win was.

And then there’s Colquitt County. The Packers drew easily the toughest opening assignment of anyone in the region, facing defending Class 5A state champion Thomas County Central. Still, I don’t think anybody expected a 57-21 final score.

I’m certainly not ready to write off Colquitt after one game against one of Georgia’s best programs. The Packers have earned far too much respect over the years for that kind of overreaction. But 57-21 is still 57-21.

So what did we learn? Maybe nothing. It’s August. But we did get our first clues.

Camden showed resilience. Valdosta showed firepower. Lowndes took care of business. Richmond Hill found a way to survive. And Colquitt discovered it has some work to do.

The best part is that none of these teams have played each other yet. Eventually they will. And judging by the first weekend, Region 1-7A might be every bit the fight we expected it to be.

Bracket Busters

Published November 18, 2025 | By Jason Bishop

By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

We are entering the second round of the GHSA football playoffs. Let’s take a look at some of the premier 6A matchups.

Brookwood (9-2) @ #5 Valdosta (10-1): Brookwood is the No. 2 seed from Region 7. Valdosta is the No. 1 seed from Region 1.

Last week the Broncos beat Archer 42-21. They rushed for 366 yards. Brayden Tyson had 144 yards and Jeremiah Brinson had 129.

Valdosta beat Dacula 56-28 in the first round of the playoffs. The Wildcats rushed for 335 yards in that game. Marquis Fennell led the team with 165 yards and Deron Fennell had 116 yards.

Valdosta’s lone loss this season was to #9 Colquitt County, 18-17.

The last time these teams played was 2014. The series is tied 3-3 and I think the Wildcats will win this matchup.

#9 Colquitt County (9-2) @ #1 Grayson (11-0): Colquitt County is the No. 3 seed from Region 1. Grayson is the No. 1 seed from Region 4.

The Packers beat Mill Creek 35-24 last week.

Jae Lamar rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Cohen Lawson was 12-of-24 passing for 226 yards and a touchdown. Antwan Lockett had five receptions for 128 yards and a TD.

The Rams beat Norcross 44-7 in the first round. They scored all of their points in the first half.

Deuce Smith was 12-of-14 passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns.

The last time these teams met was in 2019. Colquitt County leads the series 4-2. I believe Grayson will win.

Newton (8-3) @ #2 Buford (11-0): Newton is the No. 2 seed from Region 4. Buford is the No. 1 seed from Region 8.

Last week the Rams beat Peachtree Ridge 33-14.

They rushed for 373 yards and were 2-of-9 passing. Kevin Hartsfield rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Darius White rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wolves beat Richmond Hill 45-0 last week. They held them to 96 total yards. Dayton Raiola was 12-of-20 passing for 204 yards and four touchdowns.

The last time these teams met was 2019 and Buford leads the series 2-0. This is Buford’s 27th straight second-round appearance. I think Buford will win big.

#10 Harrison (10-1) @ #3 Carrolton (11-0): Harrison is the No. 2 seed from Region 3. Carrollton is the No. 1 seed from Region 2.

In the first round the Hoyas beat Marietta, 45-35. Aiden Watson was 17-of-23 passing for 194 yards and rushed for 180 yards and six touchdowns. D.J. Huggins had nine receptions for 95 yards.

The Trojans beat North Forsyth 58-17 last week. Ryan Mosely had five receptions for 112 yards. Cam Wood rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.

These teams have only played once before in 2023 and Carrolton leads the series 1-0. This is Carrollton’s 11th straight second-round appearance. I expect the Trojans to advance.

#6 Lowndes (10-1) @ #8 North Gwinnett (10-1): Lowndes is the No. 2 seed from Region 1. North Gwinnett is the No. 1 seed from Region 7.

The Vikings beat Collins Hill 37-16 in the first round. Jayce Johnson passed for 131 yards and rushed for 36 with three total touchdowns. Lowndes was outgained in this game but they had two interceptions.

The Bulldogs beat South Gwinnett 49-16 last week. They were balanced, with over 200 yards passing and receiving.

Elam Rahman was 12-of-16 passing for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Kalil Mazone rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

Lowndes leads the series 2-0 and they have not played since 2019. I think North Gwinnett wins a close game.

Posted in High School Football | Tagged Bishop Media Sports Network, Colquitt County Packers, GHSA, High School Football 6A Predictions, Kenneth Harrison, Lowndes Vikings, Richmond Hill Wildcats, 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.