Valdosta plays for Region 1-7A championship
Oct. 27—VALDOSTA — There can be only one. Tonight, a Region 1-7A football champion will be crowned. Tonight, that will be a team with primary colors of black and gold. But whether it is the Valdosta Wildcats or homestanding Colquitt County Packers remains to be seen.
Colquitt is undefeated this year. Nationally-ranked, the Packers have chewed up and spit out eight opponents.
This is Valdosta's regular season finale. By beating Lowndes, Richmond Hill and Camden County in region competition, the Wildcats are assured of a first round game at home in the state playoffs.
Though the Packers have stampeded the competition, that does not mean they have done so easily in every game. Colquitt needed a second half surge against an underdog Lowndes. Teams have been able to score on Colquitt. With the exception of Tift County, every game has featured at least 16 points from the opposition. Half of their opponents had at least 20 points.
Neko Fann surpassed 2,000 passing yards last week against the Vikings. Ny Carr seems an automatic to get over 1,000 yards receiving before the year ends.
Valdosta has been increasingly reliant on rushing, something Colquitt has struggled with at times. Prince Jean, Todd Robinson, Shakevious Wright and Deron Foster give the 'Cats a unique four-headed monster in the backfield.
Whereas Valdosta is talking potential region titles, Lowndes is thinking about their playoff livelihood. Currently with an 0-2 record in 1-7A, the Vikings head to Richmond Hill tonight before finishing up with Camden County at home. They'll need to win at least one and perhaps both.
Both coastal teams are heavy on the rushing. Richmond Hill is also 0-2 and match Lowndes with an overall mark of 4-4. Richmond Hill's remaining game is against Colquitt. Camden is off tonight and Lowndes is their only remaining opponent.
Good news for the Vikings is that they have been in every region game and put a scare into the Packers. Adam Carter's crew just has to close them out. If they struggle to contain tonight's set of Wildcats, the 7.5 team yards per carry of the Camden Wildcats might a little tougher to tame.
Making state would mean a road game for Lowndes in the first round, but would keep their streak of state appearances active. The last time the Vikes missed the postseason was in 2014.
Valwood goes back on the road tonight, traveling to Deerfield-Windsor. To say the 1-7 Knights have struggled may be a bit mild.
Deerfield-Windsor's one win came out of state. They came close in GIAA 3-AAA games against Brookwood and Terrell Academy, but were shut out two weeks ago by Tiftarea for Tiftarea's lone win of the season.
Valwood has torched everyone in region and had no problems in wiping out Southland Academy last week with pure speed. The Valiants are all but assured of a string of home games to start the state tournament.
Valwood is No. 2 in the power rankings, second only to John Milledge Academy. The Knights rank 10th of 12 teams.
Georgia Christian has another game on the schedule with Pataula Charter. That's good news for the Generals. In September, they won 29-19 over Pataula at Edison for their lone win of the season
The Generals fell to Rocky Bayou Christian 28-7 last week.
Tonight will be homecoming for Georgia Christian.
