Summer break may have begun but, it doesn’t mean the imprint of last year’s season has diminished. In the 2015-2016 season, the Wildcats were 8-4 overall and 3-2 in region play.
In Georgia, there are fifty-eight 6A teams. Valdosta is apart of this 58 alongside Colquitt County, Camden County, Lowndes, Lee County, and Tift County, which encompasses The Wildcats’ regional competitors.
Last season, Colquitt County went 5-0 in region play in contrast to the Wildcats’ 3-2 record in the region. From then on, the records begin to trickle down with Valdosta solidifying the third best record in the region.
Camden County was 4-1, Lowndes 2-3, Lee County 1-4, and Tift County 0-5. Although, how a team plays against its competitors is more important than its record. Yes, a record is nice to look at and something to be proud of. But a record is like a label and labels don’t define this team. The hard work and dedication the Wildcats put into ensuring a win is what defines them. From a football perspective, regional records are a defining factor due to home-field advantage during playoffs. Home-field advantage can make or break a team; either the team moves on into the playoff or they go home. In the playoffs, records do not matter because it’s win or go home at this stage in the season. However, the region record determines if a team if a team is traveling during playoffs or have the home-field advantage. This discrepancy in location can majorly contribute to a team’s performance due to travel. Traveling can make a team more tired than their other opponent and mentally take a toll on the players.
During the 2015-2016 season, the Wildcats took an L against Camden County with a score of 31 to 10. On the upside, in the preceding game, they pulled out a win against Tift County with a score of 26 to 23. At this point in the season, it seemed as though it was a tit for tat game with the Wildcats because they ended up losing against Colquitt County 49-14. From then on, the Wildcats went on a bit of a winning streak, in regards to regional play, with two wins against Lowndes 17-7 and Lee County 31-25.
I know you’re wondering what all this talk is preluding to…what my prediction is for the Wildcats’ 2016-2017 season, of course. Not by any means am I an expert on Valdosta football, however, stats and what I’ve seen from this team allows me to express my prediction.
Colquitt is a powerhouse in itself so I am sure they will do just as well this upcoming season as they did last season or at least somewhere close to the same performance. The Wildcats would have to ignite a fire somewhere inside of them to take the win with this team. In retrospect, Colquitt hasn’t been the powerhouse they are today, until Colquitt got their new head coach, Rush Propst. Propst is the former head coach of Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama and has only lost 83 games since 1989. It’s safe to say we all know the secret behind Colquitt’s success.
Camden had a slightly better record than the Wildcats this season so, IF Camden can maintain the same momentum from last season, the matchup between the two should be a good one. Depending on how both teams have played until the point of their game will be a determining factor. Although Camden beat the Wildcats 31-10 last season, the Wildcats have proven that they can beat Camden. More importantly, they have proven that they are a football team that can win regional titles. These teams may go toe-to-toe when it comes to the recruiting process, but the recruitment process doesn’t mean anything if those prospects don’t perform at the potential recruiters want to see. Wildcats v Wildcats: survival of the fittest.
The rivalry between Valdosta and Lowndes is always a crowd pleaser. It has gone on since 1968 with Valdosta leading the series 33-17, so I don’t see things changing anytime soon. Even though almost the same record as Valdosta in regional play, traditions live strong and habits are hard to break. Valdosta has a habit of beating Lowndes and that’s how it is. When looking at the Wildcat’s last two regional opponents, Lee and Tift County, they have nothing to worry about.
However, this upcoming season a new class is being introduced: 7A. There is still fifty-eight 6A teams in GA; now, forty-eight teams are setting in the 7A classification. The Wildcats are still going to be in 6A and still face off against, Colquitt, Tift, and Lowndes County. Even though their region competitors have changed a bit. Also, The Wildcats will not compete against Camden County in region nor regular season play in this upcoming season.
I’ve already predicted the outcome of the region game between the Wildcats and Lee County, but their matchups against Northside, Warner Robins, Coffee, and Houston County may be a little different. Camden County is not in the Wildcat’s region this year; however, they go up against Houston County and Northside. Those teams are essentially Camden County’s replacement in the Wildcat’s region.
In the 2015-2016 season, Houston County went 11-2 overall and 8-1 in regional play. Which included Northside Warner Robins. On top of that, HoCo still has Jake Fromm, the University of Georgia commit, and Head Coach, Vonn Lassiter. They even defeated Northside, which was Northside’s ONLY loss in a region game last season. Houston County’s win over Northside, tainted the Eagles’ undefeated record. Last season, Northside went 9-2 overall and was 8-1 in regional play.
How will the Wildcats matchup against these two teams? It’s a great question and my best guess would be the same outcome as their previous region competitor, Camden County. These teams are stacked from coaching staffs and impactful players.
Then, there’s Coffee County and Warner Robins. Coffee County didn’t do too shabby last season with a record of 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the region. They had fairly solid wins throughout the course of last season, scoring at least 7 points than the competition. But that would be the bare minimum. In the first round of playoffs, Coffee County defeated Warner Robins 37-10, adding a loss to the Demons ‘overall record. For the 2015-2016 season, Warner Robins went 7-4 overall and 6-3 in the region. From a record stand point, the team’s performance was adequate but substantial enough to get them to the playoffs against Coffee County. If you look at the numbers Warner Robins put up against other teams, it appears that Warner Robins is strong offensively. During the regular season last year, they put up strong numbers against their opponents such as Greenbier, Academy of Richmond County, and Grovetown with a combined total of 122 points in those three games.
The Wildcats should be able to hold their own against these two teams. They aren’t on the same level as Tift and Lee County, nor on the level as Camden and Colquitt County. The Wildcats’ what it takes to win a ball game and they shouldn’t have too much trouble against Coffee County or Warner Robins.
Is my prediction credible? Possibly not. I know the Wildcats have quite a bit of accolade including 6 national championships, 23 state championships, and 41 regional titles. Winning is something the team knows how to do.
Best of luck to the Wildcats this upcoming season. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Maya Bramletta
In The Game Sports Network/June 2016
Last Season’s Regional Recap and This Season’s Prediction for the Valdosta Wildcats
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Photos By: usatodayhss.com, valdostatoday.com, Tim Casey, mghelmets.com
