VALDOSTA — Another week of the high school football season, another week of the Friday night fever column. This week, we have a good slate of games, headlined by Brooks County visiting Valdosta.

Last week, Christian and I both were 6-3 in our picks. Lanier County cost us both (not sure how many people had the Bulldogs losing to previously winless Long County). Neither Christian nor I saw Mitchell County losing to Clinch County or Valdosta State falling to Saginaw Valley State. We are looking for improvement this week.

Through two weeks, the standings are: Christian 10-4, Ed 9-5. Remember to follow us on Twitter, @vdtsports and @Ed_Hooper, for up-to-the-minute scores from all the action tonight.



Brooks County at Valdosta

Valdosta showed Saturday it’s going to be a tough team to beat in 2012, flexing its muscle in a 28-7 win over North Augusta (S.C.). Brooks County had a solid showing against Clinch County in week one, but needed a 55-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining to get by Monroe last week.

The Trojans have been talking all summer about coming into Valdosta and upsetting the Class 6A Wildcats, something that has never happened before (Brooks County is 0-6 all-time against Valdosta). For that to happen, the Trojans are going to have to play flawless football. Quarterback Malcolm Parrish, who has passed for over 400 yards and rushed for over 200 yards this season, will have to be perfect and the Trojans will have to keep him upright.

Depth will be a major factor. The Trojans are just a Class AA school and have several players, including Parrish, playing both ways.

In the end, I think Valdosta is just too good. The Wildcats have depth, plenty of experience on the offensive side — headlined by quarterback Shelby Wilkes and running backs Nelson Herring and Malcolm Joseph — and a home crowd that makes it tough on any opposing team. I think the Trojans keep it close, like they did last year, but Valdosta wins. I’m not sure how many teams will beat the ’Cats this season.

Ed: Valdosta 31, Brooks County 27

Christian: Valdosta 28, Brooks County 14 (Brooks County keeps it close for three quarters, but the Wildcats have more depth, and in the fourth quarter, that gives them a big advantage)



Newton at Lowndes

The Newton Rams didn’t score in their season opener against Eastside. They were blown out, 32-0. Lowndes, on the other hand, did plenty of scoring in Friday’s lopsided win over Luella. The Vikings should have no problem getting through this one, especially with the running game, led by Nick Burgman, that showed up last week. It will be interesting to see how the two quarterbacks (Alex Stephenson and Seth Carlo) perform as they continue to fight for the permanent starting job. In the end, Lowndes wins — and by a lot.

Ed: Lowndes 58, Newton 6

Christian: Lowndes 52, Newton 0



Crisp County at Cook

The only thing the Hornets did wrong in last week’s 36-2 win over Worth County was allow a safety and commit 17 penalties. The Hornet defense rebounded from a blowout loss to Coffee in the preseason scrimmage to post a shutout against the Rams of Worth. This week, Cook hosts Crisp County. The Cougars were shut out by Class A Turner County, 6-0, last week. The Hornets won’t commit nearly as many penalties tonight, and they should win convincingly. I call for a big night for Cook quarterback Ross Pickle.

Ed: Cook 31, Crisp County 12

Christian: Cook 28, Crisp 7



Berrien at Brantley County

Despite losing by 10 points, the Berrien Rebels had a decent showing last week in a 36-26 loss to Calhoun County. Tonight, the Rebels are back on the road to face Brantley County, the only team they beat in 2011. The Rebels played better than I thought they would last week against Calhoun County, and, tonight, I think they might be in the running for a win. If Berrien is going to win a game this season, it will take a game where the Rebels don’t beat themselves with penalties and turnovers. If they can do that, then I like them to make it two-in-a-row against Brantley County and notch their first win under Rob Armstrong.

Ed: Berrien 20, Brantley County 12

Christian: Brantley County 21, Berrien 14



Calhoun County at Lanier County

OK, what happened to the Lanier County Bulldogs last week? Two weeks ago, I picked against the Bulldogs and they beat rival Atkinson County. Last week, I took the Bulldogs and they were blown out by Long County, which hadn’t won a game since the 2010 season. I know the Bulldogs are young, and last week was probably a learning experience for them. Calhoun County, historically, isn’t a very good program. Hopefully, the Bulldogs learned from last week’s mistakes and being back home at Roquemore Field helps them.

Ed: Lanier County 20, Calhoun County 17

Christian: Lanier County 28, Calhoun County 26



Clinch County at Eagles Landing Christian

The last time these two teams met was in the state quarterfinals in 2010, when Clinch County was a state power and on its way to a state championship. That was probably the toughest game Clinch played all year; the teams went back and forth all night, before the Panthers pulled out a 34-27 victory. Two weeks later, the Chargers invited the Panthers to stop by ELCA and have lunch with them on their way to the Georgia Dome for the state championship game.

This season, the Panthers are in the midst of a rebuilding year, says head coach Jim Dickerson. It seems like the young Panthers learned a lot from their blowout loss to Brooks County two weeks ago, rebounding with a win over Mitchell County last week. This week, the Panthers go on the road and head north to Metro Atlanta to face one of the best Class A teams around, Eagles Landing Christian. The Chargers may be 1-1 this season, but their loss came to Washington County, a Class AAA school. The fact is, Eagles Landing Christian hasn’t lost to a Class A school in the regular season since 2009. I like Clinch County, I do. Jim Dickerson is a fun guy to talk with and the people in Homerville are always gracious to us when we make it over there for a story. But tonight, the Panthers have too big of a challenge with the Chargers. Eagles Landing Christian has future Notre Dame defensive end Isaac Rochell, future Purdue Boilermaker Keyante Green at running back and linebacker and the No. 4 team in Class A.

Ed: Eagles Landing Christian 28, Clinch County 17

Christian: Eagles Landing Christian 24, Clinch County 10



Fort Valley State at Valdosta State (Saturday)

The Blazers are riding a four-game losing streak and have a surprising 1-0 Fort Valley State team coming to Bazemore-Hyder Stadium Saturday night. Even without their starting quarterback, I see the Blazers getting back on the winning track this week, largely because the players are sick and tired of hearing about how they can’t win close games, or win any game. I don’t think the Blazers will win a close game this week, because I think this one could get ugly, even with Fort Valley showing signs of improvement from recent years.

Ed: Valdosta State 35, Fort Valley State 17

Christian: Valdosta State 28, Fort Valley State 14



Upset picks:

Ed: Thomas County Central over Marist

Christian: Mill Creek over Brookwood