MOULTRIE —
Three of the four Region 1-AAAAAA teams that were in action last weekend opened with victories, with newcomer Camden County and Coffee under new coach Robby Pruitt especially impressive.
Camden routed Peachtree Ridge in the fourth game of the Corky Kell Classic 42-0 on Saturday and Coffee pounded Whitewater 41-7 in Fayetteville on Friday.
Brunswick, which joined Region 1-AAAAAA with Camden County this year, also won its opening game, defeating Wayne County 16-13 in the first Erk Russell Classic at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro.
Only Colquitt County dropped its opener, falling to North Gwinnett 16-14 in the Corky Kell Classic when Michael DeAngola hit a 33-yard field goal at time expired.
The Packers completed just 12-of-28 passes and were intercepted twice and were flagged for 14 penalties resulting in the loss of 95 yards.
Colquitt County will travel to play Thomas County Central on Friday.
Camden’s impressive performance combined with Colquitt County’s loss to North Gwinnett vaulted the Wildcats to No. 2 in the AJC-Georgia High School Football Daily Class AAAAAA poll, with the Packers falling to No. 7.
The Wildcats scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions and led 21-0 at the half.
Antonio Wimbush scored from the 2 and Jacob Johnson ran in from the 19 as Camden led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Brice Ramsey threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Green with 8:02 left in the half and the Wildcats went into the break leading by three touchdowns
In the third quarter, Kalvarez Bessent returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown and Ramsey, who has committed to Georgia, threw two more touchdown passes, hitting Conner Lockhart from 8 yards out and Marcus Jordan from 61.
Ramsey completed 6-for-8 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns.
Green, who also is headed to Georgia, carried eight times for 89 yards as Camden County finished with 366 yards of offense.
The Wildcat offensive production was especially impressive considering Peachtree Ridge returned its front seven on defense.
Camden will play host to Vanguard (Fla.) High on Friday.
Coffee served notice that it could be a team to deal with after its season-opening victory over Whitewater.
The Trojans rolled up 405 yards of offense and took advantage of several Whitewater miscues.
Trojans quarterback Keegan McGovern completed 8-of-13 passes for 111 yards and a 41-yard scoring toss to George Johnson.
Timareion Simmons rushed for 67 yards on 10 carries and Johnson had 63 on nine attempts.
Coffee also got touchdowns from Tyree Paulk, on a 13-yard run; Johnson, on a 1-yard run; Santory Long, on an 8-yard run; Orlando Ingram, on a 34-yard run; and Tavish Douglas on 36-yard run.
The only points for the Region 4-AAAAA Wildcats came on a 24-yard second-quarter field goal by Austin Barnard.
The victory was the 294th in Pruitt’s long career, which includes seven state championships in Florida.
Lowndes, Tift County and Valdosta will open their seasons this weekend
The Vikings will play host to Luella and Tift County will go to Westover in Friday games.
On Saturday, Valdosta will meet North Augusta (S.C.) at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee.
Local Sports
Region 1-AAAAAA roundup
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Blazers take 1-0 series lead
Angela O’Connor launched a pinch-hit two-run home run over the left-field fence, tying the game against Alabama-Huntsville in the bottom of the sixth inning, and sparking the Blazers and their fans along the way.
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Blazer baseball stays alive, beats Stillman
Valdosta State scored five runs in the first inning to defeat Stillman 6-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at UT Baseball Field Friday morning.
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Lowndes’ Harwell, Wortham sign with Valdosta State
Lowndes’ Ty Harwell and David Wortham won’t have to go far to play college baseball.
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Blazers host respected rival UAH in Super Regional
One would expect a matchup featuring two of the top softball programs in Division II to come in the national championship game.
Unfortunately for Valdosta State and Alabama-Huntsville, who have combined to appear in four straight national championship games, they won’t be meeting in title game on Memorial Day in Salem, Va. -
Pop Warner Football coming to Valdosta
Pop Warner Football is coming to Valdosta.
The nationally known organization that puts an emphasis on education and developing American youth has been established in the Valdosta area and will begin playing football this August. -
Blazers lose to Delta State, fall to loser’s bracket
If the Valdosta State baseball team is going to win the South Region Tournament, the Blazers going to have to do it from the loser’s bracket.
The Blazers (33-17) dropped their first game of the tournament Thursday, falling to Delta State 4-2 at UT Baseball Stadium.
VSU will face Stillman College, which lost to No. 1 seed and tournament host Tampa Thursday, Friday at 11 a.m. to advance to the weekend portion of the tournament. The loser will be eliminated. -
Lowndes’ Willis, Breit named Region 1 Coaches of the Year
The All-Region 1-AAAAAA soccer teams were announced Wednesday and Lowndes was well represented.
Lowndes coaches Chris Willis (girls) and Jordan Breit (boys) were named the Region Coaches of the Year, after leading the Lowndes teams to region championships and going undefeated in region play. -
Vikings commit 4 errors, fall to Roswell, 5-2
The small things matter in baseball, especially in a winner-take-all game three.
On Wednesday, Lowndes’ baseball team made too many mistakes on the little things. The Vikings committed four errors that led to five Roswell runs and were eliminated in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs with a 5-2 loss to the Hornets. -
Vikings, Hornets split
For the first time this postseason, Lowndes’ baseball team will have to play a decisive game three in order to advance to the next round of the state playoffs.
After splitting with Roswell Tuesday, the Vikings will host the Hornets in game three of the state quarterfinals series today at Noel George Field. First pitch of the winner-take-all game is set for 4:30 p.m. and Lowndes will be the home team after winning the coin toss following Tuesday’s doubleheader. -
Former Lady Blazer Ferguson hired to lead Vikettes
The sign above the door still has Shan Garner’s name on it. There is even a Shan Garner plaque sitting on one of the shelves in the corner of the gymnasium office.
That will soon change, though, as Lowndes has hired its newest girls’ basketball coach. - More Local Sports Headlines
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