It’s hard to believe, but after this weekend, we’ll be halfway through the high school football regular season.

It’s exciting, because it’s only going to get better as region play heats up, but it’s scary because it’s going by too fast. Before you know it, the playoffs will be here, then the season will be over and we’ll all be depressed. I guess the best thing to do is just try to stay in the moment and enjoy the journey.

It was nearly a second consecutive perfect week of pick ’em last week, but it was not meant to be. The Valdosta State Blazers suffered a stunning loss to Ouachita Baptist. VSU had beaten Ouachita Baptist nine straight times — by an average of four touchdowns — heading into last Saturday’s game, so it was an easy decision to pick the Blazers. It turned out to be the wrong decision. I’ve picked five games wrong this season, and two of them have been Blazer games. I’m starting to worry about my alma mater. The road for VSU will only get more difficult, with games against Delta State and North Alabama looming in October.

Last week: 5-1

Overall: 25-5

As always, we’ll revisit last week before moving on to this week’s pick ’em. The big surprise was VSU’s loss, but the game everyone was talking about was Northside’s narrow win over Valdosta. The Wildcats lost, but it was against a good team, and they outplayed Northside on offense and defense. Special teams cost the ’Cats, but I’m sure the coaching staff and players will fix those issues going forward.

I learned last week that the Colquitt County Packers are going to surprise some teams. Before last week, I thought the clear favorites to make the playoffs from Region 1-AAAAA were Lowndes, Northside, Warner Robins and Valdosta. Now I’m not so sure. The Packers could very well spoil another team’s postseason hopes and slip into the playoffs. They’re well-coached and have a home run threat in running back Tevin King. He needs to get the ball more in the red zone.

OK, time to make some picks. We’ll begin with the Lowndes Vikings hosting the Tift County Blue Devils. The 1-3 Blue Devils are the only team in Region 1 with a losing record. They took it on the chin against Roswell, Brooks County and Warner Robins. Their only win is against a AA Cook team with six seniors. The Blue Devils have 10 new starters on defense, and their high-octane offense has not produced. Not a good formula against the Vikings. This one will get extremely ugly. LOWNDES over Tift County, 52-0.

It’s only Week 2 of the Region 1-AAAAA schedule, but no one can argue that Valdosta vs. Warner Robins doesn’t have huge playoff implications. The winner will be in good shape, while the loser is in trouble. That’s especially true for the Wildcats, because starting 0-2 in region play could doom them. The road team has won this game the last three times. That’s good news for Valdosta. The bad news for Valdosta is that Warner Robins is really good. The Demons only lost 10-0 at No. 2 Grayson and shut out Tift County last week, 34-0. I’ll still take Valdosta in an upset. The ’Cats are better off now that they’ve actually been tested, but they have to stop settling for field goal attempts in the red zone. VALDOSTA over Warner Robins, 14-13.

Region 1-AA play starts tonight, and I couldn’t be more excited. Every week, we’re going to have great matchups in this region. Brooks County, Fitzgerald and Thomasville are three of the best AA schools in the state. Berrien, Cook and Early County are all upstart teams with playoff aspirations. It’s going to be fun watching this region unfold.

Brooks County hosts the Thomasville Bulldogs at Veterans Stadium tonight. Thomasville (1-2) has played AAAA Thomas County Central, AAAAA Colquitt County and defending AAA champion Cairo. All three games were very close. It’s obvious Thomasville is much better than its 1-2 record, and I’m sure the Bulldogs are glad to be playing another AA school for once. But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I believe in Maurice Freeman and the Brooks County Trojans. Keep feeding Keith Christopher the ball. BROOKS COUNTY over Thomasville, 17-13.

The Berrien Rebels are two weeks removed from a thrilling 26-25 win over Irwin County. Now comes the critical part of their schedule. They have winnable games against Early County tonight and Albany next week. After that, it’s a challenging four-week stretch against Fitzgerald, Brooks County, Cook and Thomasville. It’s imperative that the Rebels get off to a 2-0 start in region play if they want to make the playoffs. I think they’ll go to Blakely and get a win over Early County, a team they beat in overtime last year. BERRIEN over Early County, 20-16.

The Clinch County Panthers get a shot at revenge tonight when they host the Miller County Pirates. Last year, the Pirates beat the Panthers in Homerville for the Region 1-A championship. The Panthers seem to be on a roll, with two consecutive wins over Randolph-Clay and Calhoun County. I think the Panthers will take the Pirates more seriously this time around. CLINCH COUNTY over Miller County, 23-17.

Lanier County plays Randolph-Clay (0-3) at home tonight. It might be one of the best chances the Bulldogs have at winning a game. The Bulldog players will probably be fired up when they face their former coach, Daniel McFather, who now coaches the Red Devils. Randolph-Clay hung in with Clinch County and only lost by two to Bacon County, so I think Lanier County will have to wait another week for a win. RANDOLPH-CLAY over Lanier County, 16-10.

The Valwood Valiants are another team looking for a win. After having last week off, the Valiants are hosting Brookwood School (1-4). Brookwood has won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the two schools, including a 48-0 win last season. Brannon Tidwell’s group has gotten better each week, but I like history, so I’ll stick with Brookwood. BROOKWOOD SCHOOL over Valwood, 35-27.

The final pick ’em game of the week brings us to the enigma that is Valdosta State. In three games, the Blazers’ defense has given up 470 yards, 39 yards and 502 yards. Which team will show up this week? I don’t know, but the Blazers better hope it’s the one that gave up 39 yards, because a very dangerous West Alabama team is coming to town. VSU owns a 26-1 edge in the series, but UWA (3-1) has played VSU tough over the past few years, and this is the best UWA team to come along in a while. The Blazers have to play better in the secondary, or they’ll be torched by UWA’s option attack. This will be a close game, but I think VSU corrects its mistakes and plays better. VALDOSTA STATE over West Alabama, 24-16.