With the dawn of the new year, it’s time to look ahead to what’s to come in the year 2006.

I do not own a crystal ball or tarot cards (I tried substituting a volleyball and playing cards in their place, but the volleyball told me nothing, and the only thing I learned from the king of hearts is that he has a sword through his head).

Therefore, unlike those fortune tellers that pretend to see the future (and scam you out of your money), I assure you that the following predictions are merely guesses on my part. I would not be surprised if some of them end up being wrong. But they could be right.

No three-peat for Lowndes

Sorry Vikings fans.

Lowndes rode a great group of players to the state championship the past two years. But they graduate 17 starters in May, so the Vikings will probably have way too many question marks and too little experience to win another state title in 2006. It’s just too hard to replace your entire offensive line, a three-year starter at quarterback (Doug Belk), an All-State halfback (Lynn Williams), eight starters on defense, and 17 overall starters and still win a state title. I’ve tried to project what next year’s starting lineup will look like, and there’s just too many holes.

That being said, coach Randy McPherson and his staff will do a splendid job with this young team. Other teams will look more impressive going into the season, but the Vikings will get through a tough non-region schedule (patsies like Meadowcreek and Luella are now gone from the schedule) undefeated, then will compete for first place again in a tough Region 1-AAAAA. The Vikings will get better as the season goes on.

Quarterfinals? Quite possibly, if they don’t have to go to Camden County in the second round. The Dome? Maybe, if some things can come together. But eventually they will run into a team that’s just too good for LHS to beat.

The Vikings should be perennially competitive, though. McPherson has his system fully in place from the middle school to the varsity, and the talent in the feeder system is strong. It looks like the Vikings won’t be doing much worse than 8-2 any time in the near future.

Valdosta has good year with new coach

Valdosta faces a major decision for its football program as it tries to decide who its next coach will be. My prediction is they will get an outstanding coach, and his first season as head Wildcat will be a good one.

With an experienced group of players (six starters coming back on each side of the ball), Valdosta wins the region championship, narrowly getting past a young, but defensively tough, Lowndes team in the Winnersville Classic. Star junior Alfrie Johnson has a big year for the Wildcats, either as the quarterback or as a multi-purpose back that gets the ball as often as Valdosta can get it to him.

The addition of Warner Robins makes the best region in the state even better. The Demons find out how tough the region is when they finish fourth, behind Valdosta, Lowndes and Tift County.

Valdosta winds up going all the way to the Dome, but doesn’t quite have the team to win another state championship. That will go to Camden County.



Valdosta State gets back among Division II elite

Valdosta State’s football team slid at the end of the season, dropping their final two games, but coach Chris Hatcher will have the Blazers back in contention for the national title again this year.

A quarterback will transfer in from either a Division I school or a junior college, and will battle incumbent Barrett Wilkes for the starting job. Whoever wins the job will have a good year throwing the ball in VSU’s spread offense. Also, a running back will step up and have a big year.

VSU will have close games against North Alabama and Central Arkansas, but will make the playoffs, and contend for its second national championship in three years.



Clinch County returns to the Dome

Clinch County has been one of Class A’s premier powers for a long time, and they continue to be just that in 2006, thanks to a dominant defense and a tough ground game with tailbacks Justin Gainey and Dexter Reeves. Last year, coach Jim Dickerson pointed out that the Panthers were starting a lot of juniors. Those juniors will be seniors in 2006, and they ought to form a good football team.

The Panthers suffer a tough loss to AA state champion Charlton County early in the season, but blow through the region, then make it all the way to the Dome. Can they win it all? Don’t count them out.



Cook, Lowndes baseball contend for a state championship

Cook made it to the Class AA semifinals last spring with only three seniors, and coach Bob Owsley’s team looks awfully good this year. This is an experienced bunch of players, led by catcher Justin Ray and brothers Blake and Brandon Mainor, and they’ll be one of the state’s best this year.

Lowndes coach Danny Redshaw has as deep a baseball program as any in South Georgia. Players have graduated from last year’s team, but others are ready to step in. Seniors Matt Harper and Jon Michael Redding form one of the best pitching duos in the state, and the lineup will be deep, led by Harper, Redding and first baseman John Simpson. But some of the programs in Gwinnett and Cobb counties are every bit as deep as Lowndes, so the Vikings face a tough road if they want to add a baseball state title to their football ring.



2006 surprises

Valdosta girls basketball — New coach Julie McCutcheon has already turned this program around from last year’s last-place finish. The Lady Wildcats are young, and they still may have some bumps in the road, but McCutcheon’s style of smart, fundamentally-sound, defense-first basketball will keep Valdosta competitive in just about every game.

Valdosta girls soccer — A terrible program throughout its existence, the Lady Wildcats will be much improved this season. Over the summer, new community coach Richard Steltenpohl took a group of players to a couple of tournaments, and they nearly won both. This may be a year of transition, but this program will show drastic improvement.

Lowndes boys basketball — OK, not much of a stretch here. The Vikings have a good program. But even though they lack superstars, they have played awfully well. Expect that to continue under first-year coach Kingston Clark. Lowndes will battle Houston County for the region championship.

Lowndes wrestling — Valdosta is the region power, but don’t be surprised if Lowndes challenges them for the region title. Coach Spencer Graybeal has 13 of 14 varsity wrestlers back from last year, including three individual region champions, and Lowndes ought to be competitive with their crosstown rivals in dual meets.

Brooks County and Cook football — They both graduate some key members off this year’s teams, but still return a good nucleus. As long as Brooks’ Ryan Branch and Cook’s George Dean are on the sidelines, you can’t count out these two programs.

Lowndes tennis — Not a surprise here. They made the state semifinals last year with only one senior. As long as they play like they did last year, they’ll be back in the semifinals again this year.