For the first time in 20 years and just the second time ever the Valdosta Wildcats and Walton Raiders will meet tonight as we kick off the first round of the GHSA Playoffs on GPB-TV. Twenty years ago the Raiders defeated the Wildcats 17-14 in the 2004 state quarterfinals. It was a huge win for then-Coach Ed Dudley’s team that would go on to finish the season 12-2 with a loss to Parkview in the state semifinals the following week. At the time it was the most successful season in Walton history.

For the Wildcats, they would not have a deeper playoff run for another 12 years until winning the program’s GHSA record 24th state championship when the ‘Cats won the title in 2016.But the Valdosta mystique never wanes. Their hometown is called “Winnersville” and when they venture from Bazemore-Hyder Stadium they are a traveling road show. People want to come and see what the fuss is all about. They are to GHSA football what Notre Dame has been to college football and the Dallas Cowboys to the NFL. They are the winningest high school football program in the country with 960 all-time victories.

Raiders Coach Daniel Brunner has never played against the Wildcats either as a player at Roswell or in his 15 seasons as a coach, the last eight of which have been as Walton’s head coach. He said, “it’s going to be exciting to play that historical program up here.” Valdosta Coach Shelton Felton said, “We want to put on a show.”

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Valdosta

Valdosta quarterback Todd Robinson has committed to play at Georgia.

Credit: 247 Sports

The Teams

The Valdosta Wildcats (8-2, 3-2 Region 1-6A) are the No. 3 seed coming out of Region 1. Their season has been sidetracked by injuries to two of their star players, QB Todd Robinson, a 4-star athlete committed to the Georgia Bulldogs, and sophomore Deron Foster who coach Felton calls the best sophomore RB in the state. If not that, he’s certainly one of top three having rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last year as a freshman.

Both are back but how effective they are will determine the length of the Wildcats playoff run. I was so impressed with Valdosta when we saw them on GPB back in September when both were healthy, I eventually had them ranked as high as No. 2 on my 6A ballot in our weekly GPB Poll. But then after starting the season 7-0, the injuries hit and the Wildcats lost to Richmond Hill 35-14, barely beat 2-8 Tift County 14-7 and then fell to crosstown rival No. 8 Lowndes 30-20. IMO they are the best third place team in the 6A field.

The Walton Raiders (7-3, 5-1 Region 5-6A) are the No. 2 seed coming out of Region 5. The 2024 season has been much different for the Raiders than 2023 when in the eyes of many they were the team to beat and nobody did until Milton defeated Walton 31-21 in the 7A state championship game. The Raiders would finish the season 14-1. A great season with a bitter ending that Coach Brunner confesses took a long time to get over emotionally and mentally.

So many great players to replace. QB Jeremy Hecklinkski is now at Wake Forest. OL Daniel Calhoun at Georgia. LB Ashton Woods at North Carolina. LB Wendell Gregory at South Carolina. RB Makari Bodiford at Memphis. That is a lot of talent to replace and one might say impossible to replace, certainly in one season.

The Raiders have played a number players this season that as seniors and juniors have waited their turn to contribute and almost the entire secondary is sophomores (albeit really good ones). Walton split their first six regular season games falling to region nemesis No. 5 North Cobb 42-14 before rebounding to win four straight heading into tonight’s game. They have not played since beating North Paulding in their regular season finale 42-17 three weeks ago. It’ll be interesting to see how all that “down time” impacts their team, positively or negatively.

Coach Brunner can see glimpses of his 2021 team, that made a surprise run to the state semifinals when Hecklinkski and crew were just 10th graders, in this year’s team. Will history repeat itself?

Whoever wins tonight will likely play at Carrollton in the second round and from what I’ve been able to see this season, JuJu Lewis and the Trojans would be “my team to beat” as we start this five-week tournament for the title.

The Match-Up

Valdosta Offense – Led by the aforementioned Todd Robinson at QB. He is rated as high as the No. 4 athlete in the country in 2025. Many believe he could be a Malaki Starks type defensive back for Georgia. Some think he could be a RB. Like Coach Felton, I believe he could even be a college QB in the right situation. Felton thinks he could be like a Nick Marshall was to Auburn. As a high school QB, he reminds me of Eric Berry when he played QB at Creekside. So yes. I’m impressed. Robinson has completed 69% of his passes for close to 1,700 yards with 16 TD and just five  interceptions.  He’s also rushed for 499 yards and 11 TD. Again mobility will be the question as he’s been recovering from a high ankle sprain.

Deron Foster is Valdosta’s best RB and already has six offers as a sophomore including Maryland. He was averaging 100 rushing YPG until he got hurt. Fellow sophomore Marquis Fennell who has four offers including Houston has shouldered a lot of the production with Robinson and Foster out and has over 700 yards rushing and 41 receptions with 10 total TD. Senior WR Eli Lewis has 38 catches and 5 TD and junior Prince Jean has 36 receptions, 5 TD and is a 3-star athlete with 10 offers including Alabama and Auburn.

Valdosta Defense – Led by nose tackle Marcus Williams who has a team-leading 83 total tackles, 25.5 TFL and five QB sacks. When’s the last time you saw a nose tackle leading a 6A team in tackles? Doesn’t happen often but Marcus Williams does and he’s picked up seven offers including Georgia State. Zamarian “Biggie” Williams is anything but as a 5-foot-9, 175-pound linebacker but he makes a lot of big plays leading the Wildcats with 53 solo tackles including 17 TFL and five QB sacks. OLB Nykobi Brown is a 3-star Edge committed to UConn with a team-leading six QB Sacks and 15 QB hurries plus 55 TT and 16.5 TFL. The secondary is led by 3-Star junior Jalon Copeland who has two INT, five PBU and 15-plus offers including Arkansas and Penn State. CB Cam Brown who plays the important STAR position for the Wildcats has 10 offers including Mississippi State and Georgia Tech.

Walton Offense – Senior Kaedin Gilstrap has stepped in as the starter at QB this season after serving has Hecklinski’s back-up. Kaedin is super athletic and is committed to Wofford to play football and baseball. He also plays basketball for the Raiders. Gilstrap has completed 55% of his passes for more than 1,700 yards with 17 TD and 11 INT. Coach Brunner believes the lack of “football reps” until this season has probably hurt him a little bit this year in regard to the interceptions. He’s also rushed for 459 yards.

Walton

Lucas Farrington, Walton

Credit: 247

3-Star RB Lucas Farrington leads the ground game with 713 yards rushing and 16 TD plus 19 catches. He boasts 28 offers including Purdue, Missouri and Arkansas. Junior RB Nori Thompson has been a strong No. 2 with 567 yards rushing and five TD. Carrollton transfer and 4-Star junior Christian Ward has been by far-and-away the Raiders top pass catcher (44-717 yards and 9 TD) with 23 offers including Georgia. He is rated as high as the No. 24 WR in 2026. 3-Star junior TE Jude Cascone has eight offers including Georgia and is just now returning to 100% after playing most of the season with a broken hand.

Walton Defense – As always seems to be the case, the Raiders are led by a hard-hitting duo at linebacker and here in 2024 that’s senior Jake Thorner and junior Noah LaValle. Thorner is committed to Wofford and has 99 total tackles, 68 solo and a team leading 15 TFL and 8 QB sacks. LaValle has five offers including Florida State and North Carolina (where his brother Caleb already plays) and has a team-leading 114 total tackles with 68 solo and 7 TFL. Rover Hudson Beard always seems to be around the ball and has 97 TT, 63 solo and 7 TFL. In the secondary, senior safety Ethan Stannard is committed to Air Force and has 85 TT while surrounded by three promising sophomores including M.J. Burnett, Alex Ward and Malikai Speed (has there ever been a better name for a CB?) Burnett is the son of former Georgia Tech and Green Bay Packers star Morgan Burnett who now coaches the Walton secondary. Alex, who is likely out with injury tonight, is Christian’s little brother and already has 10 offers including Georgia and Georgia Tech. Fortunately for Walton they still have veteran Christian Ferrell to lean on in the secondary.

Recruiting Game Guide

Valdosta Wildcats Prospects

Seniors

#2 Todd Robinson – 6-0, 190, Senior – Committed to Georgia June 10th over 16 other offers – Highest Rating: 247 Sports 4-Star and No. 4 ATH (Wildcats QB) in the country 2025

#17 Nykobi Brown – 6-3, 250, Senior (Wildcats Jack LB) – Committed to UConn June 24th over four other offers including Troy and Western Kentucky – Highest Rating: On3 Recruiting 3-Star Edge 2025

#99 Marcus Williams – 6-2, 285, Senior DL – Seven offers including Georgia State, Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State

#2 Khalil Mollay – 5-9, 160, Senior SAF – Offered by Cumberlands

#14 Miguel Brown – 6-2, 200, Senior OLB/DE – Offered by Cumberlands

Juniors

Jalon Copeland, Valdosta

Jalon Copeland, Valdosta

Credit: 247 Sports

#8 Jalon Copeland – 6-0, 175, Junior – Highest Rating Rivals 3-Star CB – 15+ Offers including Arkansas, Penn State, and Illinois

#1 Prince Jean – 6-0, 176, Junior – Highest Rating Rivals 3-Star ATH (Wildcats WR) - 10 Offers including Alabama, Auburn and Virginia

#6 Camron Brown – 6-1, 172, Junior CB (Wildcats STAR) – Over 10 offers including Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, and UCF

#0 Corey Howard – 6-5, 235, Junior Edge (Wildcats DE) – Offered by South Florida and UAB

Sophomores

#5 Deron Foster – 5-8, 171, Sophomore RB – Six offers including FAU, UCF and Maryland

#4 Marquis Fennell – 5-9, 175, Sophomore ATH (Wildcats WR) – 4 Offers including Houston, Georgia State and Georgia Southern

Walton Prospects

Seniors

Lucas Farrington – 5-10, 200, Senior – 28 offers including Purdue, Missouri and Arkansas – Highest Rating: Rivals 3-Star RB

Jake Thorner – 6-3, 225, Senior LB – Committed to Wofford July 26th over nine other offers including Georgia Southern and Miami of Ohio

Ethan Stannard – 6-2, 190, Senior DB – Committed to Air Force August 11th over eight other offers including Navy

Kaeden Gilstrap – 6-2, 185, Senior QB – Committed to Wofford July 11th to play football and baseball

Gabe Blalock – 5-9, 255, Senior OL - Offered by Grinnell College and Rhodes College

Sebastian Benai – 5-9, 165, Senior K – Offered by Rhodes College

Juniors

Christian Ward, Walton

Christian Ward, Walton

Credit: 247 Sports

Christian Ward – 6-3, 185, Junior – 23 offers including Georgia – Highest Rating: On3 Recruiting 4-Star and No. 24 WR in the country 2026

Jude Cascone – 6-3, 225, Junior – Eight offers including Georgia – Highest Rating: ESPN 3-Star TE

Noah LaVallee – 6-2, 220, Junior LB – Five offers including Florida State and North Carolina

Sophomores

Alex Ward – 6-1, 174, Sophomore WR – 10 offers including Georgia Tech, Georgia and Alabama

Malikai Speed – 5-10, 160, Sophomore WR/DB – Offered by Miami of Ohio and Morehouse

M.J. Burnett – 6-0 – 160, Sophomore DB – Offered by Miami of Ohio

So, join Wayne Gandy, Niki Noto Palmer, Jon Nelson, Hannah Goodin and me for our Emmy Award-winning Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week as the Valdosta Wildcats play at the Walton Raiders in the first round of the GHSA 6A Playoffs.

Remember, you can watch Football Fridays in Georgia in so many ways. You have traditional TV (GPB), online at GPB.org, GPB Sports app, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitch.

Now if you miss the game live or just want to watch it again, don’t worry, we replay the entire Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week at 11:15 p.m. or you can watch it on demand anytime at GPB.org. 

Enjoy your November 15, 2024, Football Friday in Georgia!