Rusty Mansell's Game of the Week: Camden County at Valdosta

The state of Georgia is dealing with a lot right now when it comes to picking up the pieces from Hurricane Helene, but high school football can help folks get away for a few hours.

When it comes to Camden County playing at Valdosta, that’s exactly what the teams will hope to give people on Saturday at 1 p.m. Valdosta wasn’t sure the entire place was going have electricity with the storm and because of that, for the first time ever, the game is free to everyone.

Both teams are undefeated, but Valdosta won last year, 24-21. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but was moved back due to the storm. Currently, Camden County sits at No. 14 with Valdosta at No. 15.

Camden County enters with the No. 7 offense in Georgia while Valdosta checks in at No. 16, per the Massey Ratings. The Massey Ratings prediction is close with Valdosta winning, 35-34.

The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

It’s a major matchup for the state of Georgia and is a no-brainer pick for us to be the Game of the Week.

Valdosta

Three-star 2025 athlete Todd Robinson of Valdosta committed to Georgia in June, fresh off a visit to Athens. Robinson, listed at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, is ranked the No. 194 player in the country according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He’s the No. 7 athlete in America. Now, he brings his Valdosta team into this critical Georgia matchup with some help as well.

Notable prospects for Valdosta include 2025 UConn edge commit Nykobi Brown, 2026 cornerback Jalon Copeland, and 2026 athlete Prince Jean, who owns numerous offers across the country from Power Four programs.

Camden County

Folkson (Ga.) Camden County five-star Georgia tight end commit Elyiss Williams is the blue-chip for his team. He’s 6-7 and a dominant player, especially with the offensive changes his school has seen.

For more on Williams, I point to On3’s national director of scouting and rankings, Charles Power, who helped profile Williams. He’s one of the top players not only in the state of Georgia, but in the country. With the new-look spread offense at Camden County, he’s seen his production rise after the Wing-T offense gave way to the spread.

“Was primarily targeted on vertical and downfield routes as a junior,” Williams’ On3 scouting notes reads. “Has mismatch ability as a jump ball target. Comes down with catches in crowds of three or four defenders. Made strides with his ball skills as a junior. Shows the ability to track throws over his shoulder. Fluid mover and is coordinated, especially at his size. Able to stretch the seam. Tough to bring down in the open field. Shows good contact balance in breaking tackles. Has a nasty stiff arm. Finished with 25 catches for 530 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior.”

According to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Williams is the No. 25 overall prospect in America, the top-ranked tight end and No. 5 player in Georgia.