MOULTRIE – Five of the new Region 1-6A’s six football teams will open their seasons on Friday, including two that will be led by new coaches.

The only region team that will not play on Friday is Richmond Hill, which will open on August 23 at Glynn Academy.

Colquitt County, 25-2 over the last two seasons, will play host to West High School of Salt Lake City, Utah, on Friday in the Hawg Pen.

The other four games featuring Region 1-6A teams are:

Camden County vs. Brunswick

Travis Roland, who led Mainland High of Volusia County, Fla., to the state championship game the last two years and won the title last year, has moved to Georgia to take over the Camden County program.

In his seven years as a head coach, he has posted a 58-22 record.

He is replacing Jeff Herron, who retired after 32 years as a head coach with a record of 334-69 and five state championships.

In his final season at Camden County, he led the Wildcats to the state semifinals and a 10-4 record.

The Wildcats return a number of starters, including quarterback Parks Riendeau, who threw for 1,180 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore in Camden’s run-oriented offense in 2023.

Camden also features five-star tight end Elyiss Williams, a member of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Super 11 team who is considered the state’s top prospect at his position.

The Wildcats will try to get the Roland era off on the right foot when it meets Brunswick High on Friday.

The Pirates, who will play in Region 1-5A this year, were 7-4 last season.

Tift County at Griffin

The Blue Devils were a combined 9-22 over the last three seasons – and were 2-8 last year – under Noel Dean, but there is hope in Tifton that the program turns around under new head coach Jeff Littleton.

His eight-year tenure at Bainbridge included an overall record of 91-46 and a state championship in 2018.

Tift County is back to Region 1 in the state’s highest classification after spending the last two seasons one classification down.

The Blue Devils hope to build an offense that managed just 147 points last season.

Griffin, which will play in Region 3-AAAA this year, was 1-9 last year and has not had a winning record since 2020.

Tucker at Valdosta

The Wildcats are heading into their fourth season under head coach Shelton Felton, who followed Rush Propst at Valdosta in 2021.

The former Colquitt County assistant has put up a 20-13 record and was second in the region last year.

Offensively, Valdosta will count on three-year starting quarterback Todd Robinson who rushed for 1,001 yards and passed for 1,087 last season.

He committed to Georgia in June.

The Wildcats also will be bolstered by the return of running back Deron Foster, who rushed for 912 yards and 12 touchdowns last year, and dangerous receiver Prince Jean.

Tucker, which will play in Region 4-AAAA this season, was 6-5 a year ago and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Statesboro.

The winning season was the first for the Tigers since 2019.

Jenkins at Lowndes

The Vikings have had two losing seasons in a row for the first time since 1993 and 1994 and will try to regroup in their second season under head coach Adam Carter.

Carter had been 45-9 with a state championship at Grayson before moving south last year to take over the Vikings program.

But the Vikings went 4-6 and lost all four of their region games.

Offensively, Lowndes will rely on quarterback Marvis Parrish whose ability to both throw and rush the football puts pressure on the opposition.

Over the last two seasons, he has thrown for 2,419 yards and 20 touchdowns and run for 1,036 yards and 18 scores.

He has two capable receivers returning in Jaylin Carter and Aiden Sefa.

Linebacker Coleman Lewis, who was credited with 119 tackles last season as a junior, returns to lead the defense.

Jenkins, which will play in Region 3-AAA, was 5-8 last season.

The Warriors were 3-7 in the regular season, but won two playoff games – each by one point – before being eliminated by Cartersville.

Interestingly, the meeting with Lowndes will be the only non-region game Jenkins will play.

The other nine games will be against Region 3-AAA opponents.