Today’s interviewee is Lowndes coach Adam Carter, whose team is 5-0 entering region play in Region 1-6A. Carter, who won a 2020 state title at Grayson, is rebuilding a program that had six consecutive 10-win seasons from 2016 to 2021. Lowndes’ game with Colquitt County, scheduled for Friday night, is postponed with the possibility that it will be played Saturday, Monday or during the region bye week Oct. 18.
1. You’ve played some good teams so far, though none like the region schedule you’re about to face. Where do you feel your team is through six weeks? And compared to last season? “Our non-region was a build-up to our region play. Every week, the competition was better and teams more talented. Manatee and Kell are two really talented teams and well-coached. We have had to play four quarters each of the last two weeks. We are hoping these last two tests have prepared us for our region. We are where we hoped to be. The goal was to be 5-0 going into our bye week, and the kids were able to get that done. I do believe we are in a different place right now than last year. Our kids are more confident, they are playing for each other, and this 2025 senior class wants to do whatever it takes to win.”
2. What do you feel that you learned from your first season and leading up to this one that perhaps you didn’t know before taking the job, or that has changed how you do or view things? “We learned a ton over the last 18 months. We have battled through some tough moments, and our kids have been resilient. Every job has its own set of challenges. When we first got here, our first challenge was to get the kids stronger. We were not in a place strength-wise to compete at a high level in the state of Georgia. Our coaches have done a tremendous job pushing our guys in the weight room. We are finally in a place where we can physically match up better against larger opponents. We had to adjust some things we had done in the past, for sure. We went back and looked at schemes, how we practice, how we prepare, etc. Anything we thought could positively impact our players, we have tried it.”
3. How do you assess Colquitt County this year? What do they do well, and how do they present problems? “Colquitt is Colquitt. They are big, fast and well-coached. Coach [Sean] Calhoun has found what his kids do well, and they are firing on all cylinders. They are running the ball downhill with a really good set of running backs and a big, physical offensive line. The defense is just like Colquitt in the past. They run and hit. Their team speed and pure size will always present issues.”
4. It seems to me that Region 1-6A is one of maybe three-four regions in the state, maybe fewer honestly, where a team can be 5-0 and still not feel almost assured of making the playoffs. Do you agree with that assessment, and what is that like? “To make the playoffs in Region 1-6A is a season-long test. Each week you will play teams that are talented and coached well. There are five playoff teams in our region fighting for 4 spots. Some other regions are top heavy and have one, maybe two teams that could win the region. I think there could be four or five teams in our region that could get the No. 1 seed. Our region is brutal. It is every week having to be at your best. Throw in three- and almost four-hour travel for a region game, and it gets tougher. I believe Region 1 will definitely have a say deep into the playoffs this season. We will all find out where we are as a team after this first week of region play.” [Lowndes, Valdosta, Camden County and Richmond Hill from the region are 5-0. Colquitt County, last year’s champion when it was Region 1-7A, is 3-2. Tift County is 2-3.]
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