Predicting Every Team's 2026 MVP: Region VII-A

The new-look Region VII-A brings together a handful of neighbors, three of which are sticking together from the old Region IV-A with the other two coming down from Region V-AA.   What flies off the page about this particular group is how much young, established talent is available on each roster. A lot of eighth- and ninth-graders were thrown into the fire last year and are well on their way to be the grizzled veteran leaders of the future.   That's not to say it's all youngsters here. The Class of 2027 has plenty of star power, too, particularly on the teams that had successful years last season and are looking for the next seniors in line to take control.   Region VII-A has a mix of both, and here's our predictions for each team's MVP for the 2026 season.   ALLENDALE-FAIRFAX TIGERS   [player_tooltip player_id='1825322' first='Jamazin' last='Smart'] OL, 2029   Another coaching change at Allendale-Fairfax means more systems to learn, and quickly. The Tigers have hit the ground running under Kevin Jones, and naturally the installation of new offensive and defensive structures will create some growing pains throughout the summer and likely into the early stages of the regular season as they take what they're learning from offseason competition to the real thing. That means making it to every workout and being accountable are even more important, and that's where we like a guy like Smart who puts in the work every day to grow into someone they can expect to lead them from up front at his guard position.   HAMPTON COUNTY HURRICANES   [player_tooltip player_id='1820603' first='Ty'Quavian' last='Jones'] OL/DL, 2027 (pictured)   Last year's Class 2A Lower State champions are in new territory, both in terms of the Hurricanes' region placement and their roster turnover from a group that won 11 games and played for a state title. Still, Hampton County has plenty of been-there-done-that returners, like the 6-foot-2, 265-pound Jones. He was a key piece up front last year for a record-setting Hurricanes offense that led the state in scoring, and he was usually racing downfield to finish his blocks for an explosive rushing attack. It's probably not fair to expect a replication of those lofty numbers, but we know they'll have a good chance with a leader like Jones up front.    HARDEEVILLE HURRICANES   Kyrell Jamison WR/DB, 2027   There's a big pair of shoes to be filled at Hardeeville following the graduation of Region IV-A Offensive Player of the Year Camari Brown. There are some 2030s that already look ready to help pick up that slack, but for the MVP pick we'll roll with a rising senior who can get it done at both wide receiver and safety and was the third leg of Hardeeville's Class A state champion 4x100-meter relay team. The Hurricanes followed up a challenging non-region schedule with a three-game winning streak to make the state playoffs, and they have the young talent to continue building on that. We like Jamison to be the senior who passes them the baton.    RIDGELAND JAGUARS   Alex Mitchell LB/RB, 2027   Like Hardeeville, Ridgeland closed out the region portion of its schedule on a high note to make the state playoffs. The Jaguars won four out of five games to earn a home game in round one, and a close loss to Bethune-Bowman provided the sting to drive the returning players into the winter, spring and summer components of the offseason schedule. Ridgeland leaned on a few key seniors to help fuel that hot streak and playoff appearance, and here is where we like a two-way talent in Mitchell to take the reins moving forward.   WHALE BRANCH WARRIORS   [player_tooltip player_id='2205276' first='Makai' last='Zackery'] WR/DB, 2029   Whale Branch's coaching staff showed a lot of trust in Zackery by turning him loose at quarterback last year as a freshman, and he rewarded that trust by helping the Warriors get back into the Class 2A playoffs. We expect him to easily surpass the 1,000-yard mark this season as he continues to grow more comfortable leading the offense, and we won't be surprised if he makes a game-changing play or two on defense at cornerback. His familiarity with the opposition should help, too, as three of the four new region opponents were on last year's schedule.

The new-look Region VII-A brings together a handful of neighbors, three of which are sticking together from the old Region IV-A with the other two coming down from Region V-AA.