Valdosta State is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the 2024 NCAA Division II Football Championship – along with Kutztown – and the Blazers’ meteoric rise from an abysmal 2022 season hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.

Mississippi College and Valdosta State are at opposite ends of the Gulf South Conference spectrum, and that has been true for most of the last decade.

When a school has won state championships in every classification they've participated in, what's the next step?

Some of high school football's best teams from a variety of states usher in the season at the Freedom Bowl.