VALDOSTA —
William Clanton is not only a die-hard Vikings fan, he’s one of the original Vikings. In 1959, Clanton joined the first Lowndes High School football team. At their first game against Camden County, he made the first ever Vikings touchdown.
“It had to be determination because we didn’t have the background,” said Clanton.
From 1957-58, before the birth of LHS, Clanton played football for Valdosta High School and the legendary Coach Wright Bazemore.
“There’s no other Bazemore,” said Clanton. “He was sharp.”
Clanton recalls Bazemore’s distaste for losing. He remembers a story that Bazemore’s mother used to tell of how Bazemore would play marbles growing up as a boy in Fitzgerald. He would go about the game with other children and, if he would lose, he would kick all the marbles in a fit.
“That’s how bad Bazemore hated to lose,” said Clanton.
Prior to playing for Bazemore, Clanton played football at Valdosta Middle School for Coach Buck Thomas. It was his time with Thomas that later prepared him for his years with Bazemore. According to Clanton, the middle school and high school teams are seamless. That’s what makes the program so strong. It’s that same philosophy that has carried over to the Lowndes County programs.
“I think they’ve got one of the best programs that they’ve ever had at Lowndes,” said Clanton. Randy McPherson “has an excellent system and an excellent program.”
While the football program at LHS is a smooth, collected machine of dominance, it could have never been predicted from the beginning it would reach that goal. In 1959, when Clanton and five other fellow Wildcats went from VHS to LHS, it was clear that it was going to take some work to get things started.
In fact, Clanton even went to the school board to ensure that there would be a football team at the new LHS. The board assured him that a team would be formed and even called all over South Georgia only to find six teams that would even play the budding and inexperienced team.
Carlton Adams was trusted with the duties of being Lowndes’ first coach.
“He had a tough job,” said Clanton.
That first season, they ended up having 50 people turn out to play football; however, only five of them had any experience playing football. Adams had to evaluate every player and figure out who was the fastest and who was the most agile.
“I was the fastest guy on the team for two years,” said Clanton.
Clanton was the captain his junior and senior years. He started the first game against Camden at Cleveland Field as half-back. Exactly five minutes and 17 seconds after the game started, he scored the first touchdown after making a 28-yard run.
“Only 2,000 people were there,” said Clanton.
Clanton also became the quarterback because the starting quarterback, Calvin Van Vlake, was hurt early in the game. The Vikings, against all odds, won their first game, 14-0.
“It was a determination by the entire team,” said Clanton.
The Vikings won four of six games that first year. The next year, Clanton made a 78-yard run at a game in Nashville. The Vikings ended their second season with a 5-5 record.
These were the good ole’ days for Clanton. He’s proud that he’s able to be a part of the Vikings legacy, but now his legacy in the great sports program is being carried on by his granddaughter, Billie Cheyenne Dakota Bostick.
“My first name was after my grandpa,” said Bostick.
Bostick is 14 years old and an eighth grader at Lowndes Middle School where she is a member of the cheerleading team and plays soccer.
Bostick is a leader like her grandfather, leading the team stretches and the “Vikings on 3, Vikings on 3, 1, 2, 3, go Vikings” chant before games.
This year was the first year Bostick cheered and was a sideline and competition cheerleader.
“I was a right base which means I have to pick up girls in stunts,” said Bostick.
Bostick enjoys cheering because, according to her, it’s not just about cheering at the games. It’s about carrying a good attitude and team spirit and pride every day. Something she most definitely gets from Clanton.
Bostick first learned about her legendary grandfather when she was just 3 years old.
“I would love to hear him tell stories about how he was one of the first people to walk through the doors at Lowndes and how he scored the first touchdown,” said Bostick.
Lowndes is a special place for Bostick because her grandfather is literally in the concrete.
“When they first built the field and track, the football players wrote their names in the concrete on the track,” said Bostick. “When I walk by it and see where my papa wrote his name, I am proud to tell people all of the wonderful things he’s done.”
For Bostick, Lowndes is not just about sports but about tradition that has trickled through generations of families. She feels that for those who play the sport, it’s something you can’t live without.
“You just live with the memories and hope that your son or daughter will live with the same dream you had,” said Bostick. “Just to be under the lights and to hear the cheerleaders and see the adoring fans, I think that is what my grandpa wants the most and that’s what I want to.”
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