VALDOSTA —
It’s shaping up to be quite a week for sports in TitleTown, USA.
The high school football season is in full swing, and later this week Valdosta State kicks into into high gear with the start of three sports seasons.
The state of Georgia will turn its attention to Martin Stadium on Friday night for a battle of top five high school football teams. The No. 1 Lowndes Vikings host the No. 4 McEachern Indians in a highly anticipated matchup.
If it’s anything like last year’s game (McEachern won 23-22), this one could be a barnburner. Both teams are off to good starts. Lowndes won in metro Atlanta at South Gwinnett in its first game of the season and beat up on Pebblebrook last Friday. McEachern scored two touchdowns in the final 10 seconds to beat a ranked North Gwinnett team in the Corky Kell Classic two weeks ago. Across town on Friday, the Valdosta Wildcats will continue to try and improve against the Hardaway Golden Hawks. Valdosta pulled away late from AA Brooks County on Friday, and now the ’Cats are stepping up to play the AAAA Hawks from Columbus.
On Saturday, the VSU football team plays at Wingate. Both teams are ranked in the top 20 in most polls. It’ll be a meeting of teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2010.
The Bulldogs and Blazers played in last year’s opener with the Blazers winning on a last second field goal. This year’s game could have a huge impact on playoff positioning even though it’s only Week 1.
Before football on Friday and Saturday, Valdosta State will make history when its women’s soccer team takes the field. The Lady Blazers play their highly anticipated first game on Thursday at home against Georgia Southwestern at 7 p.m.
The Lady Blazers have a whopping 22 freshmen on the roster. Mel Heinz is a fiery coach who plays an up-tempo brand of soccer. It’ll be exciting to see what happens after waiting so long for soccer at VSU.
For Blazer fans who can’t make the eight hour trip to Wingate, they can get their VSU fix on Friday and Saturday in the P.E. Complex. The Lady Blazer volleyball team opens its season with a pair of doubleheaders. The Lady Blazers play Augusta State and Barry on Friday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. On Saturday they host Fort Valley State and Adelphi at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sports
Big week ahead for TitleTown sports
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Round 2: Vikings and Rams meet in clash of heavyweights
In recent weeks, the Lowndes Vikings have hit their stride.
Tonight, the Vikings, winners of their last three games, will face arguably their toughest test of the season when they visit the Grayson Rams in the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs. -
Valiants welcome Edmund Burke
The Valwood Valiants can clinch a spot in the GISA Class AA state championship game with a victory tonight over the Edmund Burke Spartans.
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Much like the Valiants, the Spartans enter with a 10-1 record, with the only blemish coming against Piedmont, who hasn’t lost a game since 2009 and are the two-time reigning Class AA state champions. -
Player of the Week: VSU’s David Bailey
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Polls and predictions: A history of college football No. 1s
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Big week ahead for TitleTown sports
It’s shaping up to be quite a week for sports in TitleTown, USA.
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Valdosta State ranked 20th in preseason poll
Valdosta State’s football team will open the 2011 season as the 20th-ranked team in the nation, according to the preseason poll released by the American Football Coaches Association Monday.
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