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
- Sports
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VSU softball wins three games on opening day of GSC Tournament
The Valdosta State softball team relied on some clutch hitting from the Blazer offense and stellar pitching from freshman Hanna Lythberg to win three games on Saturday in Southaven, Miss., and they now stand alone as the only remaining undefeated team in the Gulf South Conference tournament.
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Top 10 Sports Stories: No. 7: Vikings, Wildcats eliminated in first round
Entering the postseason, the football teams from Lowndes and Valdosta were hoping to go deep into the playoffs. Unfortunately for both teams, their seasons ended in the first round.
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Lowndes shuts out Hardaway, 57-0
The Lowndes Vikings cruised to a convincing 57-0 homecoming win over the Hardaway Hawks Friday night at Martin Stadium.
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Wildcats beat Newton, 31-7
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Blazers battle Wolves in GSC opener today
It may only be September, but today’s Gulf South Conference opener between the No. 16 Valdosta State Blazers and the No. 23 West Alabama Tigers is much more than a regular season game.
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Turner County beats Berrien 35-8
A stifling defense and long drives propelled the Turner County Rebels to a 35-8 victory over the Berrien County Rebels on Friday night at Raymond Jones Memorial Stadium.
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Blazers fall to No. 22 Lions, 4-3
In a rematch of the 2011 Gulf South Conference Championship, both North Alabama and Valdosta State put on a show for Blazer fans at the VSU Soccer Complex Friday night.
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Blazers fall in final minute to Cardinals
It happened again. After three straight final-minute losses to closeout the 2011 season, the Valdosta State football team lost another heartbreaker Saturday to open their 2012 season.
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Gurley’s 3 TDs lead Dogs past Buffalo, 45-23
Mark Richt tried to treat Todd Gurley’s three-touchdown debut with a casual attitude.
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VSU softball wins three games on opening day of GSC Tournament
