By Christian Malone
VALDOSTA — These are not the 2006 Valdosta Wildcats.
Valdosta looked like the Wildcats of old Friday night, scoring 28 points in the first half en route to a 41-13 victory over Bainbridge in a preseason scrimmage at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. The Wildcats played solid football on both sides of the ball.
Last year, the highest number of points Valdosta scored in a game was 21. It took less than 20 minutes for the Wildcats to score 28 Friday night. Senior quarterback Michael Turner threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score.
Valdosta got the ball to start the game. On the fourth play of the series, from the VHS 44, Valdosta called a toss sweep going right. David Arnold took the pitch, cut inside, found the hole, and took off down the middle of the field. He outran the Bearcat secondary, and raced across the goal line for a 56-yard touchdown. Lawrence Clagett’s extra point gave Valdosta a 7-0 lead.
On their next possession, the Wildcats drove down and scored again. Turner hit Arnold out of the backfield for a 35-yard gain, moving Valdosta into Bearcat territory. Later in the drive, a personal foul on Bainbridge moved the ball to the 10. Two plays later, on second-and-goal from the 13, Turner faked the handoff, rolled right, and fired a strike to tight end Thomas Walker in the back of the end zone for the touchdown, giving Valdosta a 14-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, the Wildcats put the ball in the end zone again, driving 85 yards in 11 plays. A 25-yard run by Sidney Bivins moved the Wildcats to the Bainbridge 16. Then, on third-and-9 from the 15, Turner faked the handoff, rolled right, and found an open Perry King on a crossing pattern. King caught the ball at the 1, and stepped into the end zone for the touchdown, making it 21-0.
Valdosta added one more touchdown before the end of the half, going 58 yards in six plays. Turner completed passes of 11 yards to Tavoris Belcher and 19 yards to Perry King for first downs. On second-and-2 from the Bearcat 8, Turner rolled left, and found all of his receivers covered. So he tucked the ball under his arm, and ran it into the end zone for the score with 24 seconds left in the half. That made it 28-0 at halftime.
Turner sat out the second half, letting backup Kyle Rowe run the team. Valdosta tried to give most of its players a chance to play Friday.
Bainbridge got its first touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Nick Williams led the Bearcats down the field on a 12-play, 84-yard drive. On fourth-and-2, Williams connected with Chris Bush on a 16-yard touchdown pass, making it 28-7.
But Valdosta responded with a 70-yard scoring drive. Rowe connected with Damian White for 14 yards and Willie Graham for 17, then Vashun Johnson dashed 33 yards down to the 5. On the next play, Travis Brooks ran over a defender at the goal line to score a touchdown, making it 35-7.
A fumble recovery by Valdosta’s Gareyle Davis gave the Wildcats the ball at the Bainbridge 15. On fourth down, Rowe rolled out to the left and found freshman tight end Jay Rome for the touchdown, making it 41-7.
Bainbridge scored a touchdown on the final play of the game, making the final score 41-13.
Turner only played the first half, but completed 9-of-14 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He threw passes to six different receivers. Arnold also just played the first half, but rushed for 57 yards on three carries and also caught a 35-yard pass.
Before the varsity took the field, the teams’ junior varsities played, with Valdosta’s JV winning 8-0. The Wildcats took the opening possession 70 yards, all on the ground. Johnson rushed for 45 yards on the drive, then V23 scored on a 2-yard run. V23 then dove across on the two-point conversion play.
Valdosta opens its regular season next Friday, hosting Utah power Jordan at 8 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder.
