VALDOSTA — It’s something you won’t find at many schools in the state, and no others in the area. But on the north side of town, the Valwood Valiants are taking a week off right in the middle of football season.
The Valiants aren’t just taking Friday off — they’re not practicing at all this week.
The school is taking Fall Break this week, and all of the upper school students will be going out of town. Since there won’t be any players in town, there can’t be any practice, either.
The Valiants are having a great start to the season, with a 5-1 record, and the break couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We need it,” said senior lineman Jon Rutkowski on Monday. “Some players are a little banged up, but we’ve been going since the summer. It’s good to have a week to recoup.”
“All in all, I’m pleased with their effort, and everything’s good going into the break,” said Valwood head coach Mike Patrick. “When you are playing iron man football, like we do, eight or nine guys go both ways. To have our record, with no major injuries, we’ve played some pretty good football.”
The seniors will be heading to New York City tomorrow to take in as much as they can.
“We’re going to the Statue of Liberty, the Met, you know, all the touristy stuff,” said senior lineman Jon Rutkowski.
The junior class is heading to Atlanta for a community service trip, the sophomores are taking a college trip up the east coast and the freshman are camping in the north Georgia mountains.
The lower school is also out, which means the 1-2 junior varsity team, playing its second season, will have the week off too.
So far this season, the Valiants have played well, and look like they want to get back to the State Championship game this year.
When asked about the success of the team, nearly every player points to the defense. So far this season, the Valiants have only allowed 10.3 points per game and have pitched two shutouts.
“This is the best defense we’ve had out here in a while,” Patrick said. “Coach (Brad) Alligood and the other assistants have done a great job with our players.”
While the defense has been performing well, the offense is starting to come around, too. Quarterback Zac Henry and running back Robert Hires have missed some time, but both look to come back strong after the break.
“The offense has struggled a bit, but they’re getting better,” said Patrick. “Zac’s been really good at quarterback for us, and Rob’s been 85 percent at best so far this season, but he’s getting healthier.”
Junior Ricky Williams has stepped in and performed well in the backfield, while receiver Carter Karras continues to make big plays.
“I feel pretty good about the season so far,” said Henry on Monday. “The defense is doing great, and the offense is starting to click, but we still have work to do.”
The defense has done so well thanks to a total team effort, but after the bye-week, their competition will only get harder. That means that players and coaches alike will have to be ready once they return home.
“Hopefully we can heal up and come back full speed,” said Hires. “I think we’ll be focused and it will help us out in the long run.”
The Valiants next opponent will be Piedmont on Oct. 19. Last season, the Valiants needed a fourth quarter stand to hold them off for a Homecoming win. This year, the Valiants go there for their Homecoming.
“The team chemistry has been good, but there’s no more gimmies on our schedule,” said Patrick. “After Piedmont, we have top ranked Brookwood, then SGA, who is 5-1.”
The Valiants’ next game will be Oct. 19, on the road against Piedmont at 7:30 p.m.
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