VALDOSTA — Last year, Valdosta couldn’t win a close game. So far this year, they can’t lose one.
In 2006, Valdosta went 0-7 in games decided by five points or less. No matter what they did, the Wildcats couldn’t seem to pull its games out in the end.
Things have been different this year.
Three times already, a Valdosta game has been decided by four points or less. All three times, the Wildcats (5-1) have come out on top. They beat Jordan 23-21 in their season opener. Three weeks later, they scored a late touchdown to beat Lincoln, 21-17.
Last Friday, Valdosta and then-No. 8 Tift County went down to the wire. Valdosta took a 27-20 lead on Perry King’s 37-yard touchdown run with 4:25 remaining. Tift responded with a six-play drive, and seemed poised to tie the score after Kaream Hess’ 1-yard run with 2:18 to play. But Valdosta’s Curtis Weatherspoon broke through the line on the extra point try, and blocked Jordan West’s kick to preserve the lead, and the win.
“Our guys have a ‘Never give up’ attitude, a ‘Never die’ attitude,” Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said. “They have the hearts of lions. They want to win. They want to fight. They want to play good.
“We’ve won two big games in the fourth quarter, and I think that says something about our conditioning, about our weight program, and their dedication and character. Coach Walls (of Tift County) said that in Region 1-AAAAA, most of the games you play are going to be close games. That’s why our conditioning really pays off. I’m proud of the fact that we’ve won those games.”
Earlier in the game, Weatherspoon had seen an opening in Tift’s kick coverage, and nearly blocked another extra point. He told special teams coach John Thompson about it, and on the decisive play, the senior linebacker got his hands on the kick.
In the Valdosta locker room after the game, one of Tomberlin’s assistants told him to enjoy this win. He did — for a day.
Now it’s a new week, and Valdosta will turn its focus to Warner Robins. The Wildcats will head north to battle the Demons on Saturday night. The game will match up two teams that are undefeated in region play.
On Monday, Tomberlin did something he rarely ever does — he gave his team the day off. He did it partially to give the team 24 extra hours to recover from last week’s game, and in hopes that the players will be stronger when they hit the practice field today. Because the Wildcats play on Saturday, they will still practice four times this week.
The Wildcats’ coach hopes that a lot of Valdosta fans will make the trip north on Saturday.
“We’d really like to have a big crowd at Warner Robins on Saturday,” Tomberlin said. “We need to turn that into a home field for us. We need their support. Warner Robins is a good team.”
Tickets for Saturday’s game will be available at the ticket office, located at the Valdosta City Schools Central Offices next to Bazemore-Hyder stadium. The tickets are $7 and will go on sale at 1 p.m. today.
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