VALDOSTA — Team Florida rallied from a 23-0 deficit to earn a 23-23 tie in the Florida-Georgia War of the Border on Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

A 4-yard touchdown run by Santa Fe’s Brandon Willis and a two-point conversion run by Mount Dora quarterback Vegas Harley with 5:23 left in the game tied the score at 23-23, and neither team could score again, so the game ended in a tie.

“It was a good football game,” said Valdosta head coach Rance Gillespie, who coached Team Georgia. “It had a little bit of everything. It had some big plays by both teams. It had some good football players.”

The Georgia team was comprised of football players from South Georgia, while the Florida team had players from northern and central Florida.

Team Georgia dominated most of the first half, scoring three touchdowns and a safety and building a 23-0 lead.

On the first play from scrimmage of the game, the center snapped the ball over the head of Florida quarterback Donte Roberts and into the end zone. Roberts fell on the ball in the end zone and conceded the safety, giving Georgia a 2-0 lead.

Late in the first quarter, a 30-yard run by Tony Clark of Coffee moved Team Georgia into the red zone, and three plays later, on first-and-goal from the 3, quarterback Josh Bennett of Ware County took the snap, kept the ball and ran into the end zone for the touchdown. Luis Gomez of Berrien kicked the extra point, giving Georgia a 9-0 lead.

After Team Florida punted into the end zone for a touchback, Team Georgia got the ball back at its own 20. On the first play, quarterback Zach Folsom of Cook threw a swing pass to Coffee’s Tyreek Hill. Hill caught the ball, ran past a defender, then turned on his blazing speed and raced 80 yards untouched down the Georgia sideline for a touchdown, increasing Team Georgia’s lead to 16-0.

An illegal block on the ensuing kickoff pinned Team Florida back at its own 9-yard line. On the next play, the center once again snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head and into the end zone. Players ran after the ball, and the first one to get to it was Valdosta’s Randy Cook. Cook jumped on the loose ball in the end zone, giving his team another touchdown and a 23-0 lead.

Team Florida finally got on the board late in the second quarter. Florida’s Verntario Jenkins picked off a pass at the Georgia 42. Three plays later, Harley took a handoff, found a hole in the middle of the line, blew through the hole and raced 30 yards for a touchdown, cutting Georgia’s lead to 23-7.

The score remained 23-7 until the final play of the third quarter, when Team Florida’s Dyvonne McNair (from North Marion) picked off a pass at the Georgia 20, got blocks in front of him and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. Harley ran in the two-point conversion, which cut his team’s deficit to 23-15 heading into the final quarter.

On Team Florida’s second possession of the fourth quarter, it drove for the tying score, going 59 yards in 10 plays. Runs of 11 yards by Harley and 14 yards by Baker County’s Jeremy Wannamaker moved the ball into Georgia territory, then six more runs put Team Florida at the 4-yard line. On second-and-goal, Willis took the handoff, found a hole and crossed the goal line for the score. Then Harley took the snap, went left and outran a defender to the goal line for the game-tying two-point conversion, making it 23-23.

Florida’s Najee Jamerson recovered a fumble at the Georgia 38 on the ensuing drive, but Florida wound up turning the ball over on downs. In the final minute of the game, a bad snap went past Florida quarterback Evan Harvey, but Harvey chased the ball down and fell on it at his team’s 3-yard line. Two plays later, the game ended.

Hill was Team Georgia’s Offensive MVP, while Valdosta linebacker Jonathan Hester was the Defensive MVP. Harley was Team Florida’s Offensive MVP, while McNair was the Defensive MVP.

A lot of local players competed in the game. Valdosta had 12 players playing: cornerback Edrae Gipson, safety Jason Jelks, wide receiver Tyran Watkins, safety Jerald Davis, cornerback Terrance Foster, Cook, linebacker Maurice Fason, tight end Demetrius Melvin, Hester, safety Devontay Hamilton, fullback Jarvis Roberts and tackle Willie Barrett.

Lowndes had nine players in the game: running back Mike Moore, defensive end Justin Evans, quarterback Lance Jarriel, defensive back Decarlos Martin, linebacker Matt Frazier, long snapper Jayson Crum, defensive tackle Stacey Wright and offensive linemen Ellis Lyles and Jared Davis.

Folsom and defensive lineman Justin Hayes represented Cook. Brooks had two players: defensive end E.J. Shipman and defensive tackle Martavius Gray. Clinch County defensive end Kenneth White, defensive lineman James Landrum and lineman Khadarius Cleveland played in the game. Gomez, wide receiver Vidal Adkins, safety Javon Manning and offensive lineman Hunter Clanton represented Berrien.