By Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
WARNER ROBINS — Saturday night, in a huge Region 1-AAAAA football game, the Valdosta Wildcats found a way to win on the road.
Malcolm Mitchell’s 67-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter was the deciding touchdown, and gave Valdosta a 14-7 win over Warner Robins Saturday night at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
Mitchell scooped up a fumble and raced 67 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 5:39 left in the game, and Valdosta’s defense made the lead stand up the rest of the way.
“This was a huge win for us,” Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said.
Valdosta (4-1) overcame a two-hour lightning delay, off-and-on rain, a tough Warner Robins defense and the loss of both quarterback DaShay March and center Taylor McQuaig to win the game, and even its region record at 1-1.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, Warner Robins was driving. The Demons had gotten new life when Valdosta was called for roughing the punter with the ball at the Demon 15. Later, a 29-yard pass to Quentavius Walker moved the ball to the Valdosta 30.
That’s when Mitchell and the Wildcat defense made the biggest play of the night.
Warner Robins running back Johnathan Jackson took the handoff on a Sally play. He tried to go inside, but was hit hard and coughed up the ball. Mitchell spotted the ball on the ground, picked it up and took off running for the goal line. He raced 67 yards untouched for the touchdown, putting the Wildcats ahead 14-7.
Valdosta’s defense then stopped the Demons on their final two possessions, and the Wildcats walked away the winners.
Valdosta had trailed 7-0 at halftime, then Avery Burney’s highlight-reel 27-yard touchdown run with 6:19 left in the third quarter tied the score.
After a bad snap led to a two-yard punt by the Demons, Reggie McQueen’s 18-yard run had moved the ball to the 27. On the next play, Burney took the snap from the shotgun and tried to run up the middle. He was met by Jeffrey Whitaker, Warner Robins’ star defensive tackle. Somehow Burney escaped the grasp of the 299-pound Whitaker, went right, and spun out of another tackle. Burney got free, and took off down the sideline. He got a key block near the 5-yard line, and sprinted into the end zone for the touchdown. Zach Wang’s extra point tied the score, 7-7.
Warner Robins’ touchdown came on its second possession, when it drove 63 yards in eight plays. In typical Demons fashion, they ran the ball on all eight plays. The biggest play was an 18-yard dash by Charles Colbert on a buck sweep, and a subsequent facemask penalty on Valdosta, that moved the ball to the VHS 6. Brian Sutton got the ball five times on the drive, and on the last one, he plowed into the end zone for a touchdown. Kyle Floyd’s extra point gave the Demons a 7-0 lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
With 10:59 left in the second quarter, around 7:55 p.m., lightning entered the area. The game was delayed, as the players went to the locker room and the fans rushed for cover. The delay wound up lasting over two hours.
The lightning cleared and the game resumed at 10 p.m. The teams played a quick second quarter. Halftime lasted just long enough for a Homecoming king and queen to be crowned, and for the players to warm up for a couple of minutes, and then the game resumed.
The Wildcats suffered two big blows in the second quarter, when March and McQuaig left the game with injuries on the same drive.. But Burney stepped in for March and Demetrius Harden took over for McQuaig, and in the end, those two players and their Wildcat teammates found a way to get the job done.
Valdosta and Warner Robins have played four times since the Demons entered Region 1 in 2006. All four times, the road team has won the game.
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