Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
— Valdosta High head football coach Rance Gillespie was happy to get another victory last Friday. The Wildcats routed Hardaway 36-0 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. They scored 29 points in the first half, and for the second week in a row, did not allow any points.
— The Wildcats’ head coach said that Valdosta’s defense played “especially well.” The Wildcats held Hardaway to 34 yards of total offense, and minus-15 yards rushing. “I think what you’re starting to see out of our defense is they’re starting to play a little bit faster, and they’re gaining a little bit more confidence in what they’re doing, and exactly how to do it. So hopefully we’ll just get faster and faster as the year goes on,” Gillespie said.
— Valdosta quarterback Ryan Whilden completed 14 of 29 passes for 278 yards, and threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions. Gillespie said that Whilden “got 29 more reps of growth,” which he thought was important for Whilden. Gillespie said that Hardaway was frequently blitzing in the second half, and that gave Whilden a chance to work against a blitzing defense, and it gave the rest of the offense a chance to work on its blitz pick-up.
— Gillespie said that Jarvis Roberts is a perfect fullback for Valdosta’s offense. “He’s a physical kid, a physical back, but he’s got good enough speed to hurt you if he catches the ball out of the backfield, and we’re certainly going to give him an opportunity to catch balls out of the backfield,” the coach said. Against Hardaway, Roberts caught three passes for 81 yards, including a 67-yard catch in the fourth quarter.
— Gillespie said that Reggie McQueen made a very athletic play when he scooped up a fumble in the back of the end zone and stayed in bounds to give the Wildcats a touchdown. The play came after a bad punt snap by Hardaway rolled into the end zone. Had the ball rolled out of the end zone, it would have been a safety, and Valdosta would have received two points. Instead, Valdosta got seven points for McQueen’s touchdown.
— Gillespie said that he has seen a lot of improvement from his team since its preseason scrimmage against Ware County on Aug. 13. Defensively, he believes the team is playing faster, and with a lot more confidence. He said the offensive line has really improved. He also said that the team has improved in pretty much every phase of special teams.
— Gillespie said that on Sundays, all of the coaches meet at 2 p.m. to plan out the week ahead and talk about the previous game. The meetings usually last until around midnight, then the coaches head home, and after a few hours of sleep, they come back to the school early Monday morning to begin the school week. Gillespie pointed out that a big difference between coaching in college and coaching in high school is that most high school coaches also have to teach classes.
— Valdosta center Jarquez Brown was chosen the Offensive Player of the Week, safety Randy Cook was the Defensive Player of the Week and Phillip Moore was the Special Teams Player of the Week.
— Brown said the offensive line is getting better. The line has only one starter back from last season, and Gillespie praised the unit for the progress they have made.
— Cook returned an interception for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half, and also made several tackles last Friday. Gillespie said that the coaches ask a lot out of the safeties, and said Cook did a good job.
— Tight end Jay Rome said he likes all of the moving around that Gillespie’s offense calls for. He also likes getting the ball in space and trying to make a move downfield.
— Radio show co-host Monty Long congratulated the seventh grade football teams from J.L. Newbern and Valdosta Middle Schools for their victories on Wednesday. J.L. Newbern defeated Lowndes Middle 28-0, while Valdosta Middle beat Pine Grove 34-0.
— Long mentioned that former Valdosta linebacker Curtis Weatherspoon made seven tackles in his first game at South Florida last Saturday. He also said that Mike Gilliard, a former Wildcat linebacker who is now playing for Georgia, had a good game last Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette. Long also mentioned that former VHS safety Dontavis Sapp will be redshirted at Tennessee this year, but dressed out for the Volunteers’ first game last weekend.
— Valdosta hosts Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln this Friday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. Kickoff will come at 8 p.m.
