VALDOSTA —
The Valdosta Wildcats will open the 2012 season on the road in Metro Atlanta, when they face North Augusta (S.C.) on Aug. 31. The game will be played at North Gwinnett High School in the annual kickoff classic put on by the Bulldogs.
“That is a game that will be against a national opponent, which is intriguing to us,” Valdosta head coach Rance Gillespie said. “It gives us the chance to kick the season off with national exposure.”
A week later, the Wildcats welcome Brooks County to Bazemore-Hyder Stadium for a third straight season. The Wildcats defeated the Trojans 20-11 in 2011.
“(Brooks County has) a quality football team,” Gillespie said. “Maurice (Freeman) does a good job out there. They have a good following and it is just a fun environment for high school football.”
Following its game with Brooks County, Valdosta will remain at home through Oct. 12, welcoming Crisp County, Newton and Camden County to Cleveland Field before enjoying a bye week on Oct. 5.
Valdosta is 23-3 all-time against the four teams. The Wildcats are 10-0 versus Crisp County, although the two schools haven't met since 1979, and 6-0 all-time against Brooks County, including a 2-0 mark across the past two seasons. The Wildcats enter the Sept. 28 meeting with Camden County riding a three-game losing streak versus Camden, with the last loss coming in the second round of the 2005 state playoffs. Valdosta has never played Newton.
Cross-town rival Lowndes will visit Valdosta on Oct. 12. Last season, the Wildcats scored 14 points in the final minute to defeat the Vikings for the first time since 2003.
“It is always a big game,” said Gillespie about the annual showdown with Lowndes. “This year will certainly be no different. We are excited to have it at our place.”
A week after the Winnersville Classic, Valdosta will take to the road for its first official road contest of the season, heading to Tifton to face the Tift County Blue Devils. Valdosta has won four of the last five games against the Blue Devils, including three straight, although 2012 will mark the first season for Tift County under the direction of newly hired head coach John Reid. Reid joins Coffee’s Robby Pruitt as coaches that are new to programs that compete in Region 1, after the two were hired earlier this month.
The two coaches have each claimed state championships at previous programs, joining Gillespie, who won two Class AAA state championships at Peach County, Lowndes’ Randy McPherson, Camden County’s Jeff Herron and Colquitt County’s Rush Propst, who won four straight Class AAAAAA state championships with Hoover (Ala.), as coaches that have state titles and are now coaching in the newly aligned Region 1-AAAAAA.
“Any time there is a coaching change, there is going to be excitement around those programs. Those guys are outstanding football coaches,” Gillespie said. “What (Reid) did at East Paulding speaks for himself and then Robby Pruitt has been a successful coach. I am sure, even though it is going to be a transition, they will get those programs up and running.
“I mean certainly it is going to take good players. It is still a game won by players. I feel like coaching can make an impact, but you are going to have to have good players to compete in this region. You are going to see good coaches every Friday night in this region.”
Next, the Wildcats return home to face Colquitt County in a rematch of last year’s Region 1-AAAAA championship game, which the Wildcats won 27-24 in overtime. The meeting with the Packers will mark the final home regular season game of 2012 for the Wildcats, who travel to Brunswick and Coffee on back-to-back weeks to end the regular season.
Valdosta's meeting with Brunswick on Nov. 2 will mark the third straight season the two teams will meet, after playing in non-region action the past two seasons. Valdosta won the 2010 and 2011 meetings, beating the Pirates 64-62 in 2010 and 24-6 last season. The regular season finale with Coffee will be a rematch game for Valdosta, after the Trojans upset the Wildcats 22-17 last season in Douglas.
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Malcolm Joseph (21) and the Valdosta Wildcats open the 2012 season against North Augusta (S.C.) in Suwanee. file photo
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Wildcats open 2012 season against S.C. team
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