VALDOSTA —
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats are moving on in the state playoffs.
Fifth-ranked Valdosta jumped out to a 34-0 lead before halftime, played its reserves in the second half and cruised to a 34-13 victory Friday night at Cleveland Field at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
“It (could be) the last time those kids get to bang on that tin, and step out on this field,” Valdosta head coach Rance Gillespie said. “So we wanted to come out and play well, and I thought they did.”
“Other than (one play), I thought we played well defensively,” Gillespie added. “I thought we did some decent things in the special teams. And then offensively ... other than the first drive, I thought we did fine.”
The Wildcats (10-1) will travel to Powder Springs to face McEachern (10-1) next week. McEachern, the Region 4-AAAAA champion and the No. 3 team in AAAAA, defeated East Coweta 31-19 on Friday.
Valdosta dominated the first half, scoring touchdowns on four of its first five possessions, and also getting a defensive touchdown.
“That was what we wanted to do. We wanted to try to get there before half, and then get the (starters) off, and rest them and make sure they (don’t get hurt),” Gillespie said.
Quarterback Ryan Whilden completed 13 of 18 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns in two quarters of play. Whilden broke the school record for touchdown passes in a season. He now has 28 touchdown passes this year.
Valdosta star receiver Malcolm Mitchell caught seven passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Jay Rome also caught a touchdown pass for the Wildcats.
Valdosta got on the board with a touchdown on its second possession. Whilden’s 22-yard pass to Mitchell and Phillip Moore’s 17-yard run helped the Wildcats move the ball inside the Knights’ 10-yard line. On first-and-goal from the Windsor Forest 5, DaShay March powered up the middle for a touchdown. A two-point conversion attempt out of the swinging gate failed, but the Wildcats held a 6-0 lead.
Valdosta’s defense forced the Knights to punt from their own 7, and the Wildcats took over at the Knights’ 38. On the second play of the second quarter, with the ball at the Windsor Forest 23, Whilden threw a screen pass to Mitchell. Mitchell caught the ball, got a block in front of him, and raced into the end zone for the touchdown. Zach Wang’s extra point gave Valdosta a 13-0 lead.
On Windsor Forest’s next play from scrimmage, quarterback Aaron Hughes’ pass was picked off by Valdosta’s Justin Williams at the Knights’ 40-yard line. Williams followed his blockers, and returned the interception for a touchdown, making it 20-0.
On Valdosta’s next possession, Reggie McQueen made a highlight reel play for an apparent 69-yard touchdown run, but it was called back because of a block in the back at the Knights’ 20. So instead the ball was moved back to the Windsor Forest 30. But eight plays later, on third-and-goal from the Knights’ 5, Mitchell hauled in Whilden’s pass in the end zone, giving the Wildcats a 27-0 lead.
After Valdosta’s defense forced another three-and-out, McQueen returned a punt 42 yards, down to the Windsor Forest 13. On the next play, Whilden fired a strike to Rome, and the senior tight end leaped over a defender at the goal line for the touchdown.
Valdosta headed to the locker room at halftime with a 34-0 lead.
The Wildcats’ defense only allowed one first down in the first half. Valdosta’s offense had 133 yards passing and 110 yards rushing in the first two quarters.
The second half was played with a running clock. Valdosta rested its starters in the second half, and let its reserves get some playing time.
Windsor Forest scored two touchdowns on the Wildcats’ reserves in the fourth quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Aaron Hughes scored on a 7-yard run.
With 1:25 left in the game, Hughes threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to D’Tavious Cooper.
Hughes passed for 94 yards and ran for 22 yards for Windsor Forest, which ends its season at 6-5.
Local Sports
Related Photos
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High junior Josh Clemons (25) tips a pass intended for Groves High junior Juwan Johnson (3) during the game Friday night.
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High Kenneth Durden (7) gives a hard hit to a Groves High wide receiver during the games Friday.
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High senior Tyler Hunter (15) cuts past a Groves High defender during the game Friday night.
Discussion
’Cats move on
- Local Sports
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VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
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Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
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All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
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Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
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Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. - More Local Sports Headlines
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VSU teams hosting summer camps
