Winnersville’s winners: Dusty Bonner
Published 2:34 am Tuesday, December 6, 2005
VALDOSTA — Dusty Bonner is a Valdosta sports legend.
There were the two Harlon Hill trophies he won at Valdosta State. There were the multiple NCAA records he set as Blazer QB. There was the year he started at quarterback for Kentucky and led the Southeastern Conference in every major passing category (except interceptions). There was the year he led Valdosta High to the state championship game.
There’s another thing Valdosta High fans remember him for, though: beating archrival Lowndes High three times.
With Bonner at quarterback, Valdosta High defeated Lowndes 28-7 and 10-3 in back-to-back weeks in 1995, and beat the Vikings 28-6 in 1996. Bonner is one of only two Wildcat quarterbacks to defeat Lowndes three times, along with Wildcat legend Buck Belue (1974-76). Those three wins were the final three in a 12-game winning streak Valdosta had over their crosstown rivals.
“It was huge to win those games,” Bonner said. “For me and the guys I played with, it was the biggest game of the regular season. It was like the state championship of the regular season. That’s the game we needed to win.
“This is a game that the players that played in it will probably remember the rest of their lives. They may not remember the Tifton game very well, but they’ll probably remember the Lowndes game.”
In Bonner’s time, as it is now, the Winnersville Classic was a huge source of pride for both sides.
“Valdosta and Lowndes is a big pride issue. They’re like the Hatfields and the McCoys,” Bonner said. “The thought of losing to Lowndes made me sick. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to lose that game.”
There was also animosity between players from each side. Bonner and then-Lowndes quarterback Brandon Cowart, for example, couldn’t stand each other — then became good friends at Valdosta State.
“When we were teammates on the Blazers, we became good friends,” Bonner said. “I told him I couldn’t stand him in high school because he was the quarterback at Lowndes, and he told me he couldn’t stand me because I was the quarterback at Valdosta. That’s just how it was.”
Bonner says that Winnersville is a game either team can win each year.
“It’s such a high, emotional time,” he said. “You don’t know who’s going to win. Everyone’s playing so hard, and anything can happen when it gets that emotional. Adrenaline does a lot in a football game.”
Bonner says there was no doubt that the Winnersville Classic was different.
“One thing I remember is the game atmosphere,” Bonner said. The Lowndes game and the Colquitt County game always stood out. The number of fans and the noise level was amazing. There are a lot of things you remember from that game.
“This game is serious business. It’s a big pride thing. You may have friends that play for the other team, but that week, you’re not friends. You want to beat them bad.”
Bonner quarterbacked in a multiple offense at Valdosta, but in college, he mastered a new offense — the spread — and became a standout for Kentucky and VSU. In his final three years of college, Bonner threw for 11,429 yards and an astounding 124 touchdowns. His junior year was the best: 4,126 yards, an NCAA-record 55 touchdowns and only eight interceptions for VSU.
These days, Bonner is still quarterbacking. Last year, he joined the Lexington (Ky.) Horsemen of the National Indoor Football League, one of 12 ex-Kentucky players to play for former UK assistant Tony Franklin’s team.
Bonner still finds the end zone with great frequency. With the Horsemen, he threw for
Please see BONNER, page 3B
2,833 yards and 63 touchdowns. He was second in the NIFL passer rating, and third in passing yardage, touchdown passes and total offense.
“It was different, but it was fun,” Bonner said. “I played with a bunch of my teammates from Kentucky, and we enjoyed ourselves. It was like going back to a college reunion. I was glad to be back in Lexington. It was also a chance to play quarterback again.”
The Horsemen want him to return next season, but Bonner isn’t sure what the future holds.
“I’m not sure myself. I’m looking at the possibilities, and trying to see if there will be an opportunity in Arena 1 or Arena 2, or what is out there,” Bonner said. “Maybe I’ll go back to Lexington. We’ll wait and see.”
He currently splits his time between Lexington and Valdosta. He tries to watch Valdosta State and his college coach and mentor, Chris Hatcher, whenever possible.