Lowndes High running back Troy Braswell (29) runs the ball during a game against South Gwinnett earlier this season.

On Wednesday, on his weekly radio show, Valdosta head coach Rance Gillespie said that the Winnersville Classic is a great rivalry.

“I look forward to it,” Gillespie said. “We certainly respect all the traditions of this game. It is a rivalry like no other in high school football.”

Valdosta (6-0) and Lowndes (5-1) will battle at 8 p.m. on Friday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. It will be the first Winnersville Classic that Gillespie, who was hired by Valdosta last December, has coached in.

On Tuesday, as he was talking about Friday’s game, Gillespie began naming off some of the Vikings’ top players, including Troy Braswell, Cole Parker, Tyler Hunter, Geraldo Orta, Josh Clemons, Kenneth Durden and James Mathis.

The fact that he knew the names of several of Lowndes’ best players is an indication that Gillespie and his staff have done plenty of homework on the Vikings.

Gillespie had a lot of praise for the Lowndes program.

“They’ve got a good football team,” Valdosta’s coach said. “They’ve got a good football program in place. They do what they do especially well, and those kids have been doing the same stuff all the way through those feeder programs. They execute their offense and their defense and their special teams really well. On top of that, they’ve got some great football players. They really do. They’re very athletic in the secondary. They’ve got a really good defensive front that plays excellent technique, and they’ve got linebackers that can run and hit. Defensively, they’ve got a really solid football team.”

Lowndes averages 32.5 points per game. Gillespie says the Vikings have a number of players that are good at making plays on offense.

“Offensively, the Braswell kid can get the ball out in space, and he’s a handful when that happens,” Gillespie said. “The Parker kid does a good job of managing their offense, and he can kill you with play action. He throws the ball well, and he’s got some weapons to throw it to when they put Hunter out there, and Clemons. They’ve certainly got plenty of weapons, and they do what they do really well … The offensive line, they’re kind of like our (line). They get better each and every week, from game 1 through game 6.”

Valdosta’s coach also says that the Vikings have some outstanding players on defense.

“Mathis is a good d-lineman, No. 30,” he said. “Clemons is playing both ways for them. He plays linebacker and plays wide receiver for them. He’s a threat at wideout and he’s a good linebacker … Durden’s a good corner, and Orta’s a good safety. They’re solid.”

He also mentioned that kicker Jed Solomon consistently puts his kickoffs in the end zone, and makes opposing teams start their drives at their own 20-yard line.

Gillespie also praised Lowndes’ coaching staff, which has coached the Vikings to three state championships since 2004. Head coach Randy McPherson has gone 93-16 in eight-plus seasons at Lowndes.

Gillespie has had a great start to his career at Valdosta. Six games into his first season at VHS, the Wildcats are 6-0.

Valdosta leads the all-time Winnersville series 33-15, but Lowndes has won the past six matchups.