Derrick Davis | The Valdosta Daily TimesValdosta linebacker Zakoby McClain tackles a Dalton ballcarrier last Friday in a Class 6A semifinal game at Harmon Field. 

VALDOSTA — The city has waited 13 years for today.

The Valdosta Wildcats are 13-1 and back in the state championship game for the first time since 2003, looking to add to their state-high total of 23 titles.

Wildcat teams own a 23-6 all-time record in state-title games, but as head coach Alan Rodemaker has repeated all season, and especially in recent weeks, Valdosta’s rich history has nothing to do with this team, and to cement their legacy, this team must overcome its toughest obstacle of the season today at 8 p.m. against the 13-1 Tucker Tigers at the Georgia Dome.

Tucker enters the championship game, its fourth in the past eight seasons, riding a 13-game winning streak. The Tigers haven’t lost a game since a 20-13 season-opening loss against Kell in the very same Georgia Dome.

Rodemaker didn’t mince words in explaining how the Tigers have got to where they are.

“Very well-coached, and really, really good players,” he said.

For comparison, Rodemaker considers Stephenson the most athletic team Valdosta has played this season — the Jaguars struck twice on one play, 80-yard touchdown drives in the Class 6A quarterfinal game against the Wildcats — and that’s despite Stephenson losing a handful of Division I talent due to transfers to Tucker before the season.

Six-foot, 190-pound defensive back Eugene Brown is committed to West Virginia, 6-2, 260-pound defensive end Aaron Sterling was committed to Alabama fewer than three months ago, and 6-5, 279-pound offensive guard Dylan Wonnum is regarded as the No. 10 junior prospect in the state by 247Sports’ Composite rating, all three of them transferred from Stephenson to Tucker.

In addition to those talented players, the Tigers’ roster features 6-2, 170-pound corner Keith Best (offered by Kentucky), 6-1, 230-pound linebacker Brian Stormier Jr. (offered by Colorado State and Louisville) and 6-foot, 212-pond running back Chris Broadwater (offered by Army and Air Force).

Broadwater is one half of Tucker’s duo of running backs that have gone over 1,000 yards rushing this season. The Tigers run for nearly 250 yards per game with Taurean Taylor (1,315 yards, 16 touchdowns) and Broadwater (1,088 yards, 21 touchdowns) leading the way.

Like Stephenson, Tucker has the athletes that can take the ball the distance with one missed tackle.

“We’ve got to tackle better than we did against Stephenson or we’ll be in trouble…” Rodemaker said. “The game I go back to where we didn’t tackle is Thomas County. We better be tough, we better gang tackle, we better hit low and wrap up because they’ve got a really good back.”

But the Tigers aren’t limited to moving the ball with their potent ground game, they also have a talented quarterback in Xavier Shephard, who has passed for 1,768 yards and 17 touchdowns — with most of the production coming from receiver Josh Vann, who’s caught 57 passes for 1,203 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“They do two things: they wing-T a bunch, and then they’ll pick up tempo in the spread and throw the ball around…” Rodemaker said. “That’s kind of rare for a team, to be able to do both of those really well, and they change up personnel of course.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Tucker uses its athletes to fly to the ball. The Tigers have held opposing offenses to 10.5 points per game this season while racking up 42 sacks and picking off 10 passes.

Valdosta averages more than 34 points and 328 yards per game despite playing in one of the toughest defensive regions in the state, but Rodemaker believes Tucker’s speed on the perimeter takes the Tigers to another level.

For the Wildcats, the formula for success is the same as it’s been all season: running the ball, stopping the run, limiting turnovers and winning on special teams.

If Valdosta can do that one more time, they’ll be forever remembered for ending the longest title drought in the program’s history, which currently stands at 18 seasons.

“I didn’t want to live off tradition,” said DeMario Jones, Valdosta’s defensive ends coach and director of football operations. “People are going to know where you’re from. When I was at VSU, people knew who we were because of Valdosta High School.

“I’m just happy that during my time here we’ve been relevant…”

Derrick Davis is a sports reporter at the Valdosta Daily Times.