Dave Sundin | Special to the TimesValdosta head football coach Alan Rodemaker talks to his team in the huddle during a timeout against Lee County last Friday.

VALDOSTA –– After stumbling against Lee County at home last week, the Valdosta Wildcats (7-2, 2-1 Region 1-6A) are still stinging heading into tonight’s matchup against Northside.

The 53-50 last-second loss to the Trojans knocked the ‘Cats from No. 3 to No. 5 in the Georgia Sports Writers Association poll this week. In fact, Lee County jumped to No. 3 in Class 6A behind Dacula and Harrison.

Uncharacteristic mistakes on special teams and shoddy defense cost the ‘Cats their 43rd region championship. Head coach Alan Rodemaker was candid about his team’s mood at practice this week.

“We’re (ticked),” Rodemaker said in an interview on Thursday. “We just made several mistakes in special teams and not just mistakes, effort plays on special teams –– even though we got a score off special team early from one of their mistakes. Then, we just didn’t play great defense –– our goal was to try to make them one-dimensional and of course we didn’t stop anything last year against them, but I felt like we had a chance to stop the run and make them throw the football. We didn’t stop the run as consistently as we wanted to and gave up not just huge plays but a lot of plays in the passing game and just didn’t execute in the special teams.

“We’re all (ticked) that we let that one slide through our fingers. But we’ve got a huge opportunity this week and we’ve got 100 percent of our attention and focus on Northside and going up there and getting this home-field advantage…earning it.”

The Eagles (3-5, 0-2 Region 1-6A) host the ‘Cats tonight in Warner Robins, looking to play spoiler in search of their first region win of the season.

Northside comes in fresh after a bye last week –– enough time to lick its wounds after a 35-0 loss to Lee County on Oct. 18. The Eagles have lost three straight with their last win coming Sept. 20 at home against Baldwin –– a 33-28 victory.

On the season, the Eagles are averaging just 20 points per game while allowing 25.6 points per game on defense.

Region 1-6A’s leading rusher, quarterback Mason Ford, leads the Eagle offense. Ford has 76 carries for a region-best 565 yards with eight touchdowns. He’s flanked by the region’s third-leading rusher Zikhyree Hill, who has rushed 75 times on the year for 448 and four scores.

The Eagles strangely do not have a single passing touchdown this season, relying heavily on their running game for offense. As a passer, Ford is completing 44 percent of his passes this season and has 352 passing yards through the first eight games.

Along with Ford and Hill, DeAndre McKenzie and Jalen Cephus give the Eagles four rushers in the top 15 in rushing yards in the region.

“They run the football –– they’ve got two of the top three rushers in the region,” Rodemaker said of the Eagles. “They’re going to shorten the game. They’re going to play really good defense and they’ll be really sound on special teams. (Kevin) Kinsler is a really good football coach. They’re going to shorten the game and we’ve got to make sure we stop the run and we score some points [laughs].

“This game will be shorter than the game last Friday night. Last Friday night was a long game –– there were a lot of plays because both offenses were able to go at breakneck speed and a lot of balls in the air. It’ll be a different game (tonight), but it’ll be just as challenging. We ain’t won up there. Last time we went up there, they had four first downs and 74 yards total offense and we got beat. We’ve got to go up there and play a complete game on both sides of the football.”

Senior quarterback Tate Rodemaker will look to continue his efficient campaign. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound signal caller completed 19-of-24 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Rodemaker currently leads Region 1-6A in completions (149), passing yards (2,190) and touchdowns (28).

In addition to Rodemaker, running back T.J. Dailey and wide receiver Tarrell Roberts put together fine games against Lee County last week. Dailey went off with 17 carries for 144 yards and three touchdowns while Roberts broke out after a three-game slump with a season-high 171 yards on five catches with three touchdowns against the Trojans.

Valdosta will look to rebound from one of its worst defensive efforts of the season tonight. The 53 points allowed last week was a season-high for the ‘Cats and the 169 yards rushing was the second-most the team had allowed all year.

If the ‘Cats win tonight, they will secure home-field advantage for at least the first round of the Class 7A state playoffs. A win would ensure the ‘Cats are the No. 2 seed, but a loss would drop the ‘Cats into a lower seed.

Tonight’s game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and can be heard on 95.7 The Mix.