Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesValdosta High quarterback Jake Garcia (6) throws downfield during the team's season opener against Warner Robins Sept. 4 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

VALDOSTA –– A week after having their game against Tift County canceled due to COVID-19, the Valdosta Wildcats (1-0) return to action tonight against the Bainbridge Bearcats (0-1).

A wave of positive tests forced the Blue Devils out of last week’s matchup, creating an unexpected bye week in Valdosta’s schedule.

According to Valdosta head coach Rush Propst, the ‘Cats spent much of the time off healing from various maladies as they look to build on their season-opening victory against Warner Robins.

“I think it’s helped us, as far as getting through some injuries,” Propst said. “We were really beat up last week. We would’ve been hobbling in. It really worked out for the betterment of our football team from an injury perspective. It gave us an extra week to heal, an extra week to get ready to play. We’ve had a better week of practice. We’re still battling a couple of injuries, but for the most part, we’ve got most of our people back ready to roll. … I feel better about our football team going into (tonight) than I did this time last week, I can tell you that.”

After a gritty comeback win against Warner Robins, then having the plug pulled the day of the Tift game, the possibility of a letdown could creep in. Propst cautions against it, believing a letdown would reflect poorly on the maturity of his football team.

“Well, there better not be a letdown –– not as hard as we’ve worked this week,” Propst said. “If that’s the case and we have a letdown, then the maturity of our football team is not very good. We have to understand that we have to improve. We’ll have to do a better job in the run game and do a better job of protection. I thought we protected better in the second half. Defensively, the focus is not giving up big plays. Our goal (tonight) is don’t give up big plays and stop the run.”

Jeff Middleton’s Bearcats look to bounce back after a 31-16 loss to Valdosta’s former Region 1-6A foe, Coffee County, in their season opener.

Bearcats senior quarterback Quayde Hawkins went 14-of-29 for 150 yards with a touchdown and an interception in last week’s loss to Coffee. Junior receiver Braxton Johnson caught five balls for 121 yards in the loss.

Propst talked about the threat Hawkins and the Bearcats present during an interview Thursday afternoon.

“They’ve got a really good quarterback that can beat you with his arm –– he’s a Division I prospect,” Propst said. “He’s played in a lot of football games. I think he’s by far one of the top quarterbacks we’ll see all year. I don’t think he’s better than (Jacurri Brown) at Lowndes, but I think he’s really good.

“With that being said, any time you have a good quarterback, it gives your football team a chance. And they know how to win. Jeff’s done a really good job at Bainbridge and they know how to win games. … They’ve got some skilled athletes, some skilled receivers that can beat you in the throwing game. They’re nasty up front –– they get after you up front on the offensive line. Defensively, they’ve got a lot of skilled players that can run around and make plays. (Tahari Tate) is a really good football player defensively, he makes a lot of plays. They present problems with their quickness and their ability to run around the football because of their athleticism.”

An area of concern for Valdosta will be the availability of quarterback Jake Garcia, who will be a game-time decision tonight with an undisclosed injury. Propst says backup quarterback Amari Jones will see more time if Garcia is unable to play.

Tonight’s kickoff is schedule for 8 p.m.