Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesValdosta running back Kaleb Robinson (3) stiff-arms a defender on his way into the end zone during the first quarter against Bainbridge Friday night at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. The touchdown was waved off on a holding penalty.

VALDOSTA –– Playing without starting quarterback Jake Garcia, it took a while for Valdosta’s offense to get going.

For about a quarter, that is, until starter Amari Jones and the ‘Cats (2-0) pulled away in a 45-7 boat race of the Bainbridge Bearcats (0-2) Friday night.

Jones completed 10-of-15 passes for 198 yards with three touchdowns through the air and one on the ground in his first start of the season.

“He came in as a starter all week –– he ain’t no backup,” Valdosta head coach Rush Propst said of Jones after the game. “I thought he was rusty the first little bit, but after about the third series, he started to get a little more confidence, a little bit better and I’m awfully proud of him. He’s got a long way to go, now –– he missed a lot of reads tonight, although he played well and the stats looked good. Garcia’s gonna be out a while, we don’t know his status yet, so we’ve got to get Amari ready.”

Garcia was ruled out of the game prior to kickoff due to a strained hamstring. The senior signal caller was not dressed out, but was on the sideline in gold Wildcats shorts with a sleeve on his injured leg.

With Jones running the show, Valdosta’s offense racked up 333 yards of total offense compared to just 135 for the Bearcats.

Two weeks after producing just 35 yards on 32 carries in the season opener against Warner Robins, the ‘Cats ran the ball 36 times for 150 yards on Friday. Junior running back Terrell Denson had nine carries for 70 yards, including a five-yard punch with 6 minutes left in the second quarter that gave Valdosta a 17-0 lead.

What was an early breakout performance by Denson was marred by the running back leaving the game in the third quarter with a lower leg injury. Denson left the game and returned to the sidelines on crutches with his lower right leg heavily wrapped.

Though Propst was pleased to get the win, he was particularly surly about Denson’s injury.

“I was happy with the win, I’m just not happy with some of the things we did as coaches tonight,” Propst said. “Some of the things we did as coaches tonight weren’t real smart. We got a kid hurt unnecessarily and that’s not real smart on our part and that starts with me. On the same token, we’ve got to be smarter than that and not get one of our better running backs hurt unnecessarily in a 38-7 game. I’m just not happy about that at all.”

A point of emphasis for Valdosta this week was how they would defend against Bainbridge quarterback Quayde Hawkins. 

The Troy University commit never got into a rhythm with the ‘Cats defense bringing heavy pressure much of the night. Hawkins finished 9-of-22 for just 89 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions –– one by junior Jalen Yearby and another by Ar’daveon Thomas.

Valdosta played a near flawless game against Hawkins, but gave up an 18-yard hookup from Hawkins to Braxton Johnson for Bainbridge’s lone touchdown with 4:26 left in the second quarter.

“(Hawkins) is a Division I quarterback committed to Troy and I know Chip Lindsey, who worked for me. He knows what he’s doing when he goes and gets a quarterback,” Propst said. “I was happy with the way our defense played. I thought they played really well. The only thing we gave up was a 3rd-and-18 pass for the touchdown. (Isaiah) Holland was there to make the play. He’s got to make that play. We got him doubled and should’ve made the play and picked it off, we just didn’t.”

Kaleb Robinson also had nine carries for the ‘Cats, punctuating a 39-yard night with a four-yard touchdown with 8:33 left in the game.

Valdosta’s receiving corps had another stellar performance. Aalah Brown had four catches for 45 yards, including a pair of touchdown grabs in the last 2:55 of the second quarter that pushed Valdosta’s lead to 31-7 at halftime.

Tajh Sanders caught three balls for a team-high 79 yards, while senior Javonte Sherman made the most of a matchup early in the second quarter. Sherman’s only catch of the night went for a 28-yard touchdown as he made a miraculous catch over a Bainbridge defender and took it 28 yards to pay dirt. The score made it a 10-0 lead for Valdosta in what turned out to be a 24-point second quarter to put the Bearcats away with another half to spare.

“I’m glad we won, but we’re supposed to beat them,” Propst said. “We’re better than they are and we should come out and dominate them and beat them. It ended up that way, but we’ve still got a long way to go. Our running game’s still not crisp. I thought it was better, but we still aren’t there. Defensively, we played pretty good at times, but we’re still inconsistent as a football team. We’ve got a huge test next week. Going back over to Colquitt will be interesting. We’ll have to play better than we played tonight and the Warner Robins game to have a chance to win that game.”

UP NEXT

Valdosta travels up to Moultrie to face rival Colquitt County next week.

For these two teams, the Sept. 25 matchup will be the 106th time they collide. For Propst, it will be the first time he’ll be on the Valdosta side after 11 years as head coach of the Packers.

“You know, I’ll keep my emotions in check,” Propst said of returning to Colquitt. “It’s about the players. It’s about our players and them winning the ballgame. Emotionally, for me, I left in a tough situation. There’s no bones about it that I wasn’t happy about it. I felt like I was done wrong. There’s no question I was done wrong. So, will there be a little bit of incentive? Maybe. But still, it boils down to the players; not me. It’s not about me. 

“It’s about the players being ready to play against Colquitt County because it’s the oldest rivalry in the state of Georgia. I’ve coached in this game 11 times. This will be the 12th time, but I’ll be on the Valdosta side. I’m looking forward to it. It’s about Colquitt County and Valdosta, not about Rush Propst.”