Tonight’s Winnersville Classic shapes up to be one of the most evenly matched in recent years.

The No. 6 Valdosta Wildcats (6-0) face their crosstown rivals, the No. 9-ranked Lowndes Vikings, as ranked opponents from the same region for the first time since 2010.

WINNERSVILLE BY THE NUMBERS

Since the introduction of the Classic in 1981, Valdosta holds a 24-20 advantage in 44 meetings with Lowndes.

However, the Vikings have owned the rivalry for quite some time. They’ve won five straight and 18 of the last 26 meetings dating back to 1996.

Lowndes has shut out Valdosta in three of the last five meetings and twice in the last three seasons.

“You have no choice but to embrace it,” Lowndes head coach Zach Grage said of coaching his first Winnersville Classic. “It’s so big and it should be, rightfully so. The tradition and pageantry and I think you start to looking at this as like an Ohio State-Michigan or a Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees. It’s one of the top rivalries, not only in the state but in the country. All the people that have played here and understanding that pageantry that comes along with it, it’s unbelievable. It’s very humbling to tell you the truth.

“As far as previous records and everything, that’s the greatest thing about a true rivalry – you can throw all that stuff out. … What matters is that we’re both 0-0 in the region. That’s another asterisk we can put on this game. It’s also one of those where your best guys are gonna show up and you’re gonna get the best effort out of both teams. Unbelievable crowd. It checks all the boxes of why you coach and why you play high school football.”

Valdosta’s last win over Lowndes came on Aug. 19, 2016 – a 38-13 decision for the ‘Cats as they went on to complete a 14-2 season and claim their 24th state championship in school history.

MORE NUMBERS

This season, Lowndes averages 30.8 points per game while its defense allows 23.8 points per game. Valdosta comes in averaging 36.8 points with the stingiest defense in 7A at just 4.83 points allowed per game.

Offensively, the teams are nearly identical in terms of production as Lowndes averages 288.2 yards per game while Valdosta is putting up 290 yards per game.

Both team prioritize the run, but Valdosta relies more heavily on its rushing attack as the ‘Cats average 200.17 yards rushing per game. By comparison, Lowndes averages 146.8 yards rushing this season.

Defensively, the teams are more similar than the scoring numbers suggest.

Valdosta’s defense has 18 takeaways this season, 13 coming by way of interceptions with five fumble recoveries. Led by their vaunted defensive front, the ‘Cats have 22.5 sacks, 64 tackles for losses and 30 quarterback hurries.

During practice Tuesday morning, Valdosta head coach Shelton Felton got on to his defense – particularly the secondary – for not showing the expected level of focus and intensity.

“The standard here is the standard like we always preach – we play lights out defense and we’ve got to be accountable and locked in every day,” Felton said. “We weren’t really locked in like I wanted us to be, but the way we play is 11 hats to the ball and every hat matters and every guy needs to do their job and lock in. We’re not a superstar team. We don’t play that way. We play as a team defense, not individual. Everybody’s got to understand that we’ve got a job to do and do your job.”

Lowndes’ Concrete Curtain has 11 takeaways in its first five games, eight coming from fumble recoveries with three interceptions.

The Vikings also get to the quarterback as they’ve recorded 21.5 sacks and 25 quarterback hurries. They’ve also recorded 48.5 tackles for losses this season.

WHO HAVE THEY PLAYED?

Coming into tonight’s Classic, a major talking point has been strength of schedule.

Though Valdosta is undefeated, the combined record of the teams they’ve played including Lowndes is 17-22.

While Lowndes hasn’t always been known to play the toughest non-region schedule over the years, the teams they’ve seen through five games including Valdosta are a combined 22-12.

So far, Valdosta has only played one team with a winning record this year; the 5-1 Cook Hornets, who are No. 4 in Class 2A. Lowndes has played three teams this season with winning records (American Heritage, East Coweta and Grayson).

Strength of schedule is a tasty talking point, but given that this year’s Classic is also the first region game, this game puts the non-region schedule talk to rest.

“No doubt, it’s a big game in many ways,” Felton said. “It’s the Winnersville Classic and it’s the first game of the region. We want to start the region out right. We want to get in the playoffs. We want an opportunity to try to win the region.

“This game means a lot to us and to be honest with you, let people tell it, we might be the worst 6-0 team in the state. So we’ll use that for a little bit of momentum and we’ll show up (tonight). We’re gonna play.”

FRIENDS BECOME ENEMIES

Tonight’s game also pits longtime friends Grage and Felton against each other at the heart of the rivalry.

In his first season at Lowndes, Grage has led the Vikings to a 3-2 record, punctuated by a 24-14 upset win over then No. 2 Grayson two weeks ago. The win propelled the Vikings into the top 10 while it dropped the Rams to the No. 10 spot in the latest Georgia 7A state rankings.

In his second season at Valdosta, Felton has his ‘Cats off to a 6-0 start – the team’s best start to a season since it started 7-0 in 2014.

Grage and Felton were assistants on Rush Propst’s staff that led Colquitt County to a state championship in 2014. Grage was the team’s co-offensive coordinator while Felton was the run game coordinator and defensive line coach.

“I can promise you, we’ll talk 51 weeks out of the year. We have not spoken at all this week,” Grage said laughing. “We understand what’s on it and you have that extra little incentive of bragging rights between the two of us, but that’s zero percent about what it’s about. Just like you would anybody else – it’s like with Maurice Freeman at Brooks or Tucker Pruitt at Fitzgerald when I was over at Thomasville, you just have that extra little gig to get that one leg up. We understand what it’s about and I guarantee you 100% of our efforts are being put into the guys that we’re coaching.”

When asked if their time working together at Colquitt tips anything about tendencies, Felton admits there’s some familiarity but that it cuts both ways.

“There’s some things he knows about me, some things I know about him that we’re preparing for that I expected to see from him,” Felton said with a grin. “It’s going to be a good battle. We’ve been friends a long time, but this week we’re not friends…he knows how it goes, and we’re looking to win.

“We had some communication about it (before the season). We were just talking about how I wish him the best of luck with the other nine, except for this one. He did the same for me. The expectation for him is to come out and his guys play hard to beat me, and my expectation is to win. It’s going to be a good battle between us two.”

CUTTING THEIR TEETH

Sophomore quarterbacks Marvis Parrish and Todd Robinson find themselves in a unique position.

Both first-year starters, Parrish and Robinson will get their first taste of the Winnersville rivalry.

Parrish has had an impressive start to the season for the Vikings. A dual-threat at QB, he’s thrown for 707 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions but he leads the Vikings in rushing with 281 yards and nine touchdowns this season.

“Last week (against Grayson), I thought, was a great growing moment for him,” Grage said of his quarterback. “He went 8 for 9, the one incompletion was a drop. But he made big throws when he needed to, found his best players when he needed to and did an unbelievable job in the run games with the reads and things like that and just not making poor decisions.

“Marvis is going to go win us a lot of football games with everybody else around him as well. He’s done a great job of taking care of the football and not putting us in bad situations. Just watching him grow day to day and be able to show that on Friday nights has been exciting.”

On the other side of the coin, Robinson has put up similar numbers leading the ‘Cats.

He’s thrown for 503 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions while also making an impact with his legs. He’s rushed for 349 yards and five touchdowns this season.

“I think he’s been locked in and he’s been focused,” Felton said of his quarterback gearing up for tonight’s game. “The biggest thing with Todd these last three weeks is that he’s been locked in and his focus has been there. His leadership is stepping up. He’s playing with confidence. We don’t want him to be Superman. Just be Todd. If Todd can orchestrate the offense and lead us, we’ll do the rest and play with him.”

PLAYMAKERS AND GAMEBREAKERS

On the Valdosta side, the offense boasts a few playmakers other than Robinson; namely dynamic running back Ahmad Denson and wide receiver Jalen Whitehead.

Denson excels as a pass-catching running back with an ability to break big plays on the ground. He’s caught seven passes for 82 yards and three touchdowns this season, but he’s also rushed for 223 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

Whitehead has been a steady force in the Valdosta passing game. He’s caught 12 of Robinson’s 33 completions this season for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

For Lowndes, all eyes will be on dynamic junior running back Jacarre “Smoke” Fleming.

After missing some time with an injury early on, Fleming has recovered and returned to form with 47 carries for 186 yards with four touchdowns from the backfield while also producing in the passing game with seven catches for 87 yards and two more touchdowns.

Fleming is the Vikings’ most explosive player on offense, but he’s not alone in that category. His running mate in the backfield, sophomore Aalim Brown, is a rising star as well.

Like Fleming, Brown can work between the tackles and can catch the ball out of the backfield. Brown has 45 carries for 170 yards and three touchdowns and is also currently tied for the team lead in catches with 13 for 106 yards.

At wide receiver, the Vikings have two players that are X-factors in Kevis Thomas and Keylan Hicks.

Thomas has 13 catches for 282 yards and two touchdowns while Hicks has 12 catches for 89 yards.

“We’ve seen a lot from Lowndes (on film),” Felton said. “They had a big win (against Grayson). Coach Grage has got those guys playing great over there. They’re playing good football. They’re a solid team on defense and explosive on offense.

“The running attack — they run a lot of outside zone. (Fleming) is doing a great job. The quarterback (Parrish) does a good job for them. They’ve got a deep threat with (Thomas). They do a good job completely on offense. I think, on defense, they’re playing fast and physical. They’re playing good football right now and they’re peaking at the right time.”

WHERE TO CATCH IT

Kickoff for tonight’s game is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Martin Stadium. The game can be heard on the radio on 99.5 FM for the Vikings and 95.7 FM for the ‘Cats.