JESUP — Not even an early kickoff can interfere with the Wildcats’ propensity to get off to a late start.

Valdosta High played with fire for the third straight week Saturday at Jaycee Stadium against Wayne County, and for the third straight week, the ‘Cats were able to avoid being burned.

The Wildcats managed just 88 yards, and no points, in the first half before exploding for 308 yards and four scores in the second half en route to their 28-0 win against the Yellow Jackets.

Slow starts has been a bit of a trademark at Wildcat games in recent seasons, and this season has been no exception, despite Saturday’s rescheduled 2 p.m. kickoff in the wake of Hurricane Hermine. Valdosta fell down by a score early in each of its first two games against Lowndes and Woodland-Stockbridge before turning the games into second-half blowouts.

Valdosta followed the script Saturday, turning it on after a miserable first half plagued by turnovers, dropped and bobbled balls and a missed field goal.

Head coach Alan Rodemaker hasn’t been able to find a consistent solution to his team’s first-half woes, but he’ll live with a team that is ready to play when the game gets tight.

“I’m going to stop talking about it,” Rodemaker said after the game. “The more I talk about it and the more we address it in practice, the worse we get.

“I don’t know what it is. It isn’t really anything. We adjust, our kids adjust. I can live with a second-half team. I’d much rather have a second-half team than a first-half team.”

Wildcats starting quarterback Josh Belton has had a tremendous two-game run in his first season back in the Azalea City after transferring to St. Petersburg in middle school, completing 26-of-34 passes for 315 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions to go along with 175 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

But Belton finally looked mortal in the first half against Wayne County. Looking hesitant in both the run and passing game, Belton only completed 8 of 16 passes for 99 yards with just 17 yards rushing. He also threw two interceptions to linebacker Lamont Trent in underneath coverage, the second in the end zone to keep the game scoreless early in the third quarter.

With their offense struggling, the Wildcats turned to backup quarterback Hunter Holt after Belton’s second interception, and he obliged by delivering the spark Valdosta was looking for.

Holt took over at VHS’ 47, and on his first play of the afternoon he found Welsey Veal on a slant that he turned into a 53-yard touchdown — the first score of the game — with 6:24 remaining in the third quarter.

After a Wayne County three-and-out, it took Holt just three more plays to break off a 57-yard touchdown run to extend the ‘Cats’ lead to 14.

In just four plays, Holt topped Valdosta’s entire first half of offensive production 116-to-88 and scored the only two touchdowns of the game, and he wasn’t done yet.

The Wildcats scored touchdowns on each of Holt’s first four possessions in the game while racking up 260 yards in just more than a quarter and a half of game time.

Holt finished the game 6-of-7 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown through the air with another 117 yards and a score coming on the ground, potentially sparking a quarterback controversy in the future.

This summer Rodemaker predicted both Holt and Belton would see time at quarterback, so he wasn’t surprised to see Holt produce when his name was called.

“Everybody likes (the quarterback) story, but both of them can play,” Rodemaker said. “Hunter’s handled this whole situation like a pro. He handles it like a pro. He handles every day like a pro, and that’s a tribute to his parents, it’s a tribute to this coaching staff and the way he’s a true Wildcat.

“Every one of my kids needs to follow the example of Hunter Holt. When his number was called he balled out.”

Holt received limited snaps over the first two weeks, compiling just five carries and three pass attempts. The lack of playing time frustrated Holt at times, but he just made sure to stay ready for his number to be called.

“It was tough, but I always tried to be focused because I always wanted to play,” Holt said. “When I get my chance to play, I’m going to try to play as hard as I can and try to earn my starting position back.”

Holt provided most of the offensive fireworks to lead the second-half charge, but the ‘Cats might not have been in a position to pull out the win if it wasn’t for a spectacular defensive effort.

Valdosta’s defense has held teams to 288 yards and 12.5 points per game through two weeks, and it improved those numbers Saturday against Wayne County.

Despite being put in some trying positions in the first half caused by turnovers and a failed fourth-down conversion, the ‘Cats held the Jackets scoreless with just 64 yards of offense.

They were even better in the second half, holding Wayne County to 39 yards and zero first downs after halftime.

“I feel like our defense needs to be able to do that for us,” Rodemaker said. “We’ve got all those kids back and they did a lights out job today.

“We’ve got to keep improving on that side, but today they did their job and really kept us in the ball game.”

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

Aug. 19	Lowndes	W 38-13
Aug. 26	Woodland-Stockbridge	W 51-12
Sept. 3	at Wayne County	W 28-0
Sept. 9	at Tift County	7:30 p.m.
Sept. 16	at Thomas Co. Central	8 p.m.
Sept. 23	Colquitt County	8 p.m.
Oct. 7	Northside-Warner Robins	8 p.m.
Oct. 21	at Lee County	7:30 p.m.
Oct. 28	Coffee	8 p.m.
Nov. 4	at Houston County	7:30 p.m.