VALDOSTA — Clay Brindger watches the Valdosta Wildcats from the press box on Friday nights. He’s witnessed what this Class 6A state championship game-bound team has been able to accomplish and how.

As he reflects on what the 13-1 Wildcats have done under first-year coach Alan Rodemaker, he’s reminded of his 1998 team, the last Valdosta group to bring a state football championship to TitleTown.

“There are no real superstars, they just play as a team,” said Brindger, a coach at J.L. Newbern Middle and teacher at Valdosta High.

The 2016 Wildcats have overcome a lot to reach Friday’s state championship game against Tucker at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. They’ve made up for a lack of “superstars” by showcasing a powerful sense of unity.

“Our team, we were undersized offensively and defensively on the lines, but we just played together as a team,” Brindger said. “This team takes advantage of other teams’ mistakes, just like we did. Also, I think this team is solid in all three phases… that’s what it takes to be a champion.”

It’s easy to draw comparisons between the 1998 team and the 2016 version from the surface.

Defensive back Brandon Doggett was the Wildcats’ only Division I prospect in 1998 and they were picked to finish fourth in their region. The 2016 team was selected as a third-place finisher. The 1998 team began 5-0 before its lone defeat against Colquitt County. The exact same thing happened this season: a 5-0 start, then a loss to Colquitt.

“I think that was very similar to this team, a turning point in the season where we could have either given up and cashed it in, but from that point on we got a lot better and we just kept improving,” Brindger said. “That was the point that changed things.”

Lee Tarpley, who played tight end in 1998, said the coaching change his team experienced reminds him of this year’s team. Tarpley was finishing his freshman year at Valdosta when legendary coach Nick Hyder died. Mike O’Brien, who served on Hyder’s staff, was then promoted to the head position.

“Rodemaker was on staff when (Rance) Gillespie left, so a little similarity there,” he said.

“I think the senior class has done really well and I think the team, kind of like we did, plays together really well. There have been some games when the defense has pretty much won the game when the offense struggled or the special teams has won the game when they needed them to. Or the offense, against Thomas County Central, lit it up when the defense was struggling.”

Tarpley has a brother who coaches Valdosta’s freshmen and a 6-year-old son who loves the Wildcats, so he’s attended most of Valdosta’s home games this season and a couple of road games, as well. He was one senior of a championship team heavily laden with senior players who grew up and played together since middle school. The work ethic brought with it an expectation to win.

And they did.

Following the loss against Colquitt, the Wildcats ripped off four straight wins to close the regular season. The last coming against crosstown rival Lowndes, who was previously undefeated.

“Especially after beating Lowndes, we felt like we could beat anybody in the state,” Tarpley said.

Momentum swelled, the execution level was high and the Wildcats dominated each postseason round en route to the program’s 24th state championship.

Jason Dykes, who played center in 1998, noted how undersized Valdosta’s speed and passion on the offensive line was able to handle a larger Dalton defense in last week’s semifinal victory.

“Both teams were undersized and aren’t full of Division I athletes, but playing aggressively is what makes us special,” he said. “That is Wildcat football.”

As the former state champions watch their Wildcats return to the state title game for the first time since 2003, they all see how this team can find the needed energy to bring home a state title of its own. It starts with Rodemaker.

“They feed off his enthusiasm, his personality on the field,” Brindger said. “He’s definitely high-energy out there and that’s what he expects from the kids.

“I know that he has a lot of new coaches on his staff, but they’re young and they’re hungry. He does have a good mixture of veteran coaches who have been there for a while and some that are younger. He’s got a great combination. I know they’re busting their butts out there, working hard.”

Added 1998 receiver Scott Fletcher: “We had a lot of passion when we won it all. We were a family, and I think (Rodemaker) implements a lot of that in his team. You can tell he really cares about the players and we could tell that about our coaches. And you see the players, they respond to his intensity and his passion. They all know he cares about them and they give it all out on the field for him.”