VALDOSTA — The Wildcats chose not to play with their food Friday night.

Instead, No. 6 Valdosta High scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and cruised to a 57-20 victory against visiting Beaufort (S.C.) at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

Coming off a record loss against rival Lowndes in the Winnersville Classic, Valdosta looked a bit timid on the first possession of the game as its offense quickly went three-and-out.

But, assisted by interceptions from Aushaud Evans and Elijah Norwood on consecutive defensive possessions, the Wildcats reached the end zone on each of its four ensuing possessions of the first quarter — the final on a 97-yard pass to Willie Trapp to go up 28-0 with 1:10 remaining in the period.

Valdosta (3-3) gained 302 yards of offense in the first half, 224 yards and three touchdowns coming on the arm of quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who finished 7-of-9 passing, in addition to a 15-yard rushing touchdown. Running back Rajaez Mosley carried the ball 16 times for 67 yards and two scores.

Beaufort (3-3) scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to cut the lead to 28-6, but the Eagles were unable to consistently move the ball against the Wildcats until the reserves filed in throughout the second half.

“Beaufort’s not a bad football team, and I know it got lopsided real quick, because we had a lot of positive things happen, and we made them happen, especially defensively, but I think you see they’re not a bad football team,” said Wildcats head coach Alan Rodemaker. “Because we put the 2s in and they’d go right down the field. I think Beaufort’s got a chance.”

Beaufort had gained 98 of its 199 yards of offense in the first half, and 96 yards came on two pass plays. The Eagles’ other 31 first-half plays resulted in just two yards combined.

Rodemaker believes the defensive performance by Valdosta’s starters is just what the team needed in its final non-region contest.

“Our kids, just like all kids, are a lot better when they have confidence,” Rodemaker said. “I think this will give us some confidence…

“We were a little bit sloppy offensively, but I thought we got after it the whole night, defensively, until we put some of the younger guys in, and that was positive. We needed that.”

The large lead resulted in a running clock and the emptying of Valdosta’s bench throughout the second half.

“I don’t do it just to pay them back,” Rodemaker said. “I do it because i really want those guys to try and take somebody else’s job.

“If we’re a 2, and trying to take a 1s job, or a 3 not trying to take a 2s job, then what are we doing? We practice all week, we all practice the same amount of time, and then we watch somebody else play in our position. That’s what I talked about at halftime, ‘Go earn your spot and do it by showing out in the second half.’”

The Eagles threw another long touchdown pass on a coverage bust on its first possession of the second half, and it added another late in the fourth to close within 43-20, but by the end of the game, Wildcats had gotten the scores back on kick return touchdown by Devonta Berrian and Coy Bess’ interception return.

Ultimately, it was a game that benefited both programs in each teams’ non-region finale.

“I just think we haven’t played with confidence,” Rodemaker said. “You’ve got to earn that confidence; I can’t give it to them. Hopefully we earned some confidence tonight, because we’re going to have to play well next week. The region we’re in is just as good as the guys we’ve been playing.

“We’ll go to work Monday, but we’re certainly going to enjoy this.”

Valdosta begins its Region 1-6A schedule next Friday, on the road against Houston County. The Wildcats’ final three opponents (Coffee, Lee County and Northside Warner Robins) are each ranked among the top 10 in the classification.

 

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.