The Valdosta Wildcats got off to a dominant start last week as they throttled the North Miami Pioneers 40-6 last Friday.

Tonight, the ‘Cats look to build on their season opener when the Cook Hornets come to town.

Let’s kick some extra points…

1) Dominating D

The ‘Cats held the Pioneers to just 139 yards total offense last week.

North Miami quarterback Makhai Stevenson completed just 5 of 23 passes for 71 yards with a sack and an interception. At times, Stevenson was the only player producing for the Pioneers – finishing with 11 carries for 45 yards.

Jason Gabriel had two catches for 44 yards while Lorenzo Baptiste had one catch for 26 yards in the loss.

The Pioneers managed only five first downs in the game.

“They didn’t (move the ball on us),” Valdosta head coach Shelton Felton said. “Our front is our strongest point. We’ve got to get our guys on the back end playing better and our linebackers playing better. We’ve got playmakers everywhere, so those guys have got to step up and play to their capabilities and make the plays they’re supposed to make.

“I was a little disappointed with the six points. You know how that goes, but I thought we played pretty good on defense tonight.”

The ‘Cats nearly delivered a shutout until a dismal drive resulted in Stevenson walking into the end zone for a touchdown with 8:50 left in the third quarter.

Fuming, Felton lit into his defense, yelling, “That’s not the standard!”

Felton expanded on his frustration after the game.

“The standard here is we’re gonna play defense, we’re gonna play lights-out, we’re gonna play physical and we’re gonna be fast,” Felton said. “The standard is the standard no matter who we play. We want to build that tradition here where we don’t want you to score. That’s the message I was trying to get across to them.”

2) Todd’s debut

A bright spot for the ‘Cats was the play of rising sophomore quarterback Todd Robinson, who made his first career start at quarterback last week.

Robinson accounted for three touchdowns in the win – completing 5 of 13 passes for 86 yards with two first-half touchdowns while showing his versatility and athleticism with six carries for 79 yards with a 15-yard touchdown run to put the ‘Cats in front 34-0 late in the second quarter.

Robinson played with poise and looked much more confident than he did in limited action last season.

The difference, Felton said, is Robinson’s maturity – both physically and mentally.

“It’s just maturity,” Felton said of Robinson’s performance. “It was his first starting at quarterback since I think the sixth or seventh grade. He makes a difference. He played with confidence. I’ve got to tell him all the time, ‘If you play with confidence, you can do anything you want to do and the guys are going to follow you.’

“As a young guy, he got hit for the first time and he realized they didn’t hurt him. I think he just started playing from there.”

3) They still run it

Last season, the ‘Cats built their offensive identity behind a punishing offensive line and a stable of talented young running backs.

Last week against North Miami, they rushed 44 times for 258 yards with four rushing touchdowns. Overall, Valdosta finished with 344 yards total offense.

Seven different ‘Cats recorded carries last week, led by Robinson’s 79-yard effort. Senior running back Charles Williams Jr. had the bulk of the touches with 14 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. Ahmad Denson had eight carries for 50 yards while Shaq Wright had six carries for 25 yards and a touchdown.

“I thought we were balanced on offense and was able to (put points on the board),” Felton said. “The biggest thing I was proud of was Todd Robinson. He came out his shell and directed the offense. We had a slew of running backs touching the ball. I thought (offensive coordinator) Coach Nick Harduvel did a great job calling the game tonight.”

4) Reuniting with the Hornets

Despite playing just 27 miles up the road, Cook has only played Valdosta four times – ever.

Prior to tonight, the last time Valdosta faced Cook was Sept. 18, 1953 – a game the ‘Cats won 51-7.

Valdosta is 4-0 all-time against the Hornets. The first meeting between the two teams was Oct. 30, 1931 when Valdosta won 39-2. On Oct. 28, 1932, Valdosta won 31-0. The teams would not play each other again for 20 years.

5) What to expect

Cook comes into Bazemore-Hyder Stadium 1-0 after walloping Pelham 55-7 in the Battle of the Hornets last week – a game that saw Cook score 49 first-half points.

With it being so early in the non-region schedule, Felton said the objective for the ‘Cats is to perfect their base schemes each week to prepare for region play.

“It’s very important to strengthen to base – our core offense and core defense – no matter who we play,” Felton said. “We’re gonna run, so it’s very important to get that stuff down and see different people and different fronts. I don’t know much about Cook, but I’m sure it’s going to be a great team coming in here with a fight.”

Kickoff for tonight’s game is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.