VALDOSTA — Isn’t it ironic?

The biggest surprise of the first spring game between crosstown rivals Valdosta and Lowndes may have been how closely it matched expectations.

The Wildcats entered Friday’s scrimmage at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium with an offense looking to find its footing under the guidance a new offensive coordinator and a defense seeking to prove its just as fearsome as the one that fueled last season state championship run — and they played their roles to a tee against the Vikings.

“I thought it was pretty intense,” Valdosta head coach Alan Rodemaker said of the scrimmage. “I think people got what they wanted in that first quarter, and then the first half was really, really good.

“I think most people didn’t want to see that end, and I didn’t either.”

Valdosta and Lowndes stuck to the pregame plan and only played its starters throughout the first half, despite the desire of everyone in the stadium to watch a few more rounds of the heavyweight fight.

After quick three-and-outs by each offense as the Wildcats and Vikings felt each other out, both teams took turn trading blows delivered by some of the premier talent South Georgia has to offer.

Taking over near midfield, Lowndes started to find some success on the ground on its second drive. The Vikings ran the ball on six of its first seven plays of the possession, picking up 34 yards in the process.

On the seventh run of the drive, Valdosta linebacker Zakoby McClain smashed into Lowndes quarterback Michael Barrett — a collision between two players with more than 35 college offers between them — forcing him to cough up the football just shy of the red zone. Tyler Berrien recovered the loose ball to end the scoring threat.

Barrett extracted a measure of revenge on Lowndes’ next drive, connecting with running back Marcus Gary out of the backfield for a 43-yard touchdown to give his team a 7-0 lead.

But Valdosta got to Barrett again a few minutes later when Raseed Arnold recorded the Wildcats’ second turnover in three drives and picked off a tipped pass before returning it to the 10-yard line.

By time the first half came to an end, Valdosta’s starting defense had held a Lowndes offense that shattered school records in average yards and points per game a season ago (462.9; 45.7) to 174 yards with two turnovers.

“Defensively, we’ve got some new guys that gotta play,” Rodemaker said after the scrimmage. “Really, they attacked one guy, and he made some plays, but he gave up some.

“But it’s new guys. They’ll learn under the lights. They really learn under the lights when a lot of people are watching. When a lot of people are watching, they tend to learn faster.”

Offensively, the Wildcats had moments where their potential as a unit shined, but ultimately, the young, inexperienced group was unable to find the consistency needed to find the end zone.

The Wildcats produced three plays of 15 or more yards, and five plays of 10 or more yards, but they only managed 21 yards on the other 21 snaps, which doesn’t include a handful of pre-snap penalties.

Though he did sail a couple passes high, including what looked like a sure touchdown inside the red zone, senior quarterback Hunter Holt had a hand in all of Valdosta’s explosive plays, the most impressive of which featured him deliver frozen rope on a post route for a 24-yard gain.

However, the aforementioned high pass and a fumble at the end of an 18-yard catch-and-run limited the Wildcats to a single field goal and a 10-3 deficit at halftime.

“I thought we were a little nervous offensively early until we hit our stride a little bit, but I thought we had a couple good drives,” Rodemaker said.

The biggest issue Valdosta must overcome offensively is depth issues along the offensive line, partially due to some injuries suffered this spring. The Wildcats had 104 yards of offense in the first half, with just 35 coming from 13 attempts on the ground.

On 13 of Valdosta’s runs, the Wildcats were stopped for a loss or no gain seven times.

Though Neither team scored after halftime, it was still an encouraging half of football by the reserves, which not only continued to play sound defense, but began to find some rhythm in the run game.

By the end of the night, every player in the Valdosta High program had received some snaps, and every player in the Valdosta High program found out exactly how far they’ll need to push themselves to prepare for August’s rematch.

“If I could have played the Dallas Cowboys today, I would have,” Rodemaker said. “Because I want to stress our kids to figure out how far we’ve got to go.

“I think they got a little confidence tonight, but I think our kids realized, just like our coaches do, we’ve got a long ways to go. And that’s fine. We’ve got three months to do it.”

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