Valdosta hosts Banneker looking to stay unbeaten

Shane Thomas, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·2 min read

Sep. 2—VALDOSTA — Fresh off a 34-7 win over the neighboring Cook Hornets last week, the Valdosta Wildcats (2-0) look to stay perfect when the Banneker Trojans (2-0) visit Bazemore-Hyder Stadium tonight.

The 'Cats overcame a scoreless first quarter to score 21 of their 34 points before halftime to notch their second straight victory to start the season.

Of the five touchdowns the 'Cats scored against the Hornets, three came directly off of defensive stops on fourth down. Another touchdown came on a Tim Roberson pick-six on third-and-long.

Otherwise, the 'Cats didn't do much on offense — producing 169 yards of total offense, 159 coming by way of the running game.

"We had no rhythm on offense," Valdosta head coach Shelton Felton said after last week's game. "It was a bad offensive night, but defense wins championships. Special teams and key turnovers on defense allowed us to punch it in and get easy scores. A win is a win. We'll take it, but the performance as a whole in all three phases was not good tonight."

Senior running back Charles Williams led the Valdosta offense with seven carries for 105 yards on the night as Valdosta carried the ball 22 times for 159 yards in the win.

Junior defensive end Eric Brantley solidified his role as the team's power back, scoring three touchdowns in the red zone last week. For the season, Brantley has scored on all four of his carries this season.

The 'Cats were dogged by penalties throughout as they were flagged 10 times for 85 yards last week. A frustrated Felton felt his team fell short of playing detail-oriented and disciplined football against the Hornets.

"It's the point of being detailed," Felton said of the penalties. "We didn't play to our standards. We were reaching and not moving our feet and running through things and it cost us. We're going to pay for those penalties, trust me."

Region 5-5A Banneker comes into tonight's game 2-0 on the season, defeating Washington and New Manchester by identical 14-12 decisions.

Tonight will be the first meeting between the 'Cats and Trojans. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

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