VHS pounds Tift, 35-14

By Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA �" Valdosta High dominated Tift County Friday night, thanks in large part to a monster game from a backup quarterback, and earned a 35-14 victory Friday night at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
It was the Wildcats' most lopsided win over the Blue Devils since a 43-0 rout in 2003.
“How about those Valdosta Wildcats!,” Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said. “I saw a great effort tonight. I'm real proud of our team and our coaches. I'm real proud of all our seniors, to win their last home game on Senior Night. It was a great win against a huge rival.
“I'm proud for the Valdosta Wildcats. That's six wins against three losses. That's our third region win. It was just a banner night.”
Valdosta was playing without its starting quarterback, DaShay March, but it didn't matter, because his replacement played like a star Friday night. Chad Prain stepped in at quarterback, and had a huge game. Prain ran for 165 yards on just six carries, and scored three touchdowns in the win. He also completed 4-of-6 passes for 87 yards.
“We've always said Chad's a winner,” Tomberlin said. “I always like seeing him (play) baseball, and he sure came to bat for us tonight, and hit a home run. I'm real proud of Chad, the way he led, the way he fought.”
Valdosta needed the win to stay in the playoff hunt, especially after fourth-place Warner Robins upset Northside on Friday, 21-20. The Wildcats now need to beat Houston County next week, and have archrival Lowndes beat Warner Robins, to make the playoffs.
“Go Vikings!,” Tomberlin said. “I'll be the biggest Viking fan in Lowndes County next week.”
Valdosta trailed 7-0 after one quarter, but dominated the second and third quarters, scoring five touchdowns and building a commanding 35-7 lead against the Blue Devils.
“The second and third quarters were big,” Tomberlin said. “I thought we really played well.”
Tift County got the game's first score, converting a Valdosta fumble into a touchdown. Micah McCant got all 42 yards on the seven-play drive. Griffin Martin's extra point gave Tift a 7-0 lead.
Valdosta evened the score early in the second quarter. With the ball at the Blue Devil 29, Malcolm Mitchell took the handoff on a reverse going left, and when he turned the corner, he saw an open path to the end zone. Mitchell sprinted 29 yards to the end zone, tying the score at 7-7 two minutes into the second quarter.
The Wildcats' defense forced a three-and-out, then got the ball back at their own 34. Three plays later, on first-and-10 from the Valdosta 45, Prain took the snap and rolled out. He saw a lot of open space in the middle of the field, and took off running. The senior quarterback sprinted 55 yards untouched into the end zone for his first touchdown of the night. Zach Wang's extra point gave the Wildcats a 14-7 lead.
Valdosta came out of the locker room for the second half, and put the ball in the end zone again on the opening drive of the third quarter. A 16-yard pass from Prain to Tyler Yelito and runs of 5 and 16 yards by Brian Anderson moved the ball to the Tift 31. Then Anderson ran the ball again, but was stripped at the 25. A VHS player picked up the fumble, then lost it. But Prain ran in, scooped up the loose ball, and ran it into the end zone to give Valdosta a 21-7 lead.
Valdosta's defense forced another three-and-out (one of six times that Tift's offense went three-and-out on Friday), and punted the ball back to the Wildcats. Then Valdosta drove for another touchdown, going 66 yards in eight plays. The biggest play was a 50-yard pass from Prain to Dontavis Sapp, down to the Tift 22. Reggie McQueen's 18-yard run moved the ball to the 4, and three plays later, McQueen got the ball again and took it into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run and a 28-7 lead.
On the first play of Valdosta's next possession, Prain raced 49 yards, down to the Tift 12. Three plays later, Prain's 10-yard touchdown run increased his team's lead to 35-7 with 2:23 left in the third quarter.
Valdosta let its backups play in the fourth quarter.
Tift scored a touchdown with 2:30 left in the game. Malcolm Dixon finished off a seven-play, 93-yard drive against Valdosta's second-team defense with a 5-yard run to make the final score 35-14.