There’s ‘Only one Winnersville’

Published 5:44 pm Wednesday, August 17, 2016

VALDOSTA, Ga. — During his six years as the head coach at Madison County, Fla., Randy McPherson got an up-close look at a spirited high school rivalry. 

But the Cowboys’ bouts with Live Oak’s Suwannee Bulldogs couldn’t prepare McPherson for everything he’s experienced with the Winnersville Classic since arriving at Lowndes in 2002 — it never goes away.

“It was a big deal,” McPherson said about Madison-Suwannee. “There weren’t any seats in the place. The stadium wasn’t as big, but it was a great rivalry. After the game, you know, they went back to Live Oak and we went back to Madison.

“This game is unlike any other in the fact that, after the game, we’re going to be in church with them on Sunday. We’re going to see them in the restaurants, the kids grow up together. And that game, it’s brought up, something to do with that game comes up every day, 365 days out of the year.

“I’ve got friends that are Valdosta people and as soon as you see them, that’s what you think about. It’s every day.”

That 365-day obsession with Winnersville is something both the Wildcats and Vikings cherish. It’s what makes Valdosta’s new head coach and former defensive coordinator Alan Rodemaker love being a part of TitleTown.

“I think what makes Valdosta different, in general, whether it’s Lowndes or Valdosta, is that the people of Valdosta care more about high school football than anywhere I’ve been and I think any other place in the world that exists,” said Rodemaker, who also coached at Thomasville High, Peach County and Byrnes, S.C., among others. “I don’t care what they say about Texas or anything else, I just think the people care more about high school football and this rivalry is huge and I think it always will be. I’m just happy to be a part of it. It’s way bigger than me or any individual on our team. It’s just a big deal and I’m just glad that I’m at a place where people care so much about young people and high school athletics and high school sports and high school football.

“That’s really what draws me to the place.”

Lowndes senior defensive lineman Devon Holmes said: “It means everything. Who gets the title of the city, who gets to run Valdosta for that year.”

For the past two years, that means the Azalea City has been a black-and-gold locale. In all, VHS leads the annual rivalry series 36-18.

But the Vikings plan on closing that gap come Aug. 19 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. The 17-7 and 13-10 setbacks the past two years are providing plenty of motivation for Lowndes’ seniors.

“Now that it’s my senior year, it’s do or die really,” Lowndes linebacker Jeffrey Davis said. “You can’t go out on the bottom, you always want to finish on top, both sides Lowndes and Valdosta.

“That’s really what’s motivating everybody at Lowndes on the football team. We’re tired of being beat up and beat down by Valdosta. It’s our time now.”

Win or lose, the fact that it’s the final Winnersville Classic for the seniors on both sides of the rivalry has them ready to seize the moment.

“I’ve grown up, my parents have always come to all the games and I’ve always wanted to play in it and have played in it, and I love it,” Valdosta wide receiver Wesley Veal said, adding that his favorite touchdown he’s scored came in last year’s Classic. “It makes it way more significant that it’s the last one. 

“It’s going to mean a lot more to me because I’m going to lay it all out there.”

Lowndes receiver Tyson Harris added: “The Classic means a lot to us. Growing up as a kid, coming out every Friday night to watch Greg Reid, Telvin Smith and those guys go against the WIldcats, it always gave you chills. It gave you chills looking up to those guys and it really made me want to play. The time is here. It’s here now. I’m ready to get after it with my team. I’m ready to fight a war and I’m ready to compete on both sides of the ball.

“This means everything to me. Talking about it right now is giving me chills because this is my last one. I’ll never ever get a Lowndes vs. Valdosta game again. Playing against my friends, playing against my cousins, brothers on the other side of the ball. At the end of the day, I want this win badder than any game I want all season.”

This year, with Valdosta remaining in Class 6A in the new Georgia High School Association’s reclassification and Lowndes ascending into the new Class 7A, the Classic won’t be a region game. For the first time, it will be played prior to Oct. 7. It will serve as the season opener for both teams. It could be the Wildcats’ 900th win in school history for the nation’s winningest team.

That changes the Classic, Valdosta defensive back Antwon Kincade said.

“That’s the big thing, 900th win,” Kincade said. “But Winnersville is not going to be the same. We play games to build it up. We want to go in undefeated against Lowndes.”

McPherson, though, doesn’t believe Winnersville will lose any significance.

“The only difference in the game is that it’s not a region game,” he said. “It doesn’t matter when that game is played, I don’t care what anybody says, you could play that game, you could make an announcement and say that game has been moved to next Friday night and it’s still going to be THE game.”

There is no doubt that Winnersville will always be THE game to the Wildcats and Vikings.

“This is a once in a, I guess you could say, country thing,” Veal said. “There’s not teams. This is a whole week of hype, you have students doing stuff to each others’ yards, and people tweeting each other. This is a big rivalry and you can’t find anything else like it in the whole country.”

Harris added: “Only one Winnersville. Nowhere in the nation do they play football like down in South Georgia. Down here, we do what we have to do. As a region we play the hardest football that there probably is in the state of Georgia, in the nation, period. Lowndes-Valdosta is probably the biggest, Winnersville, Winnersville Classic it’s the biggest rivalry ever and I’m so excited to play in it.”

It’s a game that will stay with the Wildcats and Vikings a lifetime.

“This is my senior year and it’s what I’m going to have to live with the rest of my life,” Lowndes senior offensive lineman Danny Corbett said.

Jamie Wachter is the sports editor of the Valdosta Daily Times and can be followed on Twitter @jlwachter.