By Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
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The Teams
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Lowndes, Ga. (4-2) at Valdosta, Ga. (1-6)
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"The Winnersville Classic."
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Near the Georgia-Florida border, nothing more needs to be said. It must be time for Valdosta-Lowndes.
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The Classic pits the nation's all-time winningest program against Georgia's hottest team over the past decade.
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Valdosta has won 23 state titles in the Peach State, including 13 in 20 years from 1951 to 1971. The Wildcats' success at the state level led them to be named national champions six times, with the last coming in 1992. The program has produced 11 NFL players.
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Since Valdosta's last national title, the little school across town it beat 30 times in 35 meetings from 1968 to 1996 has slowly usurped the powerhouse on the field.
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Lowndes is the two-time defending AAAAA state champion in Georgia, and owns a record of 113-21 since 1996. The Vikings captured state titles in 1999 and 1980, in addition to 2004 and 2005.
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Perhaps most importantly, Lowndes has taken six of the last nine in the Winnersville Classic.
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This year's game has an interesting sub-plot, as former Lowndes head coach Rick Tomberlin has taken over the reins at Valdosta.
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Tomberlin was 15-15 in three seasons with the Vikings before departing for Washington High, where he won three state titles and 157 games in 14 seasons.
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Both teams enter Friday's contest with disappointing records (by Valdosta standards, at least), but the excitement over the rivalry hasn't dissipated. According to the Valdosta Daily Times, less than 500 of the 11,249 tickets remained Tuesday.
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The Players
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Lowndes loves to pound the ball using a variety of ballcarriers. A year ago when the Vikings captured their second-straight AAAAA title, head coach Randy McPherson employed six different backs who surpassed 200 yards for the season with three of them scoring 11 or more touchdowns.
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This year is no different with the trio of juniors Darriett Perry, Tavaris Williams, and Adrian Hargett, who have combined for 760 yards and eight touchdowns.
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Perry has been pegged for stardom since the beginning of his sophomore season, but probably hasn't had quite the breakout junior campaign he was expecting. A year ago, the 5-8, 180-pounder ran for nearly 800 yards and 11 scores. This season with defenses keying on him, Perry is averaging just 4.9 yards per carry and has 383 yards through six games.
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Perry is coming off his best individual performance in 2006, however, a 14-carry, 119-yard night in a loss to Houston County.
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Valdosta's preferred method of moving the chains is also via the ground, but there is no running back-by-committee in the Wildcats' plan.
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Senior Demetrius James is the featured back, racking up 491 yards and three touchdowns in Valdosta's first six games.
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Producing points has been a bit of a challenge for the Wildcats, who are averaging just 14 points per game in their frustrating, 1-6 start.
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The Valdosta defense is doing enough to help the Georgia juggernaut win games, giving up just 15 points per contest. If the Wildcat stoppers continue to be stingy, and the offense can find a spark Friday night, an upset is not out of the question by any means - Valdosta's six defeats have come by a total of just 22 points.
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MaxPreps Predicts.
The MaxPreps Pregame Feature predicts a 19-7 win for the visiting Lowndes Vikings. That result wouldn't be a shocker given Valdosta's 1-6 record, but the Wildcats aren't a bad team - as evidenced by their string of close losses to state powers.
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Valdosta is too proud to roll over and die for archrival Lowndes, and would love to end the Vikings' two-game winning streak in the series.