High School

5 takeaways from Valdosta's impressive win over Jesuit (FL)

The Wildcats brought plenty of energy and fanfare to Tampa when they faced the Tigers

Andy Villamarzo

Valdosta Wildcats Football/X

One of the nation's most storied programs took their show on the road down to the Sunshine State.

The 24-time state champion Valdosta Wildcats hopped on charter buses and wen down Interstate 75 South to take on the Jesuit Tigers of Tampa.

It would be the boys from the Peach State returning back home with a 35-28 victory and improving to 4-0 on the season.

SBLive Florida was on hand for the game at Corral Memorial Stadium and give you 5 takeaways from Friday night's border war between the Wildcats and Tigers:

Valdosta all about balance, balance, balance

In every aspect of the game offensively anyways, the Wildcats dominated at Corral Memorial Stadium. Valdosta out-gained Jesuit 418-183 on the evening and led by a very balanced offensive attack. The Wildcats amounted 163 yards through the air behind quarterback Todd Robinson, who finished completing 19-of-26 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Shelton Felton has to like what he saw in the 813 when it came to playing evenly via the pass and run.

Jesuit continues to struggle

The offensive inconsistencies have continued this season, which is surprising when you look at some of the weapons the Tigers (1-2) have on the offensive end. Having a talent like Will Griffin (Florida commitment) would seem to favor Jesuit every Friday night, but the Tigers' offense was tamed for most of the evening. Griffin was held to 11-of-24 passing for 108 yards and two touchdowns. The ground game was limited to 75 yards, with Notre Dame commit Justin Thurman finishing with 44 on 15 touches.

Band and fans made the trip with the Wildcats

When you looked over at the away stands at Corral Memorial, you had to be impressed with the way the folks from South Georgia traveled. The Wildcats came in style, but didn't just stop at bringing plenty of fans, however. Valdosta brought its band as well, making for an entertaining environment overall with the Wildcats in town. Not many football programs travel quite like the Wildcats.

Deron Foster is going to be a star

Only a sophomore, Deron Foster showed signs as a freshman of growing into something special. Against Jesuit, Foster continued to show why he's a star in the making down in South Georgia. The running back had himself a strong evening carrying the rock, rushing for 118 yards on 13 touches and scoring a touchdown. By the time he's a senior, Foster could be one of Georgia's top running backs.

Can the Tigers turn it around?

We are going to say yes and that's because of the rest of the slate that's ahead for the Tigers. Games remaining that look like they will be challenging are Cardinal Newman, University and always tough rival, Tampa Catholic. All of the aforementioned games are winnable for Jesuit and they could feasibly come out of the regular season at 8-2 heading into the Class 4A playoffs. This tough 1-2 stretch might pay dividends down the stretch.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivega

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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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