By Steve Carter
TIFTON — The Tift County Blue Devils football team is currently ranked No. 1 in the GaSports.com Class AAAAA state football poll and shares the top spot with the Colquitt County Packers in the Associated Press Class AAAAA state rankings.
But high recognition in the state has been the least of the Tift concerns this week as the Devils (5-0) have prepared to host the Valdosta High Wildcats (1-4) today for an 8 p.m. Region 1-AAAAA encounter at Brodie Field.
It will be Tift’s first league game of the year, while Valdosta will enter with a 0-1 mark in league play after falling 17-15 to Colquitt last weekend.
“We haven’t really talked about it (the ranking) much,” said Walls. “We have talked about Valdosta and we have really tried to focus on us and what we do and get better at the things we are doing. I think that has really been more of a motivation for us this week.
“It’s region, it’s Valdosta and we are trying to get better.”
While the entire Tift team wants to go to 1-0 in the league standings, the Devils’ senior class has extra incentive to beat Valdosta.
Tift defeated the Wildcats 34-2 in 2004, the first Devil victory over a Valdosta team since 1993.
The last Tift County senior class to win two games over the Wildcats was the 1982 class. The Devils fell to Valdosta 17-12 in 1981 and 28-2 in 1980, but Tift defeated the Wildcats 13-12 in 1979 and 24-6 in 1978.
With their triumph over Valdosta in 2004, a Blue Devils win tonight would give a Tift 12th grade class two wins over the Wildcats for the first time in 25 years.
That would mean a lot to seniors Israel Troupe, Randy Parker and Lanarius McKinley.
“It would feel great to beat Valdosta again,” Troupe said. “We lost to them last year in a close game (13-10), but I think we will have their number this year. We have all prepared and the team is doing good and the defense is doing good.
“We’re expecting a good, physical game. It is our first region game and their second. They lost last week, so they are looking to get a region win and we’re looking to get one, too. But we have practiced well and every one is looking good, so I think we can win it.”
Parker is excited about the opportunity to be a Tift senior class to split with Valdosta.
“It would feel great on my behalf, I know the seniors have been looking forward to this for a long time,” Parker said. “I am expecting for us to have a great game on both sides of the ball, offense and defense.”
McKinley is also looking forward to tonight’s encounter.
“It would be an amazing accomplishment (splitting with Valdosta), considering the fact they have always had our number,” said McKinley. “If we come out there and beat them, it would be a big thing for our team and our seniors.
“I am expecting to win. We have been practicing hard. We have had three extra days (Tift was off last week) of practice to focus on them and I think we are ready.”
