He was the best in the business. Tired of losing to their city school rival, and tired of just losing in general over the first decade of the teams existence, Lowndes County school superintendent Sonny Martin decided to reach out to one of the enemy, longtime Valdosta assistant coach Joe Wilson. Both were thrilled to have the chance to work with a former player whod not only been Valdostas quarterback, but had also played for Georgia and the Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL. 115 N. Patterson St. | PO Box 812 | Valdosta, Ga 31601, 13245 Atlantic Blvd., Suite 191 | Jacksonville, FL 32225. Joe Wilson took over the Vikings football team in 1976, and right away encouraged the players to embrace their country boy personality and call themselves Plowboys. He led the Vikings to an 8-2 season, which included upset victories over Tift County and Thomasville High. Their next option? That next morning, as Valdosta faculty, students, and parents begin arriving at the school, they saw the huge Viking ship floating in the pond in front of their school. Occasionally, however, things got a little out of control. The first part of the book is my journey through Valdosta and the secrets to all the winning. The coach it was John Lastingers dad, as a matter of fact they installed this tight end-around pass, and I ended up leading the league in passing. [John Lastinger followed Belue as the starting quarterback at Valdosta and at Georgia. The Vikings ran onto the field with their new Plowboys jerseys, and the home crowd went nuts. We learned a lot. So, Joe sits down with Martin and Sonny asks him, Joe, why should I hire you? Prince said. And when he showed up. I remember in the 1981 game, quarterback John Bond took off down the Lowndes sideline and ran for an 80-yard touchdown, Baker said. We missed a chip-shot field goal that wouldve won the state championship for all of us. Mon - Fri: 7:30 - 4:30. Valdosta High School is the most successful High School football program in the country. Register Batting Baker said the cheerleaders from both teams would usually meet at one of the girls homes, and the groups would alternate each season. Belue played one more season at Georgia, leading the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record the following year while engineering an offense that averaged 31 points per game, the ninth most in the country in 1981. His career total of 4,756 set a state record for the highest classification. Then, Prince said, prior to the 1979 game, Lowndes was warming up in their traditional crimson jerseys. In the 2011 game, Lowndes was leading 17-7, and with only 1:14 remaining in the game, looked like they were on their way to their eighth straight win in the Winnersville Classic. Some call them Winnersville. Belue was a star quarterback at Valdosta High School. Belue will host a book signing for his new book "Inside the Hedges". He sort of chuckled and said there was a lot of built-up frustration over those years of losing to Valdosta, Dont take it personally is what I believe he said., 5. Hyder became head coach your freshman year. There were so many, but I remember Todd Peterson in the 1987 game kicking a 47-yard field goal to beat Lowndes at their place, OBrien said. I definitely wanted to share the Valdosta experience because Ive had thousands of people ask me over the years, What was the secret to Valdosta winning all those games all those years? Belue said. Wildcat quarterback Shelby Wilkes leads the Cats on a three-play drive, highlighted by a 47-yard screen pass to Charlie Albritton that took the ball to the Vikings 6-yard line. Then in July 2021, Hutson Mason became one of five co-hosts of The Locker Room, leaving Belue with his own show called The Buck Belue Show on WCNN. Everybody was running the Wing-T, and he ran the pro set, throwing the ball. Oh yeah, they had a bounty out for Bucks jersey, Baker said. The 55-yard scamper, with Reid zig-zagging his way through the entire Valdosta defense on his way to the endzone, sealed the victory for the Vikings against the visiting Wildcats. He rushed for 3,133 yards in a nine-year NFL career. As a young boy there growing up in Valdosta, we all dreamed of the day we would get to high school and wear that Wildcat uniform and win a state title. Last season, he was backup to another Valdosta alumnus, All-Southeastern. I wanted the freedom to do what I wanted to do, you know? Todays interviewee is Buck Belue, sports talk show host for 680 The Fan, quarterback for Georgias 1980 national championship team, four-year starting quarterback at Valdosta, inaugural selectee into the new Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame and author of a new book, Inside The Hedges, a look at Georgias 1980 season and his athletic career. He came in from West Rome with the idea of running the wishbone like he was doing in Rome, and I was coming over for spring football as an eighth grader, and it wasnt a couple of months later we were back for preseason practice, and he was totally shifted to the Bazemore offense, as we called it. I remember Buck had to go to the locker room and get another jersey. Because official statistics are not required or maintained by any state organization, the records that we display here come from individual schools and from media reports, primarily newspapers. Buck Belue, who quarterbacked Georgia to a national championship in 1980, was at Universities Forever in Cumming on Saturday to promote his book 'Inside the Hedges: The Quarterback's Journey to the 1980 National Championship.' - photo by David Roberts. We got the ball with about three or four minutes left inside our own 10 and drove down to the 1-yard line with like two seconds left. At Valdosta, you were heavily influenced by the legendary head coaches Wright Bazemore (1941-42, 1946-71) and Nick Hyder (1973-95). valdosta high school Fields Victoria Lane-Long Victor James Vivian Manghram Voncil Moss I was blessed with this great coaching. [Belue passed for a state-record 5,214 yards and won two region titles in his four Valdosta seasons. The players gathered together on the steps of the old McWhorter Hall athletic dormitory and seethed. Lastingers vision was to bring the two fan bases together all week long for community-wide events. He was the quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs in 1980, when the team went 12-0, and, after beating Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, was named the consensus national champion. I have nothing but respect for the man, Belue said of Dooley. The best players I saw play in the game were quarterback Cedric Hatten for us, and for Lowndes it was Greg Reid. The Wildcats loss to Lowndes and the close game the year before were the turning points of the series, and turned it into a true rivalry, Lastinger said. It goes on the shelf, then you're back working on it again. A defibrillator is a device used to treat a person who has suddenly gone into cardiac arrest, and possibly save their life. Baker said the bands from both schools began joining forces on the field before each game and would play the National Anthem together. For him it simply was a passion project that needed to be done. I was blessed with this great coaching. [Belue passed for a state-record 5,214 yards and won two region titles in his four Valdosta seasons. He was the quarterback, and he went to Ole Miss. On the next play, Wilkes found Sherrod Inman in the back of the end zone to cut the lead to 17-14. He was the quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs in 1980, when the team went 12-0, and, after beating Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, was named the consensus national champion. Simmons was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. Buck Belue 0:00 0:32 The "best team ever" conversation is an interesting one. I would soak up all this knowledge. Credit: Photo by Chris McShane (provided by Buck Belue). He will be inducted with Belue in October. No question about it.. As for the Dooley thing, Belue makes no apologies. The first time was when Bazemore retired, and they hired Charlie Green. I enjoyed it. He was totally unselfish, too. Published: Apr 25, 2022, 10:44 AM. The native of Jessup has made his home in Valdosta since retiring from professional football and is an avid supporter of UGA athletics and a dedicated follower of local high school football. But the current Wildcats still know who he is. Valdosta City Schools ; J. L. Lomax Elementary School ; Pinevale Elementary School ; Sallas Mahone Elementary ; S.L. I learned some things from him. In 2004, the Falcons retired his jersey No. His 37 career touchdowns are fourth all-time for the franchise. But it was more than that. ET. We still do that now, just not as much.. We've called it home," Belue said of living in Forsyth County. These two Wildcat backers agree on their most memorable moment: The Comeback.. They were very different. Furious, actually. Brooks would become Auburns all-time leading rusher with 3,523 yards, which remains third in school history. Mason Elementary School ; W.G. So he came up with the name Plowboys. He and then-band director Billy Martin ordered straw hats with LHS Plowboys across the front, which the band wore during their halftime performance.. Its gone on for 30 years.. Fortunately, that didnt happen too often.. The first time I played quarterback was in the eighth grade. I'd gone through and written it probably in the late 80s, then a couple of years later changed ityou know, write, rewrite, write, rewrite. Low around 65F. Valdosta High School - Sandspur Yearbook (Valdosta, GA), Class of 1975, Page 130 of 272 | E-Yearbook.com has the largest online yearbook collection of college, university, high school, middle school, junior high school, military, naval cruise books and yearbooks. Rogers was among three Georgians named to the 1976 Coach & Athlete All-America team. [Rome, a 6-foot-4 tight end, set a national record for receiving yards in a season. He is also the only quarterback to start all four years for the Valdosta Wildcats where he was inducted as a member of the Valdosta High School Hall of Fame in 2007.[10]. Before he was an All-SEC running back at Auburn and played 13 NFL seasons, James Brooks led Warner Robins to a 1976 Class 3A championship and a National Sports News Service (NSNS) national title. They hauled the ship over from Lowndes to Valdosta High in the middle of the night and put it in the pond in front of the school. With Coach Hyder, you just couldnt imagine anyone working harder than him to be successful. Its something were going to build on. Its been written and put away for five years, then re-written and put away for 10 years and then re-written again. . "The real motivation for me was, I've had so many people through the years ask me about Valdosta, where I grew up, and the football program being so successful," Belue said. Buck's Beat podcast episode 80 has dropped. The Valdosta High class of '78 alumni are listed below. Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. And a Plains teen girl borrowed Jimmy Carters clothes. He played both football and basketball at Clemson and was a three-year starter on the hardwood. High School Highlights - Portal state basketball advances Prep Sports Blitz - Feb. 18, 2023 The Eagles Nest - Feb. 19, 2023 Despite having played each other since 1968, the Lowndes vs. Valdosta game didnt become the Winnersville Classic until 1981. You have permission to edit this article. This isn't conjecture, it's really fact. In the next three their record was 31-6; they finished No. I remember Stanley Bounds. We wanted to work with players who were (at Valdosta), who are committed to playing football. He's the host of the Buck Belue Show on Atlanta sports radio's 680 The Fan every weekend from 10:00 a.m. Also, I was motivated by writing about the 1980 season and about the guys that never got the credit. At quarterback, its about being a leader, and being a field general. You also talk about the other coaches at Valdosta, especially offensive coordinator Joe Wilson, who later became Lowndes head coach and led the Vikings to a 1980 state title, and Jack Rudolph, Valdostas longtime defensive mastermind [and father of Georgia Tech and NFL player Coleman Rudolph]. The problem was the plane didnt get low enough, and the wind blew the flyers all over the neighborhood next to the practice field.. Mark Lemke joins me. Heset a Bengals record in 1984 with four rushing touchdowns in a game against the Houston Oilers. My dad and I waited on Athens High to come out of the locker room, and were standing by the fence, and my dad is saying, Look, heres Andy Johnson. "We just love it. They already had been to Jacksonville, Fla., Macon and Columbus. How would you contrast and compare those iconic coaches? I showed them some drills that helped me, and I hope theyll help them as well. But it missed its mark literally. I think it was number 1.. Credit: Photo by Chris McShane (provided by Buck Belue). Valdosta, Georgia is called Title Town, USA because they have won more high school football games and titles than anyone else. On their annual Fourth of July vacation to Florida last week, the Belues made stops at the Marshside Grill in Brunswick and the Coachs Corner in Savannah to peddle books. Former receiver Lindsey Scott, who lives in Valdosta, former linebacker Keith Middleton, a longtime Valdosta High assistant coach, and former quarterbacks John Lastinger and Greg Talley helped out. 2022 cohort graduation rate for Valdosta High School . Your high school friends are looking for you! I grew up admiring most of those guys on the list we were voting on. Former Valdosta assistant coach Jerry Don Baker, who played at Valdosta in the 60s and coached at Valdosta from 1976-2006, said he was there when Wilson told Valdosta he was leaving. The dream was to wear that Valdosta uniform and do like every other graduate that came through, and that was win a state championship, and we played Clarke Central in Athens and lost 16-14. In basketball, Rome averaged 32 points per game as a high school senior and was MVP of the Georgia all-star basketball game. The interview below follows the Four Questions format, along with three bonus questions with Belues thoughts on making the Hall of Fame (induction is Oct. 22), his most memorable high school game and how coach Wright Bazemore made him a quarterback. Todays interviewee is Buck Belue, sports talk show host for 680 The Fan, quarterback for Georgias 1980 national championship team, four-year starting quarterback at Valdosta, inaugural selectee into the new Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame and author of a new book, Inside The Hedges, a look at Georgias 1980 season and his athletic career. The Valdosta fans had bumper stickers that read, City Slickers and, Mama, dont let your babies grow up to be plowboys, Prince said. Seeing Andy Johnson in 1969 was one of my first recollections of high school football [at the 1969 Class 3A championship game between Athens and Valdosta at Cleveland Field]. Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States.As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. The first time I played quarterback was in the eighth grade. The Georgia High School Association has levied a $7,500 fine against Valdosta High School, ordered the Wildcats to forfeit seven victories from the 2020 football season, banned the team from . $100 would be given to the Lowndes player who could produce a piece of Bucks jersey. Defensive coordinator Erk Russell. He was totally unselfish, too. Belue is a radio talk show host in Atlanta (on 680 AM), but remains a big fan of Wildcat football. We were in an extra bedroom, and his wife came in a couple of times and told him dinner was ready. - photo by David Roberts, Forsyth County man accused of influencing stock prices with false financial information, Forsyth County man arrested on child porn, molestation charges, Police warn Forsyth County residents not to fall victim to these scams, Forsyth County announces leaders for three departments, Heres when the Cumming City Center will have its first spring market, This local chiropractor is moving to the Cumming City Center, Local real estate group moving to new office at the Cumming City Center, Man surprises his girlfriend with a diamond ring at the Cumming City Center just in time for Christmas, This popular Roswell restaurant is opening a second location at the Cumming City Center, This celebrity chef helped local Habitat for Humanity volunteers raise $10,000, Heres how the city of Cumming celebrated Community Arbor Day, South Forsyth grad earns prestigious Saxby Chambliss Fellowship, Here are the 8 students chosen for this years Good Citizen Awards, Basketball: South Forsyth girls downed by No. Netflix on Friday is premiering 'Titletown High,' a documentary series chronicling Valdosta (Ga.) 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