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By Todd Holcomb, Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, toddholcomb@bellsouth.net
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Wright
Bazemore |
Of the many state championship
teams in Valdosta history, the Wildcats of 1971 are regarded by
many as the greatest in school and state history. Looking at the
statistics, it’s easy to see why people gush when talking of
this group, Wright Bazemore’s last as Valdosta’s coach.
The ’71 Cats scored 40 or more
points in 11 of 13 games and scored 28 and 35 in the other two.
Only one opponent came within three touchdowns of winning. That
team was Moultrie, led by a future SEC player of the year in
quarterback Ray Goff.
Goff threw for 321 yards, and the
game was tied 21-21 late in the third quarter. That’s when
Valdosta’s passing combo of Stanley Bounds and Stanford
Rome struck for a 41-yard touchdown. The Wildcats didn't have another
anxious moment the rest of the season.
In Valdosta’s three playoff
games, the average halftime score was 30-4. The 62-12 victory over
Avondale Estates in the final still stands as the record for most
points scored in a Georgia state championship game.
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Stan Rome |
"They were loaded with
talent, more than any high school team I’ve ever seen,"
said Avondale coach Crawford Kennedy.
While Valdosta had a solid
defense that year, it was the offense that is unrivaled by any
Georgia high school team in the highest classification.
The ‘Cats averaged a point a
minute and averaged more than 200 yards both rushing and passing.
No team in the highest class is believed to have ever accomplished
either of those feats. And Rome’s 1,573 yards receiving were
a Georgia high school standard for 29 years.
Here’s a look at some
individual statistics from the ’71 Valdosta team as tallied from
newspaper clippings. Many say Valdosta had enough talent for two
state championship teams in ’71, and that’s evident by the
number of players who touched the ball for the ‘Cats that year.
View other individual
and team statistics from two other national championship teams: 1968
| 1986
| 1992
Note: Statistics for the 1971 Valdosta
team were compiled by Todd Holcomb of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution as part of a project to gather information on
Georgia state championship teams of the past 35 years. Any help in locating
statistics or box scores for other Valdosta state champions would be greatly
appreciated. You can reach the author of this report at toddholcomb@bellsouth.net.
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