Valdosta High School - Sandspur Yearbook (Valdosta, GA)

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Lights! Camera! Wildcats Explode As the stadium lights flashed up on Cleveland Field and cameras focused on the unsoiled jerseys for the first time in 1981, the Wildcats exploded into action that lasted long past the regular football season. And even the sports writers of The Valdosta Daily Times agreed with the Wildcat fans in their prediction of the kind of action the 'Cats had in store for their opponents. According to an article sum- marizing the pre-season predictions of six region newspaper writers, . . the writers have gone back to the 1979 pre-season choice of Valdosta as their pick for the 1981 region champion. Piqued by the prediction of The Times, fans, critics, and scouts continued to follow the seemingly unstoppable action of the 'Cats as the team captured victory after victory. Cameras clicked continuously during

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When Students Erupt in Action those who had to go from automotive classes to English. All of this action stayed some- what low key, quiet and orderly. But when the bells rang to call students to Friday pep rallies, order, decorum, silence disappeared in the action of swaying, stomping, bodies, waving hands and arms, and vibrating vocal cords. Sports teams contributed their own brand of vigorous action to the total picture. Wildcats passed, blocked, and ran to make noise on a number of gridirons and to let everyone in the state know that they made up one of the best football outfits in 1-AAAA competition. Basketball players ran, dribbled, and swished goals. Baseball players cracked bats. Each sport contributed its own brand of action. Young people switched to dif- ferent types of action when they at- tended dances and took part in Home- coming ceremonies and the Beauty Pageant. Action for the year ended when seniors took their formal march to the sound of Pomp and Circumstances'' and a half hour later roared in triumph when Principal Lloyd Mims said, You have now graduated. OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP, LEFT: Joe Wetherington reviews a list of football players' names as Lynn Becton, Mike Mink, and Rena Dasher look on and Ted Welch rests. OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP, RIGHT: Trey Powell listens to physics lecture. OPPOSITE PAGE, BOTTOM, LEFT: Mrs. Harry Wolinski explains cropping techniques to Kathy Mace. OPPOSITE PAGE, BOTTOM, RIGHT: Jerry Williams presents flags during pep rally. ABOVE: Shannon Frassrand and Lysbeth Simmons work on the senior float for the Homecoming parade. LEFT: Varsity football players move to midcourt as crowd cheers. 7

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Into Action to Win Region Title the regular season in which the Wildcats won nine games and lost only to Thomasville. And the Wildcat name blazed in glory when, after five months of practice every after- noon from 3:00 until dark and com- petition every Friday night, the 'Cats captured the Region 1-AAAA championship. Though they took the anticipated Region 1-AAAA title, the Wildcats failed to reach state competition, for they lost to Warner Robins, in the South Georgia section- als, finishing with an eleven-two season. But though they lived up to the predictions of The Valdosta Daily Times sports writers, they did not live up to the expectations of their fans, their coaches, or themselves. Running back Fred Motes, when asked if the 1982 season was satisfactory, replied, Not really. We didn't win state, but winning the region was good. OPPOSITE PAGEBOTTOM ROW Managers David Mims, David Bragg, Martin Campa; Charles Young, Johnny Horton, Ted West, Chris Major, Derrik Folsom, Keith Sampson, Brad Martin, Brad Lastinger, Edwin Robinson, David Waller, David Parker, Ben Reaves, Burke Holtzclaw, Steve Gandy, Jeff Lee; managers Rich McDonell, Jimmy DeCarlo, Stan Grubb. SECOND ROW: Carl Scott, Pernell Bee, Fred Motes, Aundra Irvin, Demetrius Patterson, Winston Relaford, Cedric Johnson, Kevin Williams, Mark Perry, Darren Armstrong, Coach Nick Hyder, Andy Wiggs, Dana Brinson, Robert Mitchell, Clinton East, Stacy Williams, Randall Reddish, Tim Chapman, Jerry Williams, Ronald Allen, Kelvin Johnson, Bernard Rose. THIRD ROW: Coaches Mike O'Brien, Mark DiBois, Roger Rome, Jerry Baker; Leon Johnson, John Porter, Ty Davenport, Frank Abney, Joe Wetherington, Mike Mink, Clay Powell, John Reaves, Andrew Preston, Ozell Ramsey, John Nitschke, Tony McKinney, Billy Broad foot, Roy Mitchell, Tod Edwards, Greg Sturtevant, Blake Belue, Monte Davis, William Collier; coaches Jack Rudolph, Charles Tarpley, Bob Bolton, Norman Sainz; Dr. Jose Campa; Coach Freddie Waters. TOP ROW: Dion Price, Joe Henry, Bubba Stevenson, Joey Sullivan, Charles Arnold, Victor Wayman, Mickey Hotcaveg, Jeff Spivey, Kennedy Cooper, David Davis, James Robinson, Augusta Hall, Tyler Talley, Horace Beaufort, Dectry Botford, Willie Scott, Ricky Daniels, Jessie Jones, James Wakefield, Charles Robinson OPPOSITE PAGE: All eyes of fans and players follow the pigskin as it sails to Fred Motes. ABOVE: David Parker releases a pass before being tackled by a Lowndes player who barely sidesteps Fred Motes. 9