That still sort of haunts me even today., 7. 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. I just take it as a huge honor.. But I never in any way committed to them.. It was not very good, Georgias home finale ends with a thud vs. Florida, Atlanta Uniteds Franco Ibarra settling into his natural role, GHSA basketball state tournament: Quarterfinals updates from Tuesday, Class 5A girls basketball: Kell 68, Bradwell Institute 54, Timber frame office building at Ponce City Market Atlanta starts to rise, Supreme Court hearing on student loan forgiveness: What it means for Georgians. Valdosta City Schools ; J. L. Lomax Elementary School ; Pinevale Elementary School ; Sallas Mahone Elementary ; S.L. Valdosta High School 4590 Inner Perimeter Road Valdosta, GA 31601 Phone: (229) 333-8540 Fax: (229) 333-8584. And a Plains teen girl borrowed Jimmy Carters clothes. The quarterback thing happened late for me, and it was Wright Bazemore that told the middle school coach to move me to quarterback, so I owe much of my football success to Coach Bazemore for having the insight to get me over to that position. High School Highlights - Portal state basketball advances Prep Sports Blitz - Feb. 18, 2023 The Eagles Nest - Feb. 19, 2023 Belue set the state record for career passing yards with 5,214, which he accumulated as a four-year starter at Valdosta. Toggle navigation I had Jack Rudolph coaching the defense. That turned on a light for me. John Lastinger remembers that game and the play. "I have been a Wildcat all my life, so Valdosta City Schools will always be a part of me. I admired these athletes. He was the 24th overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, but his best seasons came in Cincinnati, where he was selected to the Pro Bowl four times (1986, 1988-1990). He played both football and basketball at Clemson and was a three-year starter on the hardwood. He also told them they have the talent to be a great football team, and said he was excited about the upcoming season, the first under new coach Rick Tomberlin. They just burned the thing, Prince said. 10 high school player in state history. 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. "We just love it. Benjamin Franklin "Buck" Belue played American football and baseball at the University of Georgia from 1978 to 1981. Simmons was considered undersized for the NFL and went in the sixth round. They are two very-talented guys. The Valdosta High class of '78 alumni are listed below. Hundreds of people turned out at the The Salty Snapper, including former Valdosta High classmates and UGA teammates. "So most days, at the end of the day, I would just jot down some notes from the day. What did those coaches mean to you? Wild Concerts: Park releases show schedule, EDITORIAL: Wild Adventures makes 2023 plans, Suspect arrested in Valdosta shooting death, Celebrating Ms. Jeanette: Tree planting honors Coody, Pepsi honors Stronger Together recipients. 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. 115 N. Patterson St. | PO Box 812 | Valdosta, Ga 31601, 13245 Atlantic Blvd., Suite 191 | Jacksonville, FL 32225. "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. 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. Then, with only 49 seconds remaining, Valdosta recovered Dale Kents onside kick and from the Valdosta 47-yard line, Wilkes lead his Wildcats down the field with another TD pass, this one to running back Avery Burney, to put Valdosta on top 21-17 and leave everyone in the stadium stunned. I knew coverage, I knew techniques, things that it seemed like these other quarterbacks didnt understand at the time. 680 THE FAN, ATLANTA - Valdosta High School's ruling body decided to chase wins over integrity, when they hired Rush Propst. Belue devotes several chapters to his high school days pursuing state championships under coach Nick Hyder. We sort of fell into it. UGA star Jalen Carter present at scene of fatal crash, From 2021: Buck Belue, QB of 1980 Georgia national champions, to call the Dawgs before kickoff, Georgia Tech hammers Syracuse as Jackets late-season surge continues, Braves notes: Jared Shusters first spring game, Michael Sorokas progress, Ian Anderson on spring debut: Im not gonna sugarcoat it. He shared time with Jeff Pyburn a. He rushed for 1,332 yards as a senior, when Duluth missed the playoffs despite finishing 8-1-1, and ran for 2,300 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior on a state runner-up team. $1 Million - $5 Million. The runner-up was Herschel Walker, then a sophomore. . I learned some things from him. 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. I remember Stanley Bounds. Stan Rome was a dominant two-sport athlete who still holds the state record for most receiving yards in a career (4,477) despite playing in a run-dominated era. "I had a daily planner that my dad gave me when I was at Georgia," Belue said. Scott. The 2007 estimate showed a population of 130,170 in the Valdosta metropolitan area. Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. He was the 1977 AJC Class 3A back of the year. Wilson had fulfilled his first promise to Martin: A winning season in his first try, something Lowndes had never before experienced. 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. Simmons was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. They worked on it all week. Belue is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in Valdosta history. It was just playing for the Wildcats. The Falcons drafted Andrews in the third round, and he rushed for 1,000 yards in four of his first five seasons before a knee injury cut his career short. I host The Buck Belue Show on 680 The Fan Atlanta, weekdays 10-11. Most coaches are going to take their schemes to the grave, but he learned the new offense and made the change for the team. Andrews signed with Auburn and rushed for 1,347 yards in three seasons playing in a backfield with fellow Georgia backs James Brooks and Joe Cribbs. Credit: Photo by Chris McShane (provided by Buck Belue). First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Chip Towers covers the Georgia Bulldogs for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Hyder became head coach your freshman year. There was some of that thought process going on. Lowndes High School opened its doors to students in 1966, and by 1968 was able to field a football team. You just looked at Bazemore like Lombardi at the time. And when he showed up. We had about 500 flyers printed with a nasty message directed at our players, Henderson said. Georgia legend Buck Belue helped lead the Bulldogs to the 1980 national championship and has published a book called " 'Inside the Hedges: The Quarterback's Journey to the 1980 National Championship." In 1982, Walker won the Heisman Trophy. Subtitled The Quarterbacks Journey to the National Championship, Belues book also shares frank recollections of the recruiting trail as a two-sport star out of Valdosta, the tense quarterback competition he endured with Jeff Pyburn, an intimate conversation he had with Lindsay Scott the night before their historic play to beat Florida in Jacksonville, the Herschel Walker phenomenon and much more. He was the first Georgia-grown player to win the Heisman. They were up 40-0 with 30 seconds left and still giving the ball to William Andrews. Salary in 2020. Youve been to about 10 cities to sign your book, and youve got several more scheduled. I was friends with Coach Wilsons son, Jody, so I got some behind-the-scenes access to practice and going to the games and seeing the locker room. Im glad he came here and did this for us. Also, I was motivated by writing about the 1980 season and about the guys that never got the credit. We've called it home," Belue said of living in Forsyth County. It seems like a waste to have been exposed to so much (football knowledge), and not share it. Join Facebook to connect with Guy Belue and others you may know. Around that same time, Prince recalled: In the mid-70s, a Lowndes student went to Cleveland Field and attached a Lowndes Vikings flag and hoisted it up to the top, but he wasnt finished. He played two seasons of minor league baseball in the Montreal Expos organization. So, thats up front in the book. Belue threw for 299 yards in his career, completing 37 of 68 passes with 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. We had a Valdosta booster, Charlie Whetherington, who knew a pilot, and they flew over a Valdosta practice the week of the game against Lowndes and dumped those flyers. They put it on us my freshman year. ], Ive also got some memories of Coach Hyder trying to turn the program around and he took me to some playoff games to watch Michael Jolly [the quarterback on Central-Macons 1975 Class 3A championship team]. Stan Rome was awesome, too. Valdosta missed a two-point try in the third quarter and a 31-yard field goal with 1:23 left. It got to be a normal thing to see fans pulling over off of Ashley Street and Patterson Street and getting out of their cars to fight, Redshaw said. Redshaw also talked about the days just before the game, when fans of both teams would cruise up and down Ashley Street, hurling insults out the window at each other. As a Johnson County senior in 1979, Walker rushed for a state-record 3,167 yards and 45 touchdowns and led the Trojans to the Class A championship. It was just playing for the Wildcats. [Rome, a 6-foot-4 tight end, set a national record for receiving yards in a season. At Valdosta, you were heavily influenced by the legendary head coaches Wright Bazemore (1941-42, 1946-71) and Nick Hyder (1973-95). A behind the curtain look at my story from Valdosta High through the University of Georgia. What did those coaches mean to you? He recalled how Valdosta supporters would take the opportunity in front of a full house of fans from both sides to get the Cats fired up just one more time. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Buck Belue profile on WCNN (AM)680 The Fan, "John Kincade, Steak Shapiro out amidst Dickey Broadcasting cuts", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buck_Belue&oldid=1106291103, This page was last edited on 24 August 2022, at 00:05. Oh yeah, they had a bounty out for Bucks jersey, Baker said. Coach Wilson would be saying we can throw to this running back because weve got this linebacker on him. Benjamin Franklin "Buck" Belue played American football and baseball at the University of Georgia from 1978 to 1981. 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. And I have so many great memories of him taking time to help coach me up. Sports Illustrated said last fall . We would have to hire extra security guards for the entire week of the game, starting on Sunday night, and it would last all week long until the game was over, Redshaw said. In 1979, Walker was the AJC Class A Back of the Year, a Parade All-American, a Coach & Athlete All-American and the No. "I had no idea that Georgia would win the national title. In the spring of 1978, he won the Class A 100-yard dash in 10.02 seconds. These two Wildcat backers agree on their most memorable moment: The Comeback.. A few of the Lowndes students got together and built a Viking ship, Prince said. You mentioned that you saw many of the players that were on the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame ballot or were voted in. The talented running back rushed 21 times for 414 yards and 6 TDs, leading Lowndes to a 71-35 victory. 1 high school football player of all-time in a 2007 article. Way too much credit is given to Herschel (Walker) and Lindsay (Scott) and Buck. 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. One of the key plays in the 1980 season was a 93-yard touchdown pass from Belue to wide receiver Lindsay Scott[1] The best players I saw play in the game were quarterback Cedric Hatten for us, and for Lowndes it was Greg Reid. 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