Fort Valley State announces 2008 gridiron slate

March 26, 2008

The Fort Valley State University Department of Athletics has released its football schedule for the 2008 season. For the second straight year, the Wildcats will play eleven games, with five of them scheduled to be in the friendly confines of Wildcat Stadium.

Fort Valley State will open the season on August 23 when the Wildcats travel to Valdosta, Ga., to play the defending NCAA Division II football champions, the Valdosta State Blazers. Due to scheduling conflicts, both schools had to receive permission from the NCAA to play the game one week before the official start of the season. Scheduling complications will probably mean that the teams will not be facing each other during the regular season in the near future. “The Valdosta State/Fort Valley contest has always been followed closely by fans and alumni alike,” stated head coach Deondri Clark. “If we don’t have the opportunity to play them in the regular season that means we’ll just have to face them in the post season.”

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play will start the following week (Aug. 30) when the ‘Cats travel to Atlanta to face the Panthers of Clark Atlanta University. SIAC play will continue for the Wildcats when they host the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College (Sept. 6) for their 2008 home opener. A newcomer to the football schedule will be defending CIAA East champion Virginia Union, who will come to “The Valley” on the following week (Sept. 13).

After a bye week (Sept. 20), the Wildcats will be in conference play for the remainder of the year beginning with a key SIAC match-up against the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee University on Sept. 27. This will also be the first time that Tuskegee has faced Fort Valley on its home turf since the 2004 season. For two weeks, the Wildcats will be on the road. The first trip will be to Jackson, Tenn., against the Dragons of Lane College on Oct. 4. On Oct. 11, Fort Valley will be the homecoming guests of the Kentucky State Thorobreds in Frankfort, Ky.

Fort Valley’s annual homecoming celebration will be on Oct. 18, and the opponent for this year will be the Tigers of Benedict College. Miles College’s Golden Bears will come to Fort Valley the next week (Oct. 25).

The 19th edition of the Fountain City Classic will pit the Wildcats against the Golden Rams of Albany State University on Nov. 1. As always, the game will be played in front of a packed house in Columbus, Ga., at McClung Memorial Stadium. Regular season action will conclude on Nov. 8 when the ‘Cats travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to play the Tigers of Stillman College. In addition to having to go to Stillman for the third consecutive year, the Wildcats will also be the homecoming opponent for the Tigers. “This may be our toughest slate of games since I’ve been here,” stated Coach Clark. “We face the NCAA Division II Champions, the Sheridan Black College Champions, and the defending champions from the CIAA. Besides that, everybody in the conference has done a great job of recruiting to compliment their returning players and upgrading their coaches. Fort Valley has a reputation of playing a very competitive schedule, and I’m sure the fans will appreciate that.”

Last year, the Wildcats finished with an overall record of 8-3 and finished third in the SIAC with a 5-2 mark.

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