VALDOSTA — Valdosta High’s football team wraps up spring practice today with the annual Spring Game.

The varsity game will begin at 7 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. Admission to the event is $5, with all of the proceeds going to the Valdosta football program.

The Spring Game will start with the middle school teams playing at 5 p.m. The teams from Valdosta Middle and J.L. Newbern Middle will play a half, then each team will play a half against the VHS ninth grade team. After that, the varsity will take the field for a full 48-minute scrimmage.

There will be referees on the field, and cheerleaders on the sidelines, as the Wildcats try to make it as much like a real game as possible.

The varsity game will begin with the Wildcats’ first-team offense facing the first-team defense for two or three series. Then the second-team offense will take on the second-team defense. Then the “young guns,” as head coach Rick Tomberlin calls them, will play a series or two. Then the first-teamers will return.

“We want to give everybody a chance to play,” Tomberlin said. “We want to see who can do it on the field, with people in the stands watching. We want to see who’s going to perform.”

Tavoris Belcher will quarterback the first team. Michael Thompkins will be the second-team quarterback, and Albert Thomas and Joseph Caeser will share time quarterbacking the young guns.

Valdosta had initially planned to split the varsity up into two teams, but scrapped the idea so they could allow the first-team offense and the first-team defense to play together. Several players have played both offense and defense this spring, and they will split time between the two sides today.

The coaches plan to keep things simple tonight, as they have throughout the spring. Tomberlin says they will primarily use their base offense and base defense.

Tomberlin has been pleased with the nine days of spring practice so far, and feels the team has gotten a lot done.

“We’re pleased with how things have gone,” Tomberlin said. “We’ve improved a lot. We’ve gotten some questions answered. We’ve had guys step up. We’ve still got some concerns, and we’ve still got a long way to go, but overall, we’ve had a good spring.

“I feel good about this team. The work ethic is good. They listen. They don’t miss practice. They try hard, and give a good effort.”

Valdosta started the spring with 105 varsity players, and two weeks later, they still have 97 players. They also had 50 rising freshmen go through spring drills.

Rain is a possibility tonight. If the weather is bad enough to prevent the team from taking the field tonight, the Spring Game will probably not be made up at a later date.