When I wrote Valdosta High’s preseason story last summer, I had a feeling I would be writing about a Rance Gillespie-led Wildcats team for the last time. You could almost use the term “embattled” when describing Gillespie’s tenure at Valdosta High. He won a lot of games, but his teams didn’t have a great postseason record. And this from a head coach who had won two state titles at his previous stop.
Part of the problem, I figured, was that Valdosta wasn’t a 6A program. The Wildcats played up, which put them at a competitive disadvantage. No matter the reason, Gillespie’s ‘Cats didn’t fare well in the playoffs. And at Valdosta High, poor playoff performance will not be tolerated. Just a few weeks after the season ended, Gillespie took the job of co-offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern University, where he had previously served as offensive coordinator under Chris Hatcher. He and former Valdosta State head coach David Dean will share the offensive coordinator duties, which in and of itself is an interesting development.
Though Valdosta didn’t win a state championship – or even get close, really – Gillespie’s time in Valdosta was a success. He won games, made the playoffs, brought home a region title, and ran a solid program. Coach Gillespie stabilized what was, at the time of his arrival, a program on the ropes, and he brought back a sense of pride and tradition.
Here is Coach Gillespie’s career summarized in numbers:
- 6: The number of years Gillespie coached at Valdosta High, from 2010-2015.
- 49: Number of games Gillespie’s Wildcats won.
- 20: How many games Gillespie lost at Valdosta.
- .710: Coach Gillespie’s winning percentage at Valdosta.
- 4: Number of times his Wildcats lost in the first round of the playoffs.
- 1: Region championships, which VHS won in 2011
- 3: Number of wins over crosstown rival Lowndes County. The Wildcats also lost three games to Lowndes during Gillespie’s career at Valdosta.
- 9: Total number of playoff games.
- 4: Total number of playoff wins.
- 13: Most games the Wildcats played in a season under Gillespie, which took place in 2010, his first year on the job.
- 9 (again): Number of All-State Wildcats Gillespie coached at Valdosta.
- 16: The number of head coaches the Wildcats have had during their history.
- 5: The number of coaches in Valdosta’s history who stayed longer than Gillespie: Mike Herndon, Bobby Hooks, Wright Bazemore, Nick Hyder, and Mike O’Brien.
This information came from the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.
Facts and Figures/South Georgia/March 2016
Rance Gillespie
Valdosta High School
Valdosta, Georgia
Robert Preston Jr.
