Vikings face familiar foe

By Bryan Fazio
The Valdosta Daily Times

September 12, 2008 01:55 am

— VALDOSTA — The nationally ranked No. 4 Lowndes High Vikings have one more stop on the schedule before Region 1-AAAAA play kicks off against Colquitt County High Sept. 19.
While today marks the last game of the pre-region season, if the past is any indicator, it will be slightly more reminiscent of Peachtree Ridge than Woodland.
For the fourth time in as many years, Lowndes takes on Ware County in a game that pits two teams who have become quite familiar with each other.
The Gators (1-1) will look to spoil the Vikings’ (2-0) homecoming and damage a season which has the Vikings high in several national rankings, such as they did three years ago.
During the 2005 season, Lowndes had climbed to as high as No. 2 in the country before traveling to Waycross to take on the Class AAAA Gators.
Behind the play of Ware County quarterback Victor Daniels and three fourth-quarter turnovers by the Vikings, the Gators pulled off a 28-7 upset in Waycross.
The loss dropped Lowndes from the national top five rankings and broke a 19-game winning streak.
The 2008 Vikings are once again in the top five and are on a 16-game winning streak.
Among those 16 victories is a 28-14 victory at Waycross last season, when Lowndes avenged the 2005 loss. It was the second-straight year Lowndes defeated Ware County, starting with a 34-7 win the last time the Gators came to Martin Stadium.
“It’s always a competitive game,” Lowndes coach Randy McPherson said. “It’s almost like we know each other because we play so much.”
Today’s game should be another competitive chapter in the Vikings-Gators battle, as both teams are coming off of trips to the 2007 state championships.
Lowndes came away with its third title in four years, defeating North Gwinnett 34-6, and Ware County lost in a tight 20-14 battle against Northside Warner Robins.
“They have a great team,” McPherson said. “Everybody knows how they ended last year, coming just a couple plays short of a state championship.”
The 2008 Gators are strong on defense and bring quickness on offense under new head coach John Stephens.
In 2007, the Gators’ defense held opponents to under 13 points in 12 games and return seven starters in 2008. Among them, linebacker David Metter is one of Ware County’s top players in the 4-4 defensive scheme.
Ware County’s defense faces its toughest test in week three after defeating Burke County 34-27 last week and losing to Coffee 24-0 in week one.
The Vikings have put up 85 points throughout their first two games and have rushed for 484 yards, for an average of 8.5 yards per carry.
Both the Vikings’ offense and defense will look to the Gators’ matchup to improve before region play starts.
Last week against Peachtree Ridge, the Lions converted seven of 15 third downs and accumulated 250 yards of total offense.
As tonight’s game approached, Lowndes was busy working on improving on those numbers during this week’s practices.
“We came out here to try to work on our mistakes,” McPherson said. “Every time you start a season, you have some things to work on, and believe me, we have plenty.”

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