— Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said the Vikings let one get away against Northside last Friday. He said the Vikings had their chances, but you can’t take anything away from Northside.

— McPherson said Northside was more ready to play at the beginning of the game than Lowndes. “That’s my fault. I take that personally,” McPherson said.

— McPherson said against Northside, the Vikings’ offense looked good at times, but then would miss a block. “A lot of that has to do with Northside and the athletes they have,” McPherson said.

— McPherson said, despite how many players Northside lost from last year, the Eagles are not down at all this season.

— McPherson said Lowndes’ defense was good in the second half, and the unit only gave up two first downs in the final two quarters. He said the offense should have scored more points and the team’s three missed field goals shouldn’t be talked about because the Vikings should have scored touchdowns. “We got exposed in a couple of areas. We have some work to do,” McPherson said.

— McPherson said if you have over 200 yards of total offense on the road at Northside, you should score more than seven points. He said that was his fault.

— The Vikings used a timeout on defense in the second half on a third-and-2 for Northside. McPherson said he didn’t want to use the timeout, but he needed to take it, because he needed to get senior linemen Ed Christian and Jordan Black back into the game to stop Northside from getting a first down. Without using the timeout, Christian would have missed the play with cramps and Black would have missed the play with a broken chin strap. McPherson added he would have used that timeout on the last offensive play for the Vikings.

— McPherson said it’s going to be hard for anyone to run the table in Region 1-AAAAA, and that no team is out of it yet.

— The Lowndes broadcast team selected cornerback Carey Stanley as the Athlete of the Week. Stanley, in his first year of starting, thanked the coaching staff for trusting him to get the job done on Friday nights.

— When asked what his favorite part of school is, Stanley said it was lunch. He also said he likes algebra.

— Stanley ran track last year, but said he told his mom he’s thinking about playing baseball this year.

— When asked if there is anything bigger this week than playing in Friday’s game, Stanley said getting his grades up.

— The Vikings host the crosstown rival Valdosta Wildcats on Friday. McPherson said Valdosta quarterbacks DaShay March and Avery Burney are great athletes who know what they’re doing.

— McPherson said the Wildcats do as good a job of playing the 4-3 defense as he’s seen.

— McPherson said the first thing he noticed when he watched Valdosta on tape was how hard the Wildcats play. He said Valdosta is as good as any team in the region. He added that he thinks he has a good team, too.