Lowndes takes Winnersville Classic again

By Christian Malone

October 20, 2007 04:35 am

— VALDOSTA — Lowndes continued its recent Winnersville dominance Friday night.
Lowndes defeated archrival Valdosta 18-8 Friday for its fourth consecutive Winnersville Classic victory, and seventh in the last nine games. This was the first time the Vikings have beaten the Wildcats four years in a row.
Only three programs have ever had a four-game winning streak over Valdosta: Thomasville (1941-43, Colquitt County (1993-96, 1997-99) and now Lowndes.
Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson couldn’t have been happier about the victory.
“I’m so proud of the kids. They played so hard, and never gave up,” McPherson said. “We beat a good football team. Valdosta’s got a good team, without a doubt. This was definitely a total team effort.”
The Vikings won with dominant defense, a couple of big plays on offense, and by making almost no big mistakes. Lowndes held Valdosta’s offense to just 78 yards rushing and 94 yards through the air.
“Our defense played great,” McPherson said. “Until we fumbled (late in the game) and they scored, I thought we had a real good chance at a shutout. Our defense played its best game of the year.”
“Lowndes has a great defense, and they played well tonight,” Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said.
Like most Winnersville Classics, this game was a hard-hitting defensive struggle that went down to the final 82 seconds. Greg Reid’s 53-yard touchdown run with 1:22 left sealed the Vikings’ victory.
“It was a great game. It’s always like that,” McPherson said. “It’s always a physical game.”
“This was a good football game,” Tomberlin said.
Lowndes took the lead on its second possession, going 47 yards in four plays for the score.
Following a punt, Lowndes took over on the Wildcat 47. The Vikings went to their “Tebow” formation, and used it to move the ball down the field. Greg Reid, playing tailback, ran twice for 18 yards, then completed a 12-yard pass to Jerry Postell on third down to move the chains. On the next play, Lowndes went back to its standard wing-T offense. Fullback Tavaris Williams busted up the middle on a dive, and raced 17 yards for the touchdown. On the extra point try, the snap was low, so holder Christian Glisson picked up the ball, scrambled, then fired a strike to Darriet Perry for the two-point conversion, giving the Vikings an 8-0 lead.
They would hold the lead the rest of the game.
The Vikings had a chance to add to their lead in the opening minute of the second quarter. Lowndes linebacker Blake Summers picked off a pass by Valdosta’s Michael Turner, and returned it all the way to the Wildcat 6 before being hauled down. On second down, Lowndes quarterback Khary Franklin escaped a sack, then threw an apparent touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Black. But the Vikings were flagged for having an ineligible man downfield, wiping out the score, and the drive stalled. On a 44-yard field goal attempt, Mark Willis slipped, and his kick fell well short.
The defenses dominated play the rest of the half. David Arnold, Valdosta’s star running back, was held to 17 yards rushing in the half, while Perry, Lowndes’ star, gained just three.
Late in the half, Valdosta staged its first serious scoring threat. Turner scrambled for 12 yards, then found Arnold twice, helping the Wildcats move to the LHS 17. But Lawrence Clagett’s 34-yard field goal attempt sailed wide with 10 seconds left in the half, and Lowndes headed to the locker room leading 8-0.
Late in the third quarter, Lowndes caught a big break. Valdosta punt returner Perry King lost the handle on Hayden Martin’s punt, and Reid recovered at the Valdosta 26. The Vikings drove to the 20, then Willis kicked a 37-yard field goal, giving Lowndes an 11-0 lead with 11:18 left in the game.
“When we got up 11-0, I started playing it conservative,” McPherson admitted. “I thought they were going to have a real hard time scoring on our defense.”
Valdosta battled to stay in the game, and finally got on the board late in the contest, after Valdosta’s Kevin Stokes recovered a Perry fumble at the Viking 26.
Turner hit King for 13 yards, down to the 4, on a key third down play. Two plays later, Turner took the snap out of the shotgun, kept the ball, and plowed into the end zone for the touchdown. The senior quarterback then found Tavoris Belcher in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion, making it 11-8 Lowndes.
“I was proud of the fact our kids fought and fought,” Tomberlin said. “We made a lot of mistakes early that really hurt us.”
Glisson recovered the onside kick, and Lowndes tried to run out the clock. But Reid had a better idea.
The junior wingback/safety, who already had an interception and a fumble recovery, took the handoff, cut inside, found a hole and took off. He juked a couple of defenders downfield, and jogged into the end zone for the game-sealing touchdown.
“Greg Reid is a great player,” McPherson said. “He does a great job on both offense and defense.”
Fans were not allowed on the field at the end of the game. Lowndes officials and local law enforcement wanted to prevent any postgame incidents, and they did.
On the field, there was nothing but good sportsmanship, too.
“It was a good game, and it was a clean game,” McPherson said. “We had a late hit, but other than that, there were no personal fouls. That’s the way it should be.”
“I thought it was a good game, a hard-fought game,” Tomberlin said. “The people here were real nice. It was a great environment.”

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