VALDOSTA — What a game!

The Winnersville Classic is one of Georgia’s premier high school football rivalries, and on Friday night, Lowndes and Valdosta showed why.

The 45th meeting between Lowndes and Valdosta was a dogfight from start to finish. In the end, Lowndes came out on top for the third straight year, defeating its archrivals 23-19 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in a game that was decided on the final play.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my guys,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said. “They fought their guts out. They made some big plays, and won the game.

“If we play this hard the rest of the way, we’ve got a chance to win the region.”

Lowndes took a 23-13 lead with 7:49 left in the game, then held off a fierce Valdosta rally in the final minutes.

With 1:42 left in the game, Alfrie Johnson dove in from the 1, making it 23-19. The extra point was shanked, so Valdosta needed another touchdown.

Valdosta’s onside kick didn’t travel the required 10 yards, so Lowndes took over on the Wildcat 41. But two plays later, on a routine bucksweep play, the ball was fumbled. Valdosta’s Parker Mathis recovered at the VHS 42, and the Wildcats had one more chance.

On the first play, a 15-yard penalty on Lowndes wiped out a sack, then quarterback Michael Turner completed a 17-yard pass to Johnson, down to the Lowndes 25. Two plays later, Turner dropped back to pass, but everyone was covered, so he took off, and ran the ball all the way down to the 11. But behind the play, Valdosta was flagged for holding, and not only was the run wiped out, the penalty moved the ball back to the LHS 45.

Turner found Tuzer Chism for seven yards, down to the 38, but then Lowndes’ Kelly Dawsey broke up a pass near the Viking 15 with six seconds left on the clock. Turner threw a Hail Mary to the end zone, but Lowndes batted the ball down, and walked away with the win.

“We’ve got a good defense, and they came up big at the end,” McPherson said.

“I’m real proud of our team. They fought their hearts out, and had a chance there at the end,” Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said.

On the game’s opening possession, Valdosta drove 66 yards in 11 plays to take a 6-0 lead. Turner’s 16-yard pass to Chism moved the ball to the 6. On the next play, Johnson got the ball on the toss sweep, then pulled up and passed to Brian Mathis for the touchdown.

Lowndes responded quickly.

In 2003, Valdosta had victimized Lowndes with a long bomb on its first play from scrimmage. Friday, Lowndes got its revenge.