Vikings rout Bradwell, 62-21

By Christian Malone

November 22, 2008 05:16 am

— VALDOSTA — The Lowndes Vikings continue to dominate.
Lowndes advanced to the Class AAAAA state quarterfinals with a 62-21 rout of Bradwell Institute Friday night at Martin Stadium. The Vikings rolled up 422 yards of total offense and crossed the goal line nine times in the victory.
Lowndes built a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, extended it to 48-7 at halftime, then made it 62-14 by the time the running clock started in the fourth quarter.
“I was real proud of our kids. They played hard,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said. “They played a good game. Our kids deserve it. It feels good (to make it to the quarterfinals).”
Lowndes’ Robert Anderson ran for four touchdowns, while Tyler Hunter threw one touchdown pass and caught another one in the win.
Top-ranked Lowndes (12-0) will face No. 5 Grayson (12-0) next week in the quarterfinals. The site of the game will be decided at 9 a.m. today, when the teams flip a coin to determine which school will host.
It took less than a quarter for Lowndes to all but slam the door on Bradwell Friday night. The Vikings scored 28 points in the first quarter, and quickly turned the game into a rout.
“We came out early and moved the ball. We had some good runs by several running backs,” McPherson said.
On the opening possession of the game, the Vikings were moving down the field when they fumbled the ball away. But their defense got the ball right back one play later, forcing a fumble that defensive end Chris Stinson fell on at the Tiger 16. Three plays later, on first-and-goal from the 2, Anderson got the ball on the dive, and plowed into the end zone for the touchdown. Chris Willis’ extra point gave the Vikings a 7-0 lead.
Bradwell went three-and-out, and after a short punt, the Vikings took over at the Tiger 44. A 44-yard touchdown run by Greg Reid was called back because of a holding penalty, but on the next play, Hunter got the ball on a toss sweep, and sprinted 53 yards, all the way to the 1. Anderson scored on the following play, and the Vikings had a 14-0 lead.
Anderson’s third touchdown, a 1-yard run, with 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter made it 21-0.
But the first quarter domination wasn’t over yet. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball got by the return man, and Lowndes recovered at the Bradwell 5. Gerald Demps ran the ball in for the touchdown on the following play, then ran for the two-point conversion, making it 28-0 at the end of one quarter.
The rout continued in the second quarter, as the Vikings put three more touchdowns on the board.
Reid returned a punt to the Tiger 13, setting up quarterback Khary Franklin’s 3-yard touchdown run, making it 34-0.
Another long punt return by Reid, this time to the Tigers’ 22, set up another score. Five plays later, with the ball at the 2, Reid took the snap out of the Tebow formation, and raced into the end zone. Jed Solomon kicked the extra point, and the Vikings led 41-0.
Bradwell finally got on the board with 4:07 left in the second quarter. Sheldon Barnes had a 39-yard run, then raced 24 yards for the touchdown. David Miller’s extra point cut Lowndes’ lead to 41-7.
But the Vikings responded with another score, this time through the air. On first down from the Tiger 21, Franklin threw a quick screen pass to Hunter, then Hunter ran around a block and across the goal line, making it 48-7 at halftime.
Lowndes rushed for 277 yards in the first half, and had 298 yards of total offense.
“Our kids did a good job,” McPherson said. “Reid had a great game, Hunter had a great game, Demps had a great game. Franklin played well. Our line played well. Our defense did good, other than a couple of plays after we got up on them. So many people stepped up.”
Bradwell scored on the opening possession of the second half. Manuel Crum sprinted 44 yards down the Tiger sideline on a buck sweep for the touchdown, cutting his team’s deficit to 48-14.
But Lowndes answered with another score. Reid dashed 30 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Then, on third-and-10 from the Tiger 34, Hunter faked the handoff, and found a wide open Michael Mitchell near the 20. Mitchell got by a defender and ran into the end zone for the score, making it 55-14.
The Vikings put seven more points on the scoreboard on their next possession. A 29-yard run by Troy Braswell moved Lowndes into Tigers territory, and three plays later, Anderson scored his fourth touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run. That made the score 62-21.
Bradwell scored its last touchdown with 39 seconds left in the game, after a nine-play drive. On first-and-goal from the 2, Wilson Brown scored on a quarterback keeper, making the final score 62-21.
Reid rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on seven carries in the win. Demps gained 91 yards on six carries, with a touchdown. Hunter rushed for 69 yards on three carries, caught one pass for 21 yards and a score and completed 2-of-4 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Barnes rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries for Bradwell.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.