By Bryan Fazio
WAYCROSS — The Vikings held together and came out of Waycross with a mark in the win column.
The Lowndes (2-1) football team overcame fumbles and penalties to defeat Ware County 28-14 in Waycross Friday.
The Vikings fell behind early when Ware County (1-1) capitalized on a Lowndes’ miscue in the first quarter.
After holding the Gators to a 3-and-out situation, the Vikings gave the ball right back to Ware County. On the punt return for Lowndes, the ball bounced off the foot of a Vikings blocker for a turnover. Following the fumble, the Gators had good field position on the Lowndes 23-yard line. After two run plays, amounted for just 3 yards, the Gators and quarterback Dustin Cox went to the air.
On the second pass of the drive, Cox found Cole Anderson for 16 yards in the end zone.
The fumble was the first of three in the game, all lost to the Gators. The three turnovers pushed the Vikings 2007 season total up to 11.
Despite the turnovers, Lowndes has been able to hold opponents defensively and get enough yards out of its offense to win.
Saturday night was not an exception.
The Lowndes defense limited the Ware County running game to 20 yards on 22 carries, forcing the Gators to be one-dimensional.
On offense, Lowndes continued to pressure the Gators, starting on the first drive of the second quarter. Behind big runs by Adrian Hargett, Darriet Perry and Greg Reid, the Vikings marched 58 yards for their first score of the night.
On fourth-and-goal from the one, Perry plowed through for one yard and the touchdown, with 6:32 left in the first quarter. Mark Willis followed with an extra point to tie the game for the first of two occasions.
The touchdown was set up by Perry when he scrambled on third-and-goal from the 14, thanks to a tackle for loss by Ware for 13 yards down to the cusp of the goal line.
The Vikings would break the tie about three minutes later when the defense provided Lowndes with good field position on the Ware County 27-yard line.
Hargett started the two-play drive with a 2-yard run, before racing to the end zone on a 25-yard scamper. The Vikings would head into the locker room with a 14-7 lead after Mark Willis’s extra point.
The Vikings defense held Ware County in check most the evening, save for a 46 yard pass and an 18 yard pass from Cox.
“We gave up a couple plays on defense, but other than that, we were lights out,” Lowndes coach Randy McPherson said.
Cox’s 18-yard pass to Dimittris White, coupled with a Vikings’ pass interference, set up Ware County’s second and final touchdown of the night. With 4:18 left in the third quarter, Derrick Daniels rushed in the end zone for 2 yards, preceding an extra point by Zack Griffin.
Following the touchdown and the arguable interference call, the Vikings hollered to each other, never falling behind.
Getting the ball on their own 31-yard line, the Vikings marched don the field, sparked by a 32-yard run by Reid, to go into the fourth quarter on the Gators’ 1-yard line.
Four seconds into the final quarter, Devon Simmons punched the ball in from the one, to give the Vikings the lead for good.
The Gators attempted the comeback, throwing 15 passes, and running the ball just four times in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t put more than five completions together.
On the night, the Gators threw the ball 27 times, connecting just 14 for 143 yards.
On the Vikings’ next drive, Reid took control, rushing the ball twice for 56 yards, in a 76-yard drive.
On his second big run on that drive Reid broke loose, beating a defender with a spin move to score from 33 yards out with 6:07 left. Willis’s extra point ended the scoring at 28-14 in favor of the Vikings.
After a nine-play drive by Ware County, that concluded with three straight incompletions, including a highlight break-up by Gerald Demps, the Gators gave the ball back to the Vikings.
Demps’ defensive mate, Michael Copeland, essentially ended the game, sacking Cox in the backfield, allowing Lowndes to kneel the last three plays.
“It was a total team effort,” McPherson said. “Our kids never quit, never doubted and trusted the game plan. We beat a good football team.”
