WARNER ROBINS — The Lowndes Vikings closed out the regular season with a win, and finished the Region 1-AAAAA season undefeated Friday night.
Lowndes beat Warner Robins 23-6, thanks in large part to its defense, which held the Demons to 92 yards of total offense, scored nine points and put Lowndes in position for one of its two offensive touchdowns.
“Our defense played outstanding,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said.
McPherson added that the Warner Robins defense played well also, and indeed it did. Warner Robins held Lowndes to 233 yards of total offense, and did not allow the Vikings to complete a pass. More importantly, the Demons did not allow the Vikings in the end zone, save for a short yardage situation and one big play.
The Vikings came up with its big play after the Demons had taken an early lead.
Warner Robins jumped ahead 6-0 just 1:54 into the game, thanks to the first of three Lowndes turnovers.
Turnovers have been a cause for concern for the Vikings all season, and the turnover bug reared its ugly head again Friday.
On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Lowndes quarterback Khary Franklin’s lateral missed its target. Warner Robins recovered on the Vikings’ 18-yard line.
Warner Robins ran the ball for two yards, threw an incomplete pass and then was hit with a penalty for five yards.
On second-and-13 from the Vikings’ 21-yard line, Warner Robins’ Aaron Allen ran 21 yards for the touchdown. On the ensuing extra point, Lowndes’ Kelly Dawsey got past the line in a hurry and blocked the kick.
The Vikings offense coughed the ball up on the next possession, as Franklin threw an interception into the hands of Demons defensive back Antonio Adkinson. But Lowndes’ defense kicked in, and didn’t relent the rest of the night.
With the Vikings trailing, they needed a big play.
Fullback Tavaris Williams stepped up and delivered that big play, breaking through the Demons’ defensive line and sprinting the rest of the way on an 81-yard touchdown run. Mark Willis followed with the extra point, to give the Vikings the lead for good, 7-6.
After seven Demons plays netted just six yards, the Viking offense took over on the Demons’ 32-yard line, after a big run by Greg Reid, and drove the ball up the field.
Five plays later, Reid took the direct snap in the Vikings’ Tebow formation and was face to face with two tacklers on the 1-yard line. Reid spun, leaving both would-be tacklers grasping at the air, and crossed the goal line for the Vikings’ second touchdown with 9:06 left in the second quarter.
The two teams battled back and forth in the third, with neither team scoring. The fourth quarter started the same, until Lowndes’ defense put the scoreboard to use again.
Defensive end Desmond Miller chased down Warner Robins quarterback W.J. McCallister, and forced him to throw it away. McCallister was flagged for intentional grounding, and since he was in his own end zone, the Vikings were awarded two points on the safety.
On the Demons’ next possession, they attempted a toss out of the backfield, and McCallister failed to connect with his back. After what seemed like minutes, the Vikings finally realized it was a live ball. Linebacker Blake Summers scooped it up and ran toward the end zone, where his teammates helped him bull his way over the goal line. Willis’ extra point ended the scoring at 23-6.
After the game, which featured a stalling offense at times, and three Vikings’ turnovers (a fumble and two interceptions), McPherson called it what it was.
“A win is a win,” McPherson said.
The playoffs start Friday, with Lowndes hosting Windsor Forest in the opening round. The Vikings will be the top seed out of Region 1, and will host at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“I’m proud of our kids finishing out the region undefeated,” McPherson said. “I can’t say enough about them. Now the playoffs start, and we have to get back to work Monday.”
Lowndes 23, Warner Robins
Lowndes 7 7 0 9 — 23
Warner Robins 6 0 0 0 — 6
Lowndes Warner Robins
1st downs 8 9
Rushes-yards 41-233 35-70
Passes 0-6-2 4-10-0
Passing yards 0 27
Penalties-yards 2-15 3-15
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-1
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Lowndes Vikings defeat Warner Robins, 23-6
No. 5 Lowndes closes out regular season 9-1
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