VALDOSTA — There was a basic theme to Lowndes’ game plan against Roswell Friday.
“Hit them early, and don’t look back.”
That’s what Lowndes center Ethan Barwick said the Vikings wanted to do in the Class AAAAA state quarterfinals, and that’s exactly what the Region 1-AAAAA champions did.
The Vikings pounded their way to a 31-20 victory against the Hornets, and sealed a trip to the Georgia Dome for next Saturday’s matchup against Camden County.
“Lowndes always comes out hitting early,” Lowndes fullback Adrian Hargett said. “That’s just what we do. That’s what we practice.”
The Vikings received the opening kickoff, and handed the ball once to Hargett for four yards, threw for one of their three passes, this one incomplete, and then handed the ball to Greg Reid.
Reid took the ball around the corner of the defensive line, then juked his way to a 56-yard touchdown run.
The Hornets answered right back with a long scoring play of their own, running five plays before going deep.
Roswell quarterback Dustin Taliaferro hit Garrett Embry for a 59-yard touchdown pass exactly three minutes after Lowndes’ score.
The Vikings and their offensive line responded, plowing the way for a 7-yard run by Reid, and two plays later, a 43-yard run by Hargett. After a 5-yard run by Darriet Perry, down to the Hornets’ 20-yard line, Tavaris Williams grinded past the line of scrimmage and punched it in from 15 yards out.
The Hornets’ offense continued to come up with plays, picking up four first downs on the next drive, but a big third-down stop by Lowndes limited them to a field goal attempt.
The 40-yard try was blocked by Lowndes’ Kelly Dawsey, and the loose ball was scooped up by Marcus Solomon, who brought it out from the Hornets’ 21-yard line up to the 35, where the Vikings took over.
Lowndes proceeded to pound the ball, going up the middle with its fullback seven times, including six carries by Hargett.
Hargett ripped off runs of 14, 10, 19, 12, 1 and 5 yards, before Williams picked up his second score of the night on a 3-yard rush.
The Vikings’ fullbacks got the ball rolling early, carrying the ball 22 times for 136 yards.
Of those 136 yards, Hargett had 123 on 17 carries, and Williams had 13 on five. In total, Lowndes rushed for 356 yards on 53 carries, combining with 11 passing yards for 367 total offensive yards. The Hornets had 115 rushing yards and 192 passing yards, for 60 less yards than the Vikings.
“We knew what we were going to do from the start,” Hargett said. “And we got our blocks.”
The Vikings were up by two scores with a little over nine minutes to play in the first half, and achieved their goal of hitting the Hornets early. However, the game was far from in hand.
“It felt pretty good,” Barwick said of the early success. “But we weren’t satisfied yet. We had to keep going.”
The Hornets stuck around all night, like the defending state champions were expected to.
Roswell brought the score within seven, then held the Vikings to a three-and-out situation to give themselves quality field position.
After taking over on their own 45-yard line, the Hornets completed two passes for a total of 34 yards and then let running back Alex Daniel carry the ball the final five yards into the end zone.
Daniel finished the game with 59 yards on 19 carries, and the Hornets were led by the passing game of Taliaferro, who had 192 yards on nine carries.
“We beat a good football team in Roswell,” Lowndes coach Randy McPherson said. “They fought hard, and our kids got it done.”
Leading 21-14 at the half, Lowndes played just as strong a second half, going back and forth with the Hornets before Roswell had its only miscue of the night.
On third-and-2 from the Roswell 38-yard line, Daniel fumbled, and Desmond Miller fell on the ball for the Vikings. Lowndes then ran Reid for four yards, passed to Reid for 11 yards, and watched its star junior race for a 19-yard touchdown.
Heading into the fourth quarter leading by two touchdowns, the Vikings’ defense allowed just six more points, on a 25-yard pass from Taliaferro to Keegan Hughes. The extra point attempt by Jim Broadway was blocked, preventing a seventh.
For the next 10:33, Lowndes’ defense had the Hornets, while the offense added three more points on a 37-yard field goal by Mark Willis with 2:51 to play.
With 1:03 left in the game, Taliaferro threw an incomplete pass on the Hornets’ final play of the game, and the Lowndes sideline was buzzing with screams of “going to the Dome,” as the Vikings lined up in victory formation.
“We just played hard,” McPherson said. “That’s what it’s all about. If you want to win the game, you have to play hard. Those kids played hard.”
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Discussion
Going back to the Dome
Lowndes beats Roswell 31-20, makes semis for third time in four years
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