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.”
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
-
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
-
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
-
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Going back to the Dome
Lowndes beats Roswell 31-20, makes semis for third time in four years
- Local Sports
-
-
Dario Franchitti wins Indy again
Dan Wheldon couldn’t win his third Indianapolis 500. Dario Franchitti did it for him.
And if it wasn’t going to be Franchitti, then it would be Scott Dixon. Maybe even Tony Kanaan.
No matter what, one of Wheldon’s best buddies was going to Victory Lane. -
VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
-
Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
-
All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
-
Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
