VALDOSTA —
It’s Homecoming and it is also the final tune up for the Lowndes Vikings before the start of region play next week at Colquitt County. Tonight, the undefeated Vikings will host the Hardaway Hawks for an 8 p.m. kickoff at Martin Stadium.
“Homecoming is a big deal at Lowndes,” Vikings’ head coach Randy McPherson said. “It is a little more exciting.”
Players from previous seasons are expected to return tonight for the Homecoming festivities, and to see what the Vikings have to offer this year.
“That is what it is all about — having kids that have been in our program come back and to see that they are being successful,” McPherson said. “That is really why you coach them.”
Tonight’s meeting will be the third all-time meeting between Lowndes and Hardaway, but the first since 1989, when the Vikings won 40-30.
Lowndes enters with a 3-0 record this season, coming off back-to-back shutout wins over Newton and Windsor Forest. The Vikings are also looking for their first 4-0 start since 2009.
Hardaway is 2-1 with wins over Jordan and Columbus to start the season. The Hawks were just 1-9 last season.
Last week, Hardaway lost to Shaw, 27-6.
In their two wins this season, the Hawks averaged 48.5 points per game. Last week, they scored just six.
“They executed better the first couple of games,” McPherson said. “They played really well the first two weeks.”
McPherson said he and his coaching staff have “really good film” on Hardaway.
“They are a very athletic team,” McPherson said. “They have skill kids everywhere. They are going to be tough.”
Offensively, the Hawks will run a system similar to what the Vikings have already seen this season — a spread offense that mixes in the I-formation.
“They are kind of very similar to some of the opponents we have already played this year,” McPherson said. “I’d say, (they are) 50-50, both spread and I.”
Knowing the Vikings have already faced opponents with similar offensive schemes, and looking at how well they did against those teams, McPherson and his players are confident as they enter tonight’s game looking for a third straight shut out and fifth in the last seven games.
“We are kind of used to the spread and the two-back,” McPherson said. “So our goal this week is to get better.”
The past two weeks, the Lowndes defense has been suffocating. The Vikings have allowed a combined 158 yards in the wins, including just 97 through the air against those spread teams, and have forced five turnovers.
As for Lowndes’ offense, the Vikings are looking to improve on a slow start in last week’s win. The Vikings were only up 3-0 against Windsor Forest at half. It wasn’t until the second half that the Vikings picked up their production, using two rushing touchdowns by Jordan Williams and Nick Burgman to pull away and secure the win.
As for this week, the Vikings are looking to come out and have a fast start.
“I think it is important,” McPherson said. “We did not play well in the first part of (last week’s) game, offensively. There is no excuse. You can talk about what they ran, what they did, but we just didn’t play well.
“It is going to be important for us to come out offensively, and defensively, like the way we are capable of playing.”
Lowndes High will crown its 2012 homecoming king and queen during halftime of tonight’s game. Students that were voted onto the homecoming court will be honored at halftime, including football players, meaning those players will not be involved in the halftime adjustments in the locker room.
“I don’t particularly like that, but that is just the tradition here,” McPherson said.
Tonight’s game can be heard on 99.5 FM, starting with the pre-game show at 7 p.m.
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Nick Burgman (21) and the Lowndes Vikings host Hardaway in their Homecoming game tonight at Martin Stadium. Pat Gallagher | The Valdosta Daily Times
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