Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
VALDOSTA — Lowndes High’s football team won the Valdosta State passing tournament on Saturday.
The Vikings defeated Fleming Island 24-17 in the championship game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. Cole Parker’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Troy Braswell gave Lowndes the lead for good, 18-17. Then Parker threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Coleman on fourth-and-4 with 27 seconds left in the game to help seal the win. On the final play of the game, a Fleming Island pass was batted down at the 5.
Lowndes went 3-1 in pool play, competing in Division A at Martin Stadium. The Vikings defeated St. John’s 31-8, Taylor County 29-14 and Glynn Academy 35-23. They lost 46-30 to Brantley County, but qualified for the quarterfinals.
Lowndes then defeated Episcopal 35-15 in the quarterfinals and Charlton County 42-30 in the semifinals.
“They played hard all day long, and got better. (The team) played good on both sides of the ball,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said.
Berrien was a semifinalist in the tournament. In pool play, the Rebels defeated Aucilla Christian 24-18, Chiles 27-18 and Potter’s House 28-11, but lost to Crisp County. They tied for first in Division C. They defeated Clay in the quarterfinals, but lost to Fleming Island in the semifinals.
Valdosta went 2-2 in Division C, and did not qualify for the quarterfinals. The Wildcats defeated Potter’s House 30-12 and Aucilla Christian 39-0, but lost 29-22 to Ware County and 44-41 to Chiles.
There were 28 teams competing in the tournament.
