VALDOSTA —
VALDOSTA – The Lowndes Vikings proved once again it’s not safe to play them after a loss. The Leon Lions found out the hard way.
A week after losing a heartbreaker at McEachern, the Vikings returned to triumphant form at Martin Stadium on Friday night, blowing out the Lions from Tallahassee 53-7.
“You know, the kids responded well,” Vikings head coach Randy McPherson said. “I knew they wanted to win when I got to practice on Monday morning and there was no school and they were all here, some before the coaches.”
The Vikings (3-1) were ready to go out of the gate. They won the coin toss and only needed four plays to go 80 yards for the first of their seven touchdowns in the first half. Mike Moore took a handoff and went 59 yards down the sideline, then two plays later he plowed into the end zone.
The Vikings were off and running.
It was the same result on their next six drives. Moore added two more rushing touchdowns, Troy Braswell rushed for two touchdowns and Cole Parker threw touchdown passes to Braswell and Tiquan Lang.
By the end of the first quarter, which took 45 minutes to play, it was 34-0. By the end of the first half it was 47-0, the JV was in and Lowndes had 451 yards of total offense.
“The offense line is getting better and the running backs ran hard,” McPherson said.
While the Vikings offense was scoring touchdowns at will (they only ran 32 plays in the first half), the defense was on a mission after allowing back-breaking touchdowns at McEachern.
The defense forced three-and-outs on Leon’s first four drives, and Tim SaintFort sacked quarterback Raleigh DeVore on a fourth down on the Lions’ fifth drive. Leon could only scrap together 69 yards and two first downs in the opening half.
“We have the makings of a good defense,” McPherson said.
Tyler Hunter, who only played defense in nickel packages through the first three games, played the entire first half at free safety.
With the game out of reach and the clock running, the JV defense and offense played the entire second half for Lowndes.
Think the Vikings were ready to prove that they are a better team than what they showed last week?
“It feels real good coming off that loss,” Moore said. “It feels really, really good.”
Moore ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries. He made it 14-0 on a 9-yard run up the middle.
Braswell, who rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, made it 20-0 in the first quarter on a 20-yard run. He set up the touchdown drive with a 34-yard punt return.
Braswell scored again on the Vikings’ next possession when Parker hit him in stride down the middle on a 37-yard touchdown pass. On the play, all four Vikings wide receivers ran go routs to the end zone.
Tiquan Lang took a screen pass 54 yards to the house on the Vikings next possession to make it 34-0.
Braswell and Moore completed the scoring in the first half on 24-yard touchdown runs.
Lowndes added its last touchdown in the third quarter when Nick Burgman ran in from six yards out on fourth down.
It was 53-0 until the Lions finally got on the board when Tim Longmire capped off an eight play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Lowndes’ JV defense held Leon to a missed field goal on its second possession of the second half, and it recovered a fumble on Leon’s first possession.
The Vikings totaled 476 yards of offense, 345 of which came on the ground. Parker completed 4-of-5 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Longmire ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries for the Lions (1-1).
Lowndes hosts Burke County next Friday at Martin Stadium.
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Related Photos
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High junior Josh Clemons (25) goes for the touchdown during the game against Leon High Friday night.
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High Head Coach Randy McPherson talks with running back Troy Braswell (29) during the game against Leon High Friday night.
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High defensive end Dylan Roberts (87) applies pressure to Leon High quarterback Raleigh DeVore (15) while Leon High wide receiver Austin Masters (85) waits to catch the ball during the game Friday night.
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High defensive back Geraldo Orta (26) tackles Leon High running back Tim Longmire (22) during the 2nd quarter at the game Friday.
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Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Lowndes High line backer Tim Saintfort (41) sakc Leon High quarterback Raleigh DeVore during the game Friday night at Martin Satdium.
Discussion
Lowndes bounces back
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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.
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Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
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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.
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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.
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Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. - More Local Sports Headlines
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VSU teams hosting summer camps
