MOULTRIE � It wasn�t always pretty, but the Lowndes Vikings left Moultrie Friday night with a 31-6 win over the Colquitt County Packers.
The win makes Lowndes 4-0 overall, and the Vikings are now in a four-way tie with Warner Robins, Northside-Warner Robins and Coffee atop Region 1-AAAAA with a 1-0 region record.
�I thought our kids played very hard against a good football team,� Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said. �I�m very proud of our kids and coaches. It was definitely a good ball game. Colquitt has a good team.�
Lowndes benefited from two crucial mistakes by Packers quarterback Tyler Brown. Brown threw two bad interceptions deep in Vikings� territory that cost Colquitt County when the game was still close. Brown also threw a third interception in the red zone on a tipped ball.
Vikings running back Robert Anderson fumbled the ball away on the first play from scrimmage at his own 22-yard line, but Brown returned the favor when he threw an interception to Geraldo Orta in the Vikings� end zone on the ensuing drive. Orta returned the kick over 75 yards which helped set up a 38-yard field goal by Jed Solomon to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead.
With the Vikings leading 9-0 in the second quarter, Colquitt County running back Tevin King broke a 50-yard run to the Vikings� 17-yard line. Two plays later Brown fired another drive-killing interception to Chris Scurry.
�We just kept fighting, kept pressing and made some plays at the right time,� McPherson said.
Brown came into the game with 499 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Against the Vikings� defense, Brown was 12-for-29 for 130 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
On the opposite side, Lowndes quarterback Cole Parker was a model of consistency. He completed 7-of-10 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
�We�ve always known that Cole could do it for us,� McPherson said. �He did a good job passing, and we did a good job blocking. It�s a good region win for us and something to build on.�
Lowndes� passing attack and defense hurt the Packers, and the Vikings� special teams got in on the act too. In the first quarter, Lowndes blocked a field goal, and late in the second quarter the Vikings downed a Solomon punt at the Colquitt County one-yard line. The Packers went three-and-out on the series and punted the ball to their own 29-yard line.
The Vikings only needed one play to cash in on the good field position. Parker rolled out to his right and hit Tyler Hunter wide open in the flat. Hunter ran it the rest of the way and dove into the end zone. After Khary Franklin converted a two-point conversion, Lowndes had 17-0 lead.
The second half was more traditional Lowndes. The Vikings marched 65 yards for a touchdown on their first drive of the second half. Lowndes picked up five first downs on the drive, which was capped off by Franklin�s five-yard touchdown run.
The Vikings used another clock-eating drive on their next possession. They converted several third downs and even converted on a fourth down play from their own territory. Parker finished off the drive off with a nifty three-yard touchdown pass to Brian Moore while under heavy pressure. It was Parker�s second touchdown pass of the night and gave the Vikings a 31-6 lead.
The Vikings finished with 399 total yards and 284 rushing yards. Robert Anderson led all Viking rushers with 16 carries for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Franklin had 96 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
King led the Packers with 14 carries for 159 yards and a touchdown. King had runs of 50 and 68 yards in the game.
The Vikings return to Martin Stadium next Friday to take on the Tift County Blue Devils in the second week of region play.
