VALDOSTA — The real journey for the Lowndes Vikings is finally about to begin.
After beating Houston County three weeks ago, the Vikings assured themselves of a playoff spot, the first step towards their ultimate goal of winning a fourth state championship in six years.
The next step towards that goal takes place tonight, when the Vikings host the East Coweta Indians in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs. Kickoff at Martin Stadium is at 8 p.m.
Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said his team is ready to go. On Wednesday, he said the team had its best two practices of the year on Monday and Tuesday.
“I don’t know why. It just kind of picks up,” McPherson said. “It must be something in the air.”
The Vikings are coming off of one of their toughest tests of the season. They squeaked out a win at home last Friday night over Warner Robins, 31-17. The game was tied 10-10 with 32 seconds left in the third quarter, then Lowndes took the lead on a Cole Parker touchdown pass to Josh Clemons.
The Vikings faced a lot of adversity against Warner Robins. For the first time all season, Lowndes found itself trailing at home. The Vikings turned the ball over four times, and lost key players Tyler Hunter and Jordan Black to injuries.
Tonight, the Vikings should get another difficult test in East Coweta.
“They have a good team,” McPherson said. “They have a lot of tradition themselves. They’ve had a lot of success in the past.”
The Indians are in the playoffs for the 13th straight year, and finished the regular season with a 7-3 record. They are the No. 3 seed from Region 4-AAAAA. Last week, the Indians gave No. 5 Newnan trouble until they ran out of steam in the fourth quarter.
“We’re excited,” East Coweta head coach Clint Wade said. “We have a bunch of kids who are hard workers. We’ve overachieved a bit this year. It’s a tribute to them to be in the playoffs again this year. They’re a special group of kids. They’ve done what we’ve asked them to do.”
The Indians boast one of the most electric players in the state. Running back Tay Willis has rushed for over 1,800 yards this season. He has 26 rushing touchdowns. He scored twice against a Newnan team that has five shutouts this season, and held three other schools to seven points or less.
Willis also had a five-touchdown game against Riverdale and a four-touchdown game against Pebblebrook.
“He’s been an exciting player,” Wade said. “He’s not very big, but he has a lot of heart and a good attitude. He has good vision, and he’s gotten a lot of yards and touchdowns. We’ve been riding him a lot.”
Despite being just 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds, Wade said Willis has attracted the attention of colleges.
McPherson said Willis compares to Colquitt County running back Tevin King. King ran for 159 yards and a touchdown against Lowndes earlier this season.
“On defense, we have to slow that running back down,” McPherson said. “He’s small, but he’s very fast. He’s very shifty. They have a good offensive line, and they also have a good passing game.”
The Indians’ defense bases out of a 4-3, but rolls the strong safety over to the weak side, which some people call an eight-man front.
“It’s an eight-man front concept,” Wade said. “We try to adapt it to our personnel. Those kids get after it pretty good.”
Defensive lineman Carlton Martin and linebacker Jared Fowler lead the Indians with 65 tackles each. Fowler has two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
That defense will be asked to slow down a Lowndes offense that gets back Khary Franklin (797 yards, 8 TD), Region 1’s third-leading rusher, this week.
“Lowndes is ... whoo-wee,” Wade said. “We have our work cut out for us.”
When asked what player on Lowndes really stood out, Wade said, “How about players?”
Wade said he hasn’t played against too many schools like Lowndes.
“They have phenomenal athletes overall,” Wade said. “It presents a big challenge for us.”
The unit that Wade said impressed him the most on film was the Vikings’ offensive line, which is affectionately nicknamed “The Sons of Thunder.”
“The offensive line is unbelievable,” Wade said. “They’re phenomenal in execution and precision. There’s a huge size differential.”
For the Vikings, Tyler Hunter has been ruled out. The junior free safety experienced numbness in his arms after a hit against Warner Robins. McPherson said the team, the doctors and the trainers are being very cautious with Hunter.
McPherson also said senior defensive lineman Jordan Black will be a game-time decision. Black suffered a mild concussion in the Warner Robins game.
