Adam MacDonald
VALDOSTA — The two titans of Class AAAAA football are finally ready to clash.
The Lowndes Vikings (10-1) and Camden County Wildcats (9-2) meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the second round of the state playoffs in Kingsland. The game features the last two AAAAA state champions, and five of the last six state champions.
“We’re excited about it. What an opportunity,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said. “We’re coming in with a chance to beat the defending state champions. We’re excited about it.”
Camden and Lowndes are common foes in the playoffs. The two teams have met three times in the postseason since 2003. Camden won the first matchup, in the second round in 2003, and went on to win the state championship. Lowndes rebounded to win at the Georgia Dome in the semifinals in 2004 and 2007, and went on to win the championship both times.
Both McPherson and Camden head coach Jeff Herron have said they feel like the road to the state championship in any year goes through the other team.
Aligning these two teams to meet in the second round seems a bit unfair, but that’s the way that playoff bracket was rotated. It’s a familiar feeling to Herron, whose team had to face Northside in the second round at home last year. Like Lowndes, Northside was the No. 2 seed from Region 1. Camden won an intense battle, 28-20, and went on to win the state title.
“I felt like last year, even when we got done, I felt like Northside was the best team we’d faced all year long,” Herron said. “Unfortunately for both teams, it was in the second round.”
Herron said he’s likely to feel the same way this year, regardless of the outcome.
When the two teams come out on the field, it’s going to be a battle of wing-T offenses. McPherson said he doesn’t think it’s an advantage that his defense sees the wing-T in practice, because Camden’s defense also sees the same wing-T in practice.
“It’s a very similar offense,” McPherson said. “They seem to run a lot more wide on film. They do have a good fullback as well. They have a lot of speed. There are no weaknesses.”
Camden has been good at running wide with running back Ean Days (100 carries, 1,047 yards and 15 touchdowns), but the Wildcats can pound it, too. Their leading rusher against Newton last week was fullback Aundre Johnson, who rushed for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson averages nine yards per carry and has seven touchdowns.
Darius Sullivan has rushed for 279 yards and five touchdowns for the Wildcats.
“Like Lowndes, we like to think we can run the ball,” Herron said. “We’ve gotten better as the year’s worn on. We have three backs who’ve done a good job rushing. They also do a good job of blocking.”
Camden’s quarterback is junior Joel Ruiz, who made his mark by throwing a game-winning touchdown pass against First Coast (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the second week of the season. Ruiz has passed for 304 yards and six touchdowns. He hasn’t been intercepted, and has averaged 16.9 yards per completion.
“He’s come on and won the position late in the year,” Herron said. “He’s really played well for us. He’s got all the tools to be an excellent quarterback.”
The Vikings will counter with a balanced offensive attack of their own. Lowndes has three backs who have over 800 rushing yards in Khary Franklin (943 yards), Robert Anderson (821) and Troy Braswell (810). The trio has combined for 34 rushing touchdowns.
Lowndes’ passing game is on the rise. Junior quarterback Cole Parker has thrown for 11 touchdowns and one interception. Braswell, Franklin, Josh Clemons and Aaron Winston all have two touchdown catches, and the offensive line has adjusted well to pass blocking.
Parker said on McPherson’s radio show on Tuesday that the coaches are gaining confidence in Lowndes’ ability to throw the ball.
“We’re excited about that,” McPherson said. “We feel good about throwing the ball. We know we’re going to have to do that this week.”
The Vikings will have to move the ball against Camden’s 3-5-3 defense. Herron said Camden switched to the 3-5-3 full time in his third year as head coach in 2002.
“It fits our kids,” Herron said. “We’re trying to get a lot of speed on the field. We didn’t have the big defensive linemen, but we had guys who could run.”
Camden’s defense has shut out five teams this year, and held Grayson to 14 points in the season opener.
“They’ve been running that defense since we started playing them in ’02,” McPherson said. “They really believe in it. It’s a sound defense. They’re very similar to us, not necessarily in alignment, but they believe in what they’re doing.”
On the defensive side of the ball for the Vikings, the unit will probably be without free safety Tyler Hunter for the second straight week. McPherson said Hunter is doing much better after going numb in his arms after sustaining a hit against Warner Robins. He said the doctors have given him a good report, and he will definitely play for the Vikings again.
McPherson listed defensive tackle Jordan Black as day-to-day. Black was held out of last week’s game against East Coweta with a mild concussion that he suffered against Warner Robins.
If the Vikings beat Camden, it will be just their second road playoff win this decade. The Vikings beat Parkview, 17-14, in the Big Orange Jungle in the 2004 state championship game. The Vikings are 1-4 on the road in the playoffs since 2000. They are 17-1 at home in the same time span.
“We haven’t talked about it much,” McPherson said. “We feel like the last two times (against Camden), we were on the road. We’re trying to look at it like there’s no difference. Except it’s closer (to Kingsland) than the (Georgia) Dome.”
Directions to Camden County: Take U.S. 84 (Hill Avenue in Valdosta) east to Waycross. In Waycross, get on U.S. 1 and head south to Folkston. From Folkston, drive east on S.R. 40 to Kingsland. In Kingsland, get on Interstate 95 and head north. Take Exit 6 (the Laurel Island Parkway). Turn right off the exit ramp and drive east for 1.5 miles. The stadium is at the east end of campus.
For an interstate route, take Interstate 75 south to Lake City, Fla. Take Exit 435 and head east on Interstate 10 to Jacksonville. Get on Interstate 295 north (Exit 356), and take it to Interstate 95. Take I-95 north into Georgia, exit at the Laurel Island Parkway (Exit 6), and go east for 1.5 miles.
Fans are encouraged to get to the game at least an hour early, because traffic usually backs up on the Laurel Island Parkway before Camden football games.
