VALDOSTA — — The Lowndes Vikings lost to the McEachern Indians 23-22 in Powder Springs on Friday. Vikings head coach Randy McPherson said it was a tough game against a very good team. He said that although his team came up short, it was a great opportunity. He added that the Vikings now know what they have to work on and prepare for the rest of the season. “We haven’t lost a region game, we haven’t lost a playoff game,” McPherson said. “We’ll get better.”

— McPherson said the Vikings played well, but they made mistakes at bad times. He said the team’s youth showed at times, and added that the Vikings gave up four or five big plays, and said that they can’t do that if they want to beat good teams. Despite the loss, McPherson said he is very pleased with his team and really likes the players. He said the Vikings lost a game they should have won, but promised they’ll get better.

— The game was filled with its fair share of controversy. It began on the first drive, when the Vikings were penalized 15 yards because cornerback Kenneth Durden’s pants didn’t come below his knee, and his knee caps were showing. McPherson said he’s never heard of that rule before, and the penalty was assessed to him. He added that Durden is a tall player, and it’s tough for him to keep his pants below the knee cap. McPherson also said he told the officials he noticed the same violation on some McEachern players. McEachern was never penalized for the infraction.

— Later in the same drive, McEachern running back Chris Nwagbara broke off a 60-yard touchdown run. McPherson said poor tackling was the cause, and it had nothing to do with the penalty.

— McPherson and radio show co-host Wes James discussed the controversial ending to the game, where the clock stopped working with 37.1 seconds left. The clock operator left the press box and kept the clock for the remainder of the game on the McEachern sideline. James, a former official for the Georgia High School Association, said protocol calls for the clock operator to stand behind the head official on the field, not in the coaches’ box for the home team.

— McPherson said he didn’t think anything was wrong with the clock, and noted it ran fine all night. He said he would not discuss the officiating. However, he did say once it was determined the clock was broken, the official only talked to him twice the remainder of the game.

— On McEachern’s game-winning drive, while the clock was broken, the Indians completed a 48-yard pass into Lowndes territory. McPherson said that after the catch, the official signaled ready to play and wound the clock, then the official stopped the clock and went to the McEachern sideline. McPherson said he thought the Indians had a called a timeout. They didn’t, but the clock was stopped. “I don’t know what to tell you, Wes,” McPherson said.

— Later in the drive, Indians quarterback Dondre Purnell was given a touchdown when the official closest to the play said he hit the pylon. McPherson, who has seen the play, would not comment on it. James said he’d speak on McPherson’s behalf, and told the crowd that replay showed that Purnell was out of bounds before crossing the goal line.

— McPherson reiterated that the Vikings can’t worry about the officials; instead, they have to play better if they want to win games.

— McPherson thought the biggest sequence of the game came at the end of the first half. The Vikings were deep in McEachern territory, with a chance to score a touchdown or a field goal and take a 21-7 or 17-7 lead. Instead, they fumbled the ball to the Indians. The Indians completed a long pass on fourth down, and kicked a field goal as the half expired to make it 14-10.

— Once the game was over, McPherson said he was proud of the way his players handled themselves. Vikings players tried to shake hands with the Indians’ players, but the McEachern students stormed the field, making it impossible. Some Vikings players were taunted, but they all made it back to the locker room without incident.

— McPherson said the coaches named fullback Sam Duncan as the Offensive Player of the Week, defensive end Josh Clemons as the Defensive Player of the Week, kicker/punter Jed Solomon as the Special Teams Player of the Week and receiver Rodney Jefferson as the Scout Team Player of the Week.

— Clemons was named the Star Athlete of the Week by the Lowndes broadcast team. Clemons said the Vikings are working hard at practice after the loss. He added that he felt that traveling to the Atlanta area for a game was a good experience that will help the team.

— Clemons, who is also the starting center on the Vikings’’ basketball team, said he prefers football over basketball. He was moved from safety to defensive end in the offseason, a move he didn’t like at first. Now he likes it so much that he said he’d prefer to get a sack than catch a touchdown pass.

— This Friday, Lowndes hosts Leon from Tallahassee, Fla. McPherson said Leon runs the I-back and spread on offense behind a big offensive line. On defense, he said the Lions run a 4-2-5, like Virginia Tech.

— McPherson said the first thing that stood out on film about the Lions was their field goal kicker, Sean Allen. He made a 45-yard field goal last week, and McPherson said he boots it into the end zone on kickoffs for touchbacks.

The Lowndes High Coaches’ Show airs every Tuesday from 7-8 p.m. on Kix Country (99.5 FM) from Loco’s Grill and Pub.