Adam MacDonald
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
POWDER SPRINGS — The Lowndes Vikings’ road woes continue, and they reached a whole new level on Friday night at McEachern.
McEachern quarterback Dondre Purnell scored on a 9-yard run with three seconds left to give the Indians an improbable, almost miraculous, 23-22 win over the Vikings at Walter H. Cantrell Stadium.
Purnell’s game-winning score at the pylon capped a wild fourth quarter that saw two lead changes in the final seven minutes, and a major breakdown in game operations.
Trailing 17-16 midway through the fourth quarter, the Vikings went on an impressive 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 22-16 lead. The drive ate 4:20 off the clock, and Sam Duncan carried the ball four times for 38 yards and a touchdown on the series.
With the Vikings poised to win their first game against a top 10 opponent on the road since the 2004 state championship game, the Indians had one last gasp left in them. They took over on their own 20 with 2:13 remaining. Purnell made the play of the game when he completed a 48-yard pass to Chris Davis. On the play, Lowndes free safety Mikeon Padgett latched onto Davis’ leg, and hauled him down, temporarily saving the game.
But on the night when the Indians retired the number of former McEachern star Rajaan Bennett, who was murdered in the offseason, destiny seemed to be on their side. They continued to move the ball deep into Vikings territory. Then, with 37.1 seconds remaining on the clock, it was announced that the clock was broken and would be kept by the officials on the field.
Both fan bases were irate, and the Lowndes contingent booed the remainder of the drive.
“All I know is they came over and said the clock was broken,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said. “We had no idea what time was on the clock when that happened.”
Finally, with three seconds left, Purnell took off for the corner of the end zone, and barely scraped the pylon after a nasty collision with three Vikings. Had he been stopped short of the goal line or been called out of bounds, the Vikings would have been 3-0.
As McEachern celebrated, Vikings players laid on the field in disbelief.
When asked if his team got a fair shake at the end of the game, McPherson said, “I’m not going to talk about the referees. But I will tell you that we’ll get better. We’ll get better. We’ll go back to work. We’ve always gotten better. We played good. We have a lot to work on.”
Out of the gate, it looked like another disastrous road trip for the Vikings. After appearing to stop McEachern on the Indians’ opening drive, the Vikings were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that extended the drive. Indians running back Chris Nwagbara made the Vikings pay when he broke free of a Viking tackler, spun and raced down the middle of the field for a 60-yard touchdown.
Lowndes followed that with a penalty on its opening drive that resulted in a punt.
Finally, the Vikings got the break they’d been missing on recent road trips against top-tier teams. Late in the first quarter, Indians punter Tyler Smith fielded a low snap on his knee at the 8-yard line, giving the Vikings’ offense the ball on the 8.
Four plays later, on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Troy Braswell was initially stopped short, but the Vikings’ offensive line pushed him into the end zone to tie the game.
Lowndes caught another break when Smith got off a bad punt that landed at his own 41. The Vikings were stopped on third down, but a personal foul call on McEachern gave the drive new life. Cole Parker capitalized on the next play, when he rolled to his right and hit Josh Clemons for a 20-yard touchdown to make it 14-7.
The Indians got a break of their own at the end of the half, when they went for it on fourth down at the 50-yard line. Purnell completed a 33-yard pass to Rory Anderson for a first down with two seconds left. Nicholas St. Germain kicked a 34-yard field goal to cut Lowndes’ lead to 14-0.
The Vikings opened the scoring in the second half, after McEachern botched a punt in its own end zone that gave Lowndes a safety and two points.
Lowndes’ lead lasted until 2:47 left in the third, when the Indians scored on another long play. Tight end Victor Brannon caught an underneath pass, broke a tackle and raced down the sideline for a touchdown. St. Germain’s extra point gave the Indians a 17-16 lead.
Lowndes responded with Duncan’s heroic drive. But at the end, the Indians put together the scoring drive that decided the game.
