Juston Lewis | Valdosta Daily TimesLowndes defensive lineman Thomas Davis chases Tate Rodemaker during the 2019 Winnersville Classic where Lowndes shutout the Wildcats 24-0. 

VALDOSTA –– After a 24-0 shutout of the Valdosta Wildcats (5-1) in the 2019 Winnersville Classic, the Lowndes Vikings (6-0) are the talk of the town. 

Or at least the Concrete Curtain is. 

The Lowndes defense finished with 44 total tackles, seven tackles for a loss, five sacks and a pick six touchdown in the first shutout of the year. 

“On a high powered offense we have an even higher powered defense,” senior Shawn Martin said after the game. “Just come out here and execute. This whole game was about execution. We executed better than they did tonight.” 

A big part of that execution was the play of the defensive line of the Vikings. Lowndes seemed to have real estate in the Wildcat backfield and put pressure on quarterback Tate Rodemaker all game. 

Jacques Hunter, Jaylon Jones, Thomas Davis and Leon Williams combined for 10.5 tackles with five tackles for a loss and five sacks to compliment it.

Davis was awarded player of the game for his individual performance and deservingly so. 

“Family,” Thomas Davis said after being awarded the player of the game trophy. “I put my family on my back. My team, my real family, (the team) is real family too. I’ve just got to do my best to get them out … treat every game like a big game. Every game is a big game for me.” 

The family bond that the Vikings have built within in the locker room comes from the countless battles that they’ve endured together. 

The Vikings led 7-0 at halftime and were unable to score on offense at the start of the third quarter. 

But sophomore Tylar Belcher intercepted an overthrown pass by Rodemaker and returned it for a touchdown. The score doubled Lowndes’ advantage and gave breathing room in the tight contest. 

“I work all day for that—all practice, all year,” Belcher said after the game. “We knew that route was coming and I just played it … We’re just a team. The next play matters. If they make a big play we’re just going to make the next play matter. We came out ready to play.” 

Facing a 14-0 deficit the Wildcats tried to mount the rally but could never get settled thanks to the Lowndes defense. 

But the Viking’s offense had troubles of their own. Valdosta never gave runners the room to break typical big play and they had problems converting on third downs. 

Being unable to extend drives forced them to punt a season-high seven times. 

Luckily, the defense was able to make enough stops to force Valdosta to punt eight times. 

To put the win into perspective, the last time Valdosta was shutout was Sept. 22, 2017 against Colquitt County. That’s 736 days since the Wildcat offense failed to score in competition. 

To do that against a quarterback like Rodemaker might be an ominous sign for teams across the state. 

“I haven’t seen every quarterback in the state but he’s the best one that I’ve seen,” defensive coordinator Byron Slack said about Rodemaker after the game. “With his decision making process, our plan was to shorten that decision making process. With a little pressure.” 

Rodemaker finished with 133 yards on 14-of-25 passing but was visibly hurt by the end of the game. Valdosta took him out on their last offensive series because of his injuries at the hands of the Concrete Curtain. 

The Vikings game planned to put pressure on the Wildcats and that pressure resulted in the sixth shutout victory against Valdosta all-time. 

“This is such an emotional game,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said. “We were able to stay disciplined. The best defense I’ve seen in a long time against a really good team … I think the difference in the game was our defensive line. It just feels really good as the coach to see them play that hard. I think we got a little bit better this week in a lot of areas. I think we’ve still got some work to do but I’m really proud of the team tonight.” 

Now with Winnersville and another top-ranked opponent behind them, Lowndes goes on—business as usual. 

That business could be as the top school in 7A across all polls. 

No. 1 Grayson lost to Colquitt 31-7 and could open the door for the Vikings to finally ascend to the top ranked school in the highest classification in Georgia. 

Regardless of the poll results, next Friday Lowndes will be focused on Ware County. 

The Gators are 3-2 on the season and coming off a 35-13 victory over Glynn Academy. 

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 at Memorial Stadium in Waycross.