Juston Lewis | Valdosta Daily TimesThomas Davis stares at a Norcross player after making a tackle in the backfield. 

VALDOSTA –– Lowndes football has a lot to be thankful for this season.

They sit atop the classification with an undefeated record.

They have a “concrete” defense that bolsters a dynamic offense –– powered by sophomore Jacurri Brown.

And lastly, the road to a state championship potentially has to go through Martin Stadium.

Determined by the Georgia High School Association’s universal coin flip earlier this week, the top half of playoff brackets will host when equal seeded teams face each other in the semifinals.

The Vikings will face Grayson (11-1) this week with a chance to host the semifinal the following week against the winner of McEachern and North Gwinnett.

“You can’t hide that,” head coach Randy McPherson said about the possibility of them hosting a semifinal game at Martin Stadium next week. “We’re sitting in a good spot but we’re going to have to play good to beat (Grayson). They’re really good.”

Lowndes is averaging 41.6 points in the Concrete Palace while only allowing 10.8 points to opponents.

They’ve put together some of their highest scoring games and topped some of their biggest rivals on the playing surface of Joe Wilson Field.

But before they can think about the future, they have to focus on the present –– enter Grayson.

The only time the Rams were defeated this season was in a road loss to Colquitt County in September. They picked up wins against highly-ranked teams Archer and Marietta and went undefeated in Region 8-7A.

The Rams defeated East Coweta 42-21 last week, where quarterback C.J. Dixon completed 16-of-21 passes for 251 yards to advance to the quarterfinals.

Dixon is a 6-foot-5, four-star quarterback, committed to Illinois and ranked as the 11th best player at his position in the state of Georgia.

He presents a challenge that Lowndes has yet to see this season with his size, strength and skill at the quarterback position.

So how does one prepare for that test?

“We’re going to be a little bit more violent and play a little harder than we did last week,” defensive coordinator Byron Slack said. “Or at least we’re going to try. Great opportunity with a great ball club coming down here … It’s what you want. These are the ones you remember. If you’ve got anything about you, this is what you want.”

Last week, the Vikings took down a Norcross team that won five consecutive games after losing its first five matchups.

Lowndes looked dominant in the 44-14 victory, but allowed the Blue Devils to strike with two touchdown passes that both went for more than 50 yards.

After the game, Slack said those issues would be addressed and he echoed that on Wednesday.

“If you’re doing the same drills over and over and the things keep happening the same, we have to change something,” Slack said. “We changed some individuals up. We’re sticking to our plan but we just have to find new and inventive ways to get them to understand about keeping people in front of them. We changed some things up and made that a real point of emphasis this week.”

Aside from the two touchdowns, the Vikings played one of their better games this season.

Lowndes scored six touchdowns, with 489 yards of total offense and zero turnovers in the win.

The main ingredient was the timely execution that the Vikings displayed.

Brown went 9-of-11 passing for 198 yards while junior running back Justin Lee carried the ball 20 times for 140 yards.

Those numbers aren’t marks to shoot for, but the execution will continue to be desired.

“I think our execution against Norcross was very good,” associate head coach Josh Akers said on Wednesday. “We don’t go into a game trying to have x number of yards rushing or x number of yards passing. We really want to take what the defense gives us. If that means we have to throw it, then hopefully we can throw it. If it means we have to run, then hopefully we can run.”

The Vikings have improved their offensive output with every performance. While their scoring totals may not reflect it the game stats will. Brown’s nine completions on 11 attempts was the most accurate performance of the season thus far. The Vikings’ 293 rushing yards on 38 attempts yielded the second most yards per attempt this season.

“A lot of it just goes to the kids,” Akers said. “The kids have had great preparation and we are in a place to be very fortunate to be practicing football. One of only eight teams in the state. The kids have done a good job of coming to work all year and taking the next step. That’s what we’re trying to strive for.”

In the last meeting between Lowndes and Grayson, the Vikings upset the Rams 20-15 to advance to the 2018 semifinals. That memory will be in the minds of both teams with the same reward on the line this year.

Grayson and Lowndes will square off at 8 p.m. at Martin Stadium on Nov. 29 with a chance to advance in the playoffs on the line.