Lowndes VIkings explode in 2nd half to gouge Gadsden

Published 12:00 pm Monday, August 28, 2023

VALDOSTA — For a half, it seemed as though the Gadsden County Jaguars had all the momentum against the Lowndes Vikings, riding key big plays to a 17-3 halftime lead.

However, the Vikings (2-0) refused to be denied, using a huge second half surge to power past the Jaguars (0-1), 30-17.

It was a long-awaited home opener for the Vikings as the game had to be postponed to Saturday afternoon (Aug. 26) following a lengthy weather delay Friday night.

Head coach Adam Carter cited the postponement as a potential reason why his team got off to a slow start.

“I think we may have struggled with that a little bit, and it might be why we started off a little rocky,” Carter said of the players’ mentality. “I think that any time you get ready last night, we get ready to play and then we say, ‘Game delay, game delay, delay, delay.’ Then, you tell them to restart this morning to get ready to play. It wasn’t like we were planning on it all week. We didn’t handle that situation as well as we wanted to, but it’s a growing experience. There may be another situation like that that happens later on.”

The Jaguars took advantage of an early miscue from the Vikings’ defense, converting on a fourth-and-four thanks to a facemask penalty on what would have been a fumble recovery for the Vikings. That allowed the Jaguars to take an early 3-0 lead a few plays later on a 35-yard field goal.

On their ensuing drive, the Vikings opted to go for a fourth down conversion of their own. However, junior running back Aalim Brown was stuffed at the line, giving the ball back to the Jaguars.

Gadsden County wasted little time in having another big play as running back Ostin Perkins broke off a 56-yard run to put the Jaguars deep inside Vikings’ territory. Running back Raqayvious Lewis ultimately punched it in from two yards out to make it 10-0 as the first quarter ended.

The drive also featured the Jaguars utilizing a two-quarterback system. Carter noted that this resulted in the defense needing time to adjust.

“When they went to the other quarterback (Shawnterris Thomas), they changed offenses a little bit, and it took us a few minutes to go from one mentality to another,” Carter said. “They went from a drop back pass guy (Landon Dougherty) to more of a running quarterback guy, so that kind of took us a second.”

A solid kick return from senior wide receiver Keylan Hicks turned out to be all for naught. Junior quarterback Marvis Parrish had a pass batted up and intercepted at the line of scrimmage, abruptly ending the drive just as quickly as it began.

The Vikings scored their first points of the game a few drives later on a 30-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Aiden Andrews. Still, it was a disappointing end to the drive as junior wide receiver Jaylin Carter was unable to hang on to what would have been a touchdown reception.

The Jaguars continued to ride the wave of momentum on their next drive, converting a fourth and 10 on a 33-yard pass play from Thomas. Thomas extended the lead, keeping it himself for a one-yard touchdown run to put Gadsden County up 17-3.

“Football is a momentum sport, and when people get the momentum and they get that wave going, it takes a big play to get it away,” Carter said of the Jaguars’ first-half momentum. “They hit a couple of big plays on us, and it just felt like everything was going their way. In football, you’ve got to find ways to create turnovers and create changes in that momentum.”

The Vikings did just that in the second half.

Senior running back Jacarre’ Fleming led the charge for the Vikings as he managed to tightrope the sideline for a 78-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter.

Even after a muffed punt, the momentum continued to shift in the Vikings’ favor. Fleming helped tie the game in the waning moments of the third quarter.

The Jaguars, sensing a need for a change of pace, opted for Dougherty at quarterback as the fourth quarter began. However, the Vikings were ready, and senior defensive back Marlon Evans picked off Dougherty. It was the first of four fourth quarter turnovers forced by the Vikings’ defense.

“In the first half, we had some opportunities of two different picks that I felt we should have had, and we just didn’t go make the play,” Carter said. “We challenged our DBs at the end of our defensive meeting at halftime, [saying to them], ‘Look, y’all can’t just sit there and let stuff happen. You’ve got to go create it yourself,’ and they did that.”

Carter added: “Once our offense got going and those defensive guys started creating turnovers, you saw a whole change in this entire stadium. We talked about it this week about playing for somebody else other than yourself. Once they started playing for somebody else and started playing for Lowndes instead of just going through the motions, that’s when you started seeing us play football.”

On their ensuing drive following the interception, the Vikings took their first lead of the game. Fleming plowed ahead for a one-yard score, his third of the day, on a fourth-and-goal.

Andrews tacked on a pair of field goals following two more turnovers by the Jaguars to help salt the game away.

UP NEXT

The Vikings have the week off before hosting the Rock Creek Christian Academy Eagles of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, on Sept. 8 at 8 p.m.