LOWNDES WINS STATE AAAAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Published 4:04 am Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Three years ago, Lowndes High head coach Randy McPherson crossed state lines for one reason, and one reason only. The Vikings justified McPherson’s move from Madison County, Fla. to Lowndes County Saturday night with a grueling 17-14 win over Parkview High, capturing the school’s third state championship in the last quarter-century.

“I can’t say enough about the character of this team,” said McPherson, whose Lowndes team finished the first 15-0 season in school history.

“To come up here and play in a place like this against a ballclub like that, just laying it on the line.”

Three years after he left Madison following a state title in 2001, McPherson became the first head coach in Georgia to win a GHSA championship at Parkview’s Big Orange Jungle.

“I don’t ever look back,” McPherson said. “I’m glad to be here.”

But it wasn’t easy.

“State championships ain’t supposed to be easy,” McPherson said. Leading 17-14 with 9:45 left to play in the game, the Vikings pieced together a 17-play drive that ate 8:30 of precious time off the clock.

The drive didn’t result in any points, but it was still as good as gold.

“It won the game for us,” McPherson said. “We felt like they were having a hard time tackling and we didn’t want to give them the ball back.”

Parkview did get the ball back, though, and quarterback Jeff Witt took two long shots down the field. He nearly connected with tight end Michael Palmer, who caught a 22-yard touchdown in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-all, but Lowndes cornerback Stevie Harden barreled into Palmer and jarred the ball loose on what would have been a first down past midfield.

On the next play, Witt heaved the ball down the center of the field to wide receiver Darryl Miller, but Harden was there again, this time picking the ball off and sealing the state title.

“I was just waiting on the ball,” Harden said. “I knew they were going to throw the ball up so I just tried to step inside and punch the ball out.”

“It feels great. It’s time to get my ring.”

Lowndes took the lead in the third quarter, what would eventually be the winning score, on Kurtis Schmidt’s 37-yard field goal with 4:08 left, taking a 17-14 lead. Parkview had tied the game at 14-all with a 36-yard drive, set up by Caleb King’s 60-yard kickoff return, when Daniel Bollinger scored on a 3-yard run with 8:51 to play in the third quarter.

“We came in with confidence and we knew they would be a great team and they were,” Parkview’s Witt said. “It was a great North Georgia-South Georgia battle that went down to the wire.”

Turnovers doomed the Panthers (13-2), who saw the Vikings take a 14-7 lead at the half, scoring both times on two of Parkview’s three turnovers. After Vikings’ linebacker Antonio Townsend picked off Witt at the Parkview 32-yard line and returned it to the 10, Lowndes quarterback Doug Belk hit tight end Matt Harper on a 6-yard scoring throw with 4:30 left in the first half.

“Turnovers don’t help,” McPherson said of the Panthers’ demise.

After Lowndes was stopped on fourth-and-three in the first quarter, Parkview took over, but the Panthers’ Antonio Mohn fumbled the first handoff of the drive, which was recovered by Vikings’ tackle Asmar Ceasar.

Lowndes capitalized on the ensuing play when Belk hit Lynn Williams on a 34-yard touchdown strike with 1:04 left in the first quarter for the first score of the game.

“I got a little wore out, but I just played hard and thought about the ring,” said Ceasar, who was also in on two sacks.

“I feel wonderful… and I’m ready to get the ring.”

Lowndes met its match for the first time this season, needing 49 plays to grind out 203 total yards, over 100 less than its previous lowest total. Parkview tallied 196 yards on Lowndes’ defense and put up 14 points on a starting defense that had allowed just 27 in 14 games.

Williams carried the ball a career-high 23 times for 94 yards, putting him over the 1,400-yard mark for the year.

“We’ll probably take this celebration all the way into the holidays,” McPherson said.