Juston Lewis | Valdosta Daily TimesRunning back Justin Lee carries the ball in Lowndes' 45-13 victory against Camden County on Oct. 25. 

VALDOSTA—On the heels of completing the fifth undefeated regular season in Lowndes’ history, the Vikings are preparing for a playoff push.

Lowndes (10-0) will face the Hillgrove Hawks (7-3) at Martin Stadium in first-round action of the highest classification’s playoffs. 

The Vikings and Hawks have only competed in football once but it was a historic meeting. 

In 2016 the two sides faced each other in the first-round of the playoffs and had the highest scoring game in the history of the state. 

Lowndes won a 92-61 contest that saw the two schools combine for 1,152 yards. The game shattered the record for most points in a game—a record that had been standing since 1922. 

“I thought about,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said about the record-breaking game. “I’ve got a lot of respect for coach Ironside. I’ve gotten a chance to get to know him a little bit. Great coach,  they’ve always got a great team. When has Hillgrove not had a good team? We’re going to have to play.”  

The 2019 rendition of Hillgrove won seven games but dropped region contest to McEachern, Marietta and North Cobb. Against McEachern, the game ended with a controversial no-call on what video showed to be a would-be game winning touchdown.

The Indians were ranked No. 1 in the state at the time and the win would’ve sprung the Hawks into the top five in the classification. 

But the loss seemingly took the air from beneath the Hawks as they sputtered to a 2-2 record to close out the season. 

Even after losing those three contest, Hillgrove enters the game a season removed from having a 12-win team that loss to Milton in the quarterfinals and with weapons on both sides of the ball. 

The Hawks have the top-ranked recruit in Georgia with defensive end Myles Murphy—a Clemson commit. On the other side of the ball, they’re powered by 2,000 yard passer Matthew McCravy and an offense that averages 31 points per game. 

“They’re a four-seed but they’re undoubtedly in my mind the toughest four-seed in the state at any level,” defensive coordinator Byron Slack said about the Hawks. “I feel like if we can make them one-sided and get them into that situation then we stand a good chance. That kid is a good quarterback, throws the ball on time and has some great wide receivers. We expect nothing but their best and we have to go out there and give them ours.”  

Lowndes enters the game with a defensive unit that allows the fewest points in the state and an offense that has a record of being dynamic. 

The Concrete Curtain has totaled 566 tackles, 82 tackles for a loss, 40 sacks and nine interceptions this season while allowing just under nine points per game. 

Offensively, the Vikings opened their passing game against region competition. The result has created an extra element that opponents have to game plan for. 

“We went through region play and we’ve definitely become more balanced on offense,” associate head coach Josh Akers said. “We did a better job in that. I give the kids credit, they do a good job of coming to work everyday. They pretty much do a good job of getting better every day.” 

Sophomore Jacurri Brown leads the Vikings on offense with 1,802 yards of total offense and 19 touchdowns this season. He’s followed by senior running back and linebacker Gary Osby who has 16 rushing touchdowns this season. 

Osby has been apart of the Viking teams that were close to a state championship but not close enough. 

It’ll take listening to not repeat prior year’s failures. 

“We have to listen to our coaches and know our roles,” Osby said on Thursday. “Past playoff games—I’m not going to say we struggled—but the games were close or we lost the games because we weren’t listening to what coach told us to do. We just have to come together and listen to what coach wants us to do.” 

The Vikings enter the postseason as the highest ranked team in 7A. 

It’s a position that they were in two years ago and they stumbled. 

Last season they made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated. 

This year they want it to be different.  

“They know,” McPherson said on the team having a playoffs mentality. “These guys grew up around here. They know you can win it all or get knocked off. They know all about it.” 

Lowndes will face Hillgrove on Joe Wilson Field at Martin Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m.