VALDOSTA – The Lowndes Vikings’ defense dominated at home in 34-7 victory against the Alcovy Tigers (1-3) Friday night.

It was Homecoming night for the Vikings and the home stands were packed as the fans were treated to a 34-0 blowout by the end of the first half. The Tigers’ lone score came on a 57-yard catch and run in garbage time.

Before that, the Tigers had struggled to even make it past midfield. It took a Vikings turnover on downs in the third quarter for them to lineup on the opposition’s side of the field.

Vikings head coach Jamey DuBose was quick to accredit his defensive line for the struggles the Tigers’ offense had Friday night.

“We just got a lot of pressure on them, we got into the run lanes and [the defensive line] played really well,” DuBose said. 

“Lanes” might be a generous way to describe what the Tigers had to run through. The Vikings allowed a grand total of five rushing yards in the game, on 19 attempts for the Tigers. 

The Vikings’ defensive line was everywhere against the Tigers. At the heart but playing on the end of that defensive front was WC Fulton. The senior swarmed the Tigers’ backfield on multiple occasions, but he was rarely alone. Nine different Vikings had at least half a tackle for a loss.

Senior Josh Pickett led the team with two tackles for loss on the night. The defensive back looked like a one-man army for the Vikings, hawking down ball carriers behind and around the line of scrimmage all night. 

“We had an advantage upfront with our D-line,” DuBose said. “We hit on some blitzes and guys played well. There was a lot of confidence in the scheme tonight.”

DeAunte Hunter also had a big night for the Vikings’ smothering defense, coming up big on some third-down pass breakups that help set the tone early in the game. The towering senior linebacker has shown up in big spots for the Vikings all season. 

It only took a few minutes Friday night for the rhythm of the game to get established as the Vikings scored convincingly on their opening drive and stuffed the Tigers in a three-and-out on theirs. 

The Tigers shanked the ensuing punt and the Vikings only had to go 37 yards to make it 14-0 on a 1-yard touchdown by sophomore Jacarre Fleming with 3:32 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers’ second drive would have ended the same as the first; a quick and efficient three-and-out, had it not been for a roughing the kicker penalty against the Vikings. 

However, three plays later the Tigers were punting the ball regardless.

The Vikings took just a few plays to score the third touchdown of the half. With the second quarter less than a minute old, Vikings senior quarterback Jacurri Brown scrambled away from pressure and found senior Chase Belcher for a 60-yard score – his fourth receiving touchdown on the season. Belcher, who moved from wide receiver to running back this year, also has a team-high seven rushing touchdowns this season. 

The Tigers lined up to punt again with 9:05 still left in the first half and the snap went right through the punter’s hands. He had no choice but to chase the ball down and fall on it before it careened into the end zone, and the Vikings were more than happy to take over from the 18-yard line. 

Falling on the ball just delayed the inevitable for the Vikings. Two plays later, Brown fired a dart to sophomore receiver Cross Galbraith for the fourth Viking touchdown of the half. A successful two-point conversion remedied a blocked PAT on the touchdown prior and brought the score to an even 28-0 midway through the second quarter.

Lowndes had its starting unit on the bench before the first half was over. After another touchdown pass from Brown, the Vikings had run up the score to 34-0 before halftime. 

Brown had himself a night, going 11 for 22 for 187 yards before the second string took the field. The University of Miami commit also threw four first-half touchdowns, each to a different receiver.

The story of the second half started the same as the first for the Tigers, who were convincingly forced off the field in three plays by a fresh Vikings defense. 

Offense was nowhere to be found Friday night as drive after drive was stuffed for the Tigers, even the couple that managed to cross the 50-yard line. 

The Tigers finally found the end zone with 3:48 left in the game on a 57-yard breakaway catch-and-run by senior receiver Mathias Height. That play accounted for over half the Tigers’ total passing yards Friday night and was by far their longest play from scrimmage.

The Vikings went 4 of 5 on fourth down Friday night as they obviously felt they could manage short-yardage situations at will, and they were mostly right. 

The Vikings also had 18 first downs to the Tigers’ six, as well as nearly triple the total yardage; 306 for the Vikings compared to the Tigers’ 69. 

The Vikings took care of business at home against the Tigers, but DuBose has the team’s sights set on the game against Cedar Grove next week. 

“This was a lesser opponent,” DuBose said. “But we got some things to go back to work with next week against Cedar Grove. Tonight was a good night for Homecoming.”

The Vikings will host the Cedar Grove Saints next Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Martin Stadium.