Lowndes Vikings -- Dome-Bound!
The Vikings are headed to their second-straight Georgia Dome appearance thanks to their crushing 38-0 victory over the Central Gwinnett Black Knights. "I'm proud of the kids, they played their butts off," said Coach Randy McPherson.

The Vikings’ first drive might have made the fans a bit nervous. Lowndes was stopped and forced to punt, and after a return, Central Gwinnett had the ball on the Viking 49. The Lowndes defense did their job though, holding the Black Knights to 3-and-out. Stevie Hardin blocked the Gwinnett punt, giving the Vikings the ball in Knight territory.

Once Lynn Williams drove the ball in 22 yards to the 33-yard line, Devaris “Bus” Leonard took control. Leonard smashed through the middle for 7 yards, and then the Bus rumbled around the right end for Lowndes’ first touchdown of the night. The next Lowndes score brought the crowd to their feet, as Doug Belk threw a long pass to Robert Frazier for a 49-yard touchdown. Kurtis Schimdt closed out the scoring in the opening quarter with another successful point-after, giving Lowndes a 14-0 lead.

“Bus” Leonard scored his second touchdown of the night early in the 2 nd quarter. Leonard slipped through one tackle and then moved his 240-pound body downfield untouched for his 44-yard touchdown.

On the next Central Gwinnett drive, they were held to three and out once more. A host of Vikings collapsed the Knights offensive line on fourth down, and Jack Schroepher blocked the punt. John Barner then scooped up the pigskin and took it into the endzone for a defensive TD. Once the Vikings got the ball back, the offensive line blasted a hole for Stanley Dickson to sprint through for his 38-yard touchdown run. Schimdt kicked his 5 th and final PAT of the half, setting the score at halftime to 35-0.

Lowndes put in their reserves in the second half and still held the Central Gwinnett starters scoreless. Several Lowndes running backs had carries in the third quarter as the Vikings ran down the clock against the Gwinnett varsity defense. The last Viking score came early in the fourth quarter when Schmidt booted a 44-yard field goal to give the Vikings a 38-0 lead. With the running clock in the fourth quarter, as well as the third, the Vikings preserved the 38-0 shut-out against the Central Gwinnett Black Knights.

After the game, the celebrations began. An ecstatic Coach Randy McPherson addressed his team: “Man, I’m proud of y’all! We’re gettin’ ready to go back to the Dome!”