Lowndes vs. Luella - Game Report
The Vikings dominated Luella Friday night, racking up a huge halftime lead on their way to a 48-21 victory. It was a game of big plays at Martin Stadium for Lowndes on both sides of the ball.

On Lowndes’ first play of the night, Lynn Williams slipped through the Lion defense, dashing 57 yards downfield. Darriet Perry moved the Vikings to the 2-yard line, and Williams punched the ball in the final yards. Kurtis Schimdt’s PAT was good, giving Lowndes a 7-0 lead.

Lowndes kept pressure on the Lion’s quarterback Cody Heffly all night. Luella’s first pass was batted by Devarus Leonard, and Joe Rogers picked it off, giving Lowndes the ball. Jermel Demps capped the drive with a run up the middle into the endzone from one yard out. Schimdt’s PAT once again split the uprights.

On Lowndes’ next drive, Stanley Dixon’s 22-yard TD run was called back for a holding penalty, but the Vikings scored with a 17-yard touchdown run by Williams. After the PAT, the score stood at 21-0.

The defense frustrated Luella’s passing game once more when Robert Frazier intercepted Heffly at the Luella’s 33. Dixon moved the ball to the 3-yard line to set up Perry’s sweep into the endzone. Still in the first quarter, the defense pounced on another Lion mistake. A botched fumble-rooskie deep in Luella territory was picked up by “Bus” Leonard. Doug Belk optioned to Perry from four yards out for the TD, giving Lowndes a 35-0 lead after another successful point-after by Schimdt.

To start the second quarter Luella drove downfield aided by two Viking personal fouls, but the Lions still couldn’t make it in the endzone. With seconds left in the half, Stevie Harden blocked a Luella punt. Frazier picked up the loose ball and dashed 20 yards to the endzone. Marc Herring kicked the PAT, giving the Vikings a 42-0 lead to end the half.

What does a coach tell his team at half-time in a game like this? Coach Randy McPherson simply tells his players, “Twenty-four more minutes to play.” The Viking reserves and JV played those 24 minutes, and gained valuable experience against the Luella varsity.

Luella came out passing to start the second half, driving deep downfield. While their touchdown appeared to be called back on a procedure penalty, the referees waved it off, giving Luella their first points of the night.

The Lowndes reserves fought back, cutting through the Luella starting defense. On a crucial third down, Jawon Smith ran the ball 28 yards to keep the drive alive. Smith then scored Lowndes’ final touchdown of the night on a powerful 33-yard rush. The PAT went wide to make the score 48-7.

The Lions closed out the night with some big plays on the Viking JV. They slipped past the Lowndes secondary for a 34-yard TD pass. Then, with 50 seconds left, Luella’s replacement quarterback Tyler Bass sped down the sidelines and cut through the defense on a 76-yard touchdown run.

Lowndes played a lot of players in their 48-21 victory over the Lions. Coach McPherson was happy with his team’s performance. “Our first bunch played real, real good. We played better than last week, executed well. We put our young kids in, and they kinda had their way with the young kids for a drive, but overall, I’m real pleased.”