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Georgia AAAAA Championship: Lowndes vs. Parkview -- Vikings Win 17-14

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Game Report -- Lowndes vs. Parkview
The Vikings captured their third state championship Saturday night with a hard-fought victory over the Parkview Panthers. Lowndes wrapped up their first undefeated season with a game of big breaks and bigger plays.

Both defenses controlled the game in the first quarter, until Devarius Leonard forced the first Panther turnover with a bone-jarring tackle. Asmar Ceasar fell on the ball at Parkview’s 34-yard line. The Vikings only took one play to score, with a beautiful 34-yard pass from Doug Belk to Lynn Williams. Kurtis Schmidt booted the point after with 1:04 on the clock, making the score 7-0.

Parkview struck back in the second quarter with a drive aided by a pass-interference call that set the Panthers up on the Viking 22. On the next play, Parkview quarterback Jeff Witt found his tight end Michael Palmer for the touchdown to tie the game 7-7 with 9:29 left in the second quarter. When Parkview got the ball back late in the half, quarterback Witt was picked off by Antonio Townsend, who returned the ball to the 8-yard line. The Vikings then capitalized on the interception, as Belk found tight end Matt Harper in the endzone, putting Lowndes up 14-7.

The Panthers drove from their 20 to the Lowndes 11 late in the second quarter, but the Viking defense knocked Parkview back, sacking Witt twice and forcing a 45-yard field goal attempt. With the final seconds of the half counting down, Richard “The Claw”Boggs blocked the kick, allowing the Vikings to head to the locker room with a 14-7 lead.

Parkview scratched back, taking their opening drive of the second half all the way to the endzone. After a 60-yard kickoff return, the Panthers ground it out for the touchdown to tie the ballgame 14-14. Lowndes only took one series to regain the lead. After Jermel Demps returned the kickoff out to the Viking 45-yard line, Lowndes drove steadily downfield. The Panthers held Lowndes on a crucial third-down conversion at the 17, setting the stage for the orange-shoed Schmidt to kick a 34-yard field goal.

With Lowndes holding a narrow 17-14 lead, the swarming Viking defense forced Parkview to attempt a 47-yard yard field goal with 8:51 to go in the fourth. The kick fell short, giving the Vikings the ball at the 20-yard line. Lowndes then launched a clock-killing 17-play drive. The Vikings played power football, slamming the ball downfield on the ground with key plays by Octavious Everett and Williams, and a clutch catch by Harper. With a little over a minute to go in the game, the Vikings had to go for it on fourth-and-five and turned the ball over on downs.

Eighty-nine yards away from the endzone with no timeouts left, the Panthers took to the air. Parkview’s first long pass to mid-field was almost caught, but knocked out by Stevie Harden. Witt’s threw his next pass into triple coverage, and the ball was tipped, then intercepted by Harden.

Viking fans waited for hours to see this game, and the wait was well worth it. As the seconds ticked off the clock, players, coaches, and fans celebrated their best season ever. The Vikings wrapped up their first undefeated season in the “Big Orange Jungle”and won their third state championship.