Lowndes-Colquitt County: A battle of top-3 teams

Published 11:18 am Wednesday, November 4, 2020

MOULTRIE – It will be the kind of matchup that football fans look forward to, but don’t get to see every year.

The stands at Tom White Field and Mack Tharpe Stadium will only be at 40-percent capacity on Friday, but the spectators fortunate to be there will see two of the state’s top programs going at it.

When Lowndes takes the field for the 7:30 kickoff, the 6-0 Vikings will be ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in Class 7A in Georgia, depending on the poll.

They are also ranked No. 3 nationally by High School Football America; No. 8 by MaxPreps; No. 9 by USA Today and Massey Ratings; and No. 23 by CalPreps.

Colquitt County, 5-0, is No. 3 in Georgia’s Class 7A. The Packers are No. 11 in the Massey Ratings, No. 30 in the High School Football America poll and No. 51 in CalPreps.

There will be pretty good pedigrees on both sidelines on Friday.

The winner will have the inside track to win the region title and get plenty of November home cooking.

Both teams feature high-scoring offenses and frugal defenses.

Lowndes needed a touchdown with 5:47 remaining to hold off Tift County in its region opener last Friday.

The 17-14 victory, easily the closest the Vikings have had this season, did not dissuade Colquitt County coach Justin Rogers of his high appreciation of the team’s talent and intangibles.

“They are a good, good team,” Rogers said, pointing out that Lowndes was coming off a two-week quarantine when it played Tift County. “It should be a good game. Neither team needs to make a big mistake.”

The Vikings reached the state championship game last year before losing to Marietta 17-9.

That loss left Lowndes with a 14-1 record in Randy McPherson final season as head coach.

Counting the 6-0 start under Jamey DuBose, the Vikings have won 20 of their last 21 games.

One of those wins came by a 28-17 score over the Packers at Martin Stadium last November.

If there has been a significant drop-off for the Vikings this season, Rogers hasn’t seen it.

“They have got a lot of team speed and they play with a lot of pride,” Rogers said. “And you know they are going to be well-coached.”

He is especially wary of the Lowndes defense.

“Everybody is going to have to be on their toes because they can create a lot of negative plays,” Rogers said. “They have a lot of pressure packages and they are not afraid to blitz. Hey, they have the players to do it.”

The blitzes and other pressure will give the Packers some opportunities.

“But we are going to have to be able to run the football at times,” Rogers said. “We can’t be in a lot of third-and-long situations. That’s not where you want to be with attacking defenses. Then they get a chance to just tee off on you.”

And when the Vikings have the football, the Packers’ mission will be clear.

Stop Jacurri Brown.

And like all the other teams that have tried to slow or stop the Vikings junior quarterback, that is way much easier said than done.

“He’s the straw that stirs their drink,” Rogers said and used as an example the late Vikings drive against Tift County last Friday when they were down 13-10.

“They just put the ball in his hands,” Rogers said. “He toted it every play.”

After being off for two weeks, Brown passed for 162 yards and ran for 75 more to keep the Vikings from being upset by the Blue Devils.

What makes Brown so demoralizing is that even when defenses fit the plays correctly and get to him, they find him exceedingly difficult to get to the ground. He is big and strong.

And if a tackler misses, he has the speed to turn in long-gainers.

“He throws decently,” Rogers said. “So he creates a lot of stress for defenses. He is a talented, talented, talented young man.”

Under DuBose, the Vikings offense is a little more wide-open, Rogers said.

“He’s got a little different style offensively,” Rogers said. “He puts more stress on the secondary.”

The Packers will counter with a team that has allowed just 12.8 points per game in its five victories.

Dothan scored 27, the most by any Colquitt opponent, but still lost by 36.

Last Friday, in its region-opening 34-13 win over Camden County, the Packers were up 24-0 before the Wildcats scored with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

Colquitt added another touchdown and a field goal before Camden scored a meaningless touchdown with 10 seconds remaining.

The Packers got a big game from senior quarterback Xavier Williams, who rushed for 152 yards, including scoring runs of 59 and 71 yards.

A relative unknown before the season, Williams has made extraordinary strides, despite lack of experience because of the virus shutdowns and quarantines.

Williams also has been progressing as a passer, even though he did not throw for a score against Camden County.

He has completed nearly 63 percent of his passes and taken advantage of a talented receiving corps that includes Lemeke Brockington, Baby D Wheeler, Orion Bonner, Ontavious Carolina and freshman Landon Thomas.

He has thrown for a region-leading 12 touchdowns in five games.

The Packers have been solid defensively, counting on a stout forward wall and rugged secondary, both areas that will be severely tested on Friday.

Gamal Wallace has been the ring-leader defensively, but he has had plenty of award winners in supporting roles. Outside linebacker Pershaun Fann leads the Packers with 30 tackles.

The Packers have been especially productive on special teams, which have blocked five kicks this season.

They also have strong kick returners in Brockington, Wheeler and Bonner, and senior Emmanuel Perez has been consistent in place-kicking and punting.

Also on Friday, Tift County, now 2-4, will travel to Kingsland to meet Camden County, 4-4 and owner of a three-game losing streak.