Lowndes High School (Valdosta, Georgia) completed the perfect regular season with a 28-17 win over Colquitt County High School (Norman Park, Georgia) on Friday. The win gave the Vikings their fifth undefeated regular season the program’s history and cemented their standing as the favorite headed into the postseason.
Here’s what we learned from the big win.
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Jacurri Brown plays like a veteran.
Nothing new here, as Brown, just a sophomore, has come up big all year for the Vikings, but he really earned his stripes in Friday’s win. When Lowndes needed a lift offensively, Brown answered the call whether it was rumbling 64 yards down to the 2-yard line midway through the third quarter to setup a touchdown to retake the lead or a 14-yard touchdown run to extend it, Brown was a problem all night for the Packers. Brown will be the focus of every team’s defense in the postseason, but that has been the case all season and Brown has consistently found a way to produce.
The Vikings defense was stellar.
Colquitt County came in to Friday’s game riding a potent offensive attack that was pumping in 40 points a game, but the Vikings managed to hold them to less than half of that production. In the second half, the Vikings won the battle in the trenches, driving the Colquitt County offensive line backward and stuffing the run. It was the perfect scenario for the Vikings headed in to the postseason, where the defense will need to produce consistently.
Special teams could be key for Lowndes in the postseason.
As good as the Vikings defense was in the second half, Lowndes’ special teams gave it great field position multiple times in Friday’s win. As the postseason begins and every advantage big and small is factored in, the Vikings can build on Friday’s momentum and put their offense in the best position. The Vikings will get every team’s best shot from here on out and big returns could mean the difference between wins and losses.
Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY
