An above .500 record in 2015 and several returning starters will make expectations high for head coach Randy McPherson and Lowndes this season.
The Vikings coasted through non-region play with a 4-1 record a season ago but region 1-AAAAAA, the toughest region in the state, was difficult for McPherson and company, as the team posted a 2-3 record in its last five games before ultimately bowing out of the state playoffs in the first round at the hands of McEachern.
This season Lowndes will bring back a total of 11 starters, four on offense and seven on defense, with hopes of pushing itself back into the top tier of its region.
“We were young last season,” McPherson said of his 2015 campaign. “It took most of the season to perfect the new offensive and defensive schemes. Most of the team is back, though, and we should be able to execute well. I expect our team to be highly competitive.”
Wide receiver Xavier Jenkins will headline Lowndes’ list of players to watch offensively, but the Vikings defense could ultimately end up being the team’s greatest strength. Four of McPherson’s seven returning starters are defensive backs in Fred Stewart, Tymere Moore, J.T. Smith and Jourdan Wright, and the team will also bring back starting linebackers Jeffery Davis and Will Tolbert.
Despite the returning experience, Lowndes will need to be in mid-season form come August, as the team’s early-season schedule is no joke. After facing Bainbridge, a team who won 13 consecutive games and made it to the AAAA state semifinals in 2015, in a preseason scrimmage, the Vikings will open the regular season with archrival Valdosta. After a bye week on October 7th, Lowndes will face Tift and Camden at home in consecutive weeks before taking a trip to Moultrie to close out the regular season versus Colquitt County.
Lowndes Vikings
Jenkins, Strong Secondary Play Have Vikings’ Hopes High
Written by Jacob Dennis
Photo by Marque Milla Reese
