Vikings victorious over Devils

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Austin McCant shakes off a Lowndes tackler on a second quarter punt return. Shine Rankin/sgasports.net

October 27, 2012

Vikings victorious over Devils

Becky Taylor CNHI The Tifton Gazette Sat Oct 27, 2012, 12:20 AM EDT

TIFTON — The Lowndes Vikings used their top-notch rushing attack in securing a victory over the Tift County Blue Devils, 42-7.

The night started off on a sour note for the Devils as they were called for holding on the first play from scrimmage. Ryan Wedgeworth, who returned as starting quarterback, completed a pass to Beau Bergeron on third down, but it was not enough to move the chains and the Devils were forced to punt.

Mason Gann's punt was fielded by Nicholas Burgman on his own 45. He made his way left and started running downfield, not stopping until he hit paydirt 55 yards later. Gustavo Gonzales added the extra point and Lowndes led 7-0 at 9:48 in the first quarter.

Tift would start their next possession with a 12 yard burst by Rashad Daniels, but two plays later Daniels would fumble at the Devil 49. Lowndes' Sam Washington would pick the ball up and carry it 14 yards before finally being brought down.

The gain from the turnover would be short-lived.

Jordan Williams would get a Viking first down on a second down run, but two plays later Alex Stephenson dropped back to pass where he was caught by Sam Douglas and Javion Dunnum and dropped the ball. The fumble would be recovered by Jack Lee at the Devils' 30.

Luck, though, would seem to be against the Devils. On the first play of the new drive, Wedgeworth would have to scramble and get rid of the ball, but he was called for intentional grounding, sending them back to their own 4.

From there, neither Daniels nor Wedgeworth could move forward and Gann had to punt from his own 1. He boomed a 49-yarder, but the Vikings were able to return it to the Devils' 35, setting them up in good position for their next drive.

They wasted little time, Burgman moving them to the 5 on runs of 19 and 10 yards. After another run, Stephenson snuck it in at 1:52 in the 1st. Another Gonzales kick and the Vikings were up 14-0.

Tift would go 3-and-out and Lowndes would have the ball to start the second quarter.

After five consecutive runs, they decided to give Stephenson's arm another chance. He lofted a pass to Kenny Moore, who caught it at the 10 and went the rest of the way for the 48-yard score, increasing the lead to 21-0.

After three plays, the Vikings had the ball again and wasted no time.

Williams would carry the ball for 25 yards and seeing he had the hot hand, Lowndes gave him the ball once more and he would complete the drive with a 31-yard touchdown run. Gonzales kicked another through the uprights and the lead was now 28-0 with 7:34 remaining in the half.

Wedgeworth then put the team on his shoulders and got Tift's second and third first downs of the night with consecutive runs of 13 and 28 yards. The latter moved them into opposing territory for the first time, but momentum swung back in Lowndes’ favor as a sack and another run for a loss ended the drive.

Gann punted the Vikings down to the 10 and the Devils' defense would stop the Vikings after four plays and 21 yards.

Tift looked to have things going in their favor after Lowndes was called for catch interference, but Wedgeworth would be sacked on the first play of the drive at his own 20 and the Vikings' Chandler Sumlin would recover.

Lowndes would need only one play and scored when Tevin Brown ran it in from 19 yards at 1:50.

The Devils, though, would not go quietly in the half. Austin McCant took the kickoff and raced down the Devils' sideline and was not stopped until he reached the 14 yard line.

Wedgeworth would run it 13 yards on the next play down to the one, but was unable to get the ball over the line on the next two plays. Daniels would then receive the handoff and punch the ball in from the three, putting the Devils on the board. Frankie Mejia's kick was good and the lead was now 35-7, and they would carry that score into the half.

The third quarter would start out quietly, the Devils getting a 3-and-out, aided in part by Bryson Chaney's 4-yard sack of Stephenson.

The Blue Devils would then start a drive of their own, taking the ball from their own 35 down to the Vikings' 32 on the strength of the legs of Daniels.

They would then try to go for it all with Wedgeworth launching a deep ball, but the jersey he found at the other end was white as Jumacey Wright made a diving interception at the one.

Lowndes would start up the ground game yet again and began biting off chunks of yardage, using four backs and getting gains of 13, 14, 15 and 26 yards.

The last would belong to Ahman Brown, who completed the 99 yard drive with a multiple tackle-breaking run up the middle at 1:51 in the third quarter, giving his team a 42-7 lead.

Both teams would switch to substitutes in the fourth quarter. Kris Miller picked up 15 rush yards on the final Devils drive, but they would be unable to push it further when a third down pass was dropped.

The Vikings would run out the clock for the 42-7 finish.

Lowndes would be led by a trio of rushers - Williams had 86, Tevin Brown, 79, and Ahman Brown with 70.

Burgman, who started the game with the punt return score, had 29 yards on two carries, but left the game with an injury after his second carry and did not return.

Stephenson only attempted two passes and completed one for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Daniels ran 15 times for 46 yards and a touchdown. Wedgeworth completed 3 of 8 passes for 29 yards.

Tift County gets an opportunity to rest next week before finishing their season in Brunswick.

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