Lowndes manhandles Northside-Warner Robins

Valdosta — Lowndes coach Randy McPherson compared it to playing in a state championship game, or at the Georgia Dome, or against crosstown rival Valdosta.

As his team usually does in those kinds of games games, No. 1-ranked Lowndes won again, beating No. 3 Northside-Warner Robins 24-7 in a rare game between reigning state champions before a near-sellout crowd of 13,500 at Martin Stadium.

The winning streak of Lowndes, winner of three of the past four titles in Class AAAAA, hit a school-record 20 games.

The 35-game streak of AAAA champion Northside — the seventh-best in state history — is over.

“It was a full house, screaming on every play,” McPherson said. “To win in this atmosphere, on national TV, is going to go a long way for our program. It was definitely a special night.”

AJC Super 11 back Greg Reid scored two touchdowns, and linebacker Telvin Smith had a monster game on defense with four tackles for losses, an interception and a forced fumble.

Smith’s interception at the Northside 31 early in the fourth quarter — after consecutive tackles for losses set up a third-and-long — was the catalyst for Lowndes’ clinching touchdown, Tyler Hunter’s 18-yard run that made the score 21-7 with 7:33 left.

“I just felt I had to do something to stand out,” the 6-foot-4 Smith said. “There was a lot of hype to this game, and we had to prove we had heart.”

Reid, who has committed to Florida, set up two scores on a 41-yard run and 49-yard punt return and had 118 yards rushing on nine carries.

Northside’s Xavier Bacon rushed for 111 yards on 25 carries, but he was held to 27 on 11 in the second half.

Northside’s points came on an 80-yard drive that tied the game 7-7 in the second quarter. K.J. Martin, making his first attempt of the season, scored on a 16-yard reverse. The drive’s big play was a 37-yard pass from Joe Scott to Allen Davis.

It was the only significant pass completion for either team.

Lowndes scored first on Reid’s 3-yard run with 6:30 left in the first half and went ahead 13-7 late in the third quarter on Reid’s second touchdown, a 4-yard sweep to the right. Reid’s 30-yard run on a pitchout — almost an illegal forward pass — gave Lowndes a first down at the Northside 12.

Lowndes attempted only one pass, an incompletion on the first play of the first quarter.

This was the first game between reigning state champions from the top two classifications since 1994, when Thomas County Central (AAA) beat Colquitt County (AAAA) 14-7.