The Skinny
The Lowndes Vikings and Marietta Blue Devils will meet in the GHSA 7A Championship on Saturday. This game should be a classic North vs. South GA battle. This is only the second meeting between the two schools.
The Lowndes Vikings are in the Finals for the first time since 2007. The Vikings are undefeated at 14-0 for the first time since 2005. In their playoff march, the Vikings have defeated two No. 1 seeds, a No. 2 seed and a No. 4 seed. In their four-playoff games, Lowndes is averaging 39.7 points per game while the defense is allowing 17.5 points per game. Last week, the Vikings surrendered the most points in a game all season. In the win, Jacurri Brown threw for 168 yards and 3-TDs and also rushed for 200 yards and 2-TDs. On the season Brown has thrown for 1,253 yards and rushed for 1,508 yards and accounted for 29-TDs. Tiberius Drocea leads the team in total tackles with 90, while Thomas Davis leads the team in sacks with 11.5. On the season, the Vikings have tallied 51 sacks as a team. A win this Saturday would earn the Vikings their first title since 2007.
The Marietta Blue Devils are in the finals for the first time since 1967. The Blue Devils have now won 7-games in a row and they have won 12 games in a season since 1994. In Marietta’s run to the finals they have defeated two No. 1 seeds, a No. 2 seed and a No. 3 seed. In the playoffs, the Blue Devils are averaging 40.7 points per game while the defense is allowing 19.5 points per game. Last week, Harrison Bailey threw for 423 yards and 5-TDs. Arik Gilbert caught 9 passes for 178 yards while Ricky White caught 10 balls for 139 yards. On the season, Bailey has thrown for 4,000 yards and 44-TDs. He’s also completing 69% of his passes. Kimani Vidal has rushed for 1,511 yards and 22-TDs while Gilbert has caught 90 passes for 1,614 yards and White has caught 92 passes for 1,246 yards. A win this Saturday would earn the Blue Devils their first state title since 1967.
Lowndes has been almost unstoppable all season. We believe Marietta has enough weapons on offense to keep pace with Jacurri Brown and the Vikings. We like Marietta by 4 in a high scoring game.