Lowndes football coach Randy McPherson, who won 181 games, eight region titles and three state championships in 18 seasons with the Vikings, announced his retirement Tuesday morning.
McPherson made the news known at a team meeting three days after his team lost in the Class AAAAAAA championship game to Marietta.
“I would like to thank the Lowndes community for having me as their coach for the last 18 seasons. I have decided to retire from coaching after 37 years in coaching, I made this decision before the season began, but I did not want it to be a distraction,’’ he said. “I will always be a Viking. I plan to give some time back to my wife that I owe her. God Bless.”
McPherson was hired at Lowndes in 2002 after winning a state title in his native Florida at Madison County. Lowndes had won state titles in 1980 and 1999 but remained at times in the shadow of crosstown rival Valdosta.
McPherson took Lowndes to another level and made it the dominant program in the highest class during the first decade of the century. Running a wing-T offense and playing bruising defense, the Vikings won state championships in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
The 2019 Vikings, ranked No. 7 in preseason, were his first since 2007 to win 14 games. They climbed to No. 1 in October and held several top-10 national rankings entering the finals despite having none of the state’s consensus top-100 senior prospects.
Under McPherson, Lowndes was 12-6 against its two top rivals, Valdosta and Colquitt County. His record at Lowndes was 181-46. His overall record was 252-55.
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