Eric Thomas played quarterback in the 1978,79 and 80 rivalry game. He led the Vikings to a 15-14 victory in the 1979 regular season game by scoring the winning 2 point conversion. In 1980 he led the Vikings to a 6-0 region championship victory over Valdosta as Lowndes went on to win there first state championship. For his three year career against Valdosta, Eric threw for 476 yards and three touchdowns. Eric ranks 4th on the all time Vikings list with 3817 yards and 53 touchdowns.