2005 Tucker Tigers Real-Life Dynasty

[digamma]

text message from SkyDog:

17-0 SWD, 3rd qtr.

[digamma]

Tucker ball. 4:28 left. Trailing 17-2.

[digamma]

And that's the final score.

We have to wait till next year again.

[primelord]

Ugh. That's disappointing. I will be interested to hear what happened. Did Asher play?

[Ben E Lou]

Man, I don't even know where to begin. Random thoughts.

• Deep down, with all the youngsters playing on this team, I felt we weren't a state championship team. Still, I thought we could have made it at least into the third round.
• Turnovers will kill you. We turned it over at least five times, maybe six. Hard to remember 'em all. Twice we turned it over in the red zone, and another time we turned it over in our own territory, directly leading to a SWD touchdown.
• Our coaches did a solid job, but I have to give the devil his due: Buck Godfrey put on a coaching clinic at Adams Stadium tonight. That brutha was ON. SWD exploited our weaknesses in their first drive of the game for a TD, then it became a field position war for a bit. Rioux punted 'em DEEP in their own territory, down to the 2. SWD ran a couple of plays for three or four yards. Then, on third and six and it looking like we'd get very good field position, the sumbitch called a quick kick. The flanker took a pitch deep and kicked it. That sucker rolled all the way down near our 30 yard line. Later, with the game on the line and faced with a fourth and inches at their own 20something yard line in the fourth quarter, they lined up to go for it. Everybody and his cousin was thinking "hard count, take the delay of game. No way he risks us taking over deep in his territory." Guess what? Yeah, with our defense watching the ball and back on its heels avoiding jumping offside, their QB ran a sneak for 2 1/2 yards and the first down. Word on the street is that Buck hasn't coached a game that well in nearly a decade.
• Asher did return to action tonight. He played only on offense and definitely provided some sparks. His biggest play was a return of the free kick after the safety all the way to the SWD 20 with about 8 minutes to play. It really looked like we were going to score a momentum-changing TD and come back. Three plays later, though, inside their 10, we fumbled it back to them. I'm really, really glad he's gonna be a Dawg. He graduates at the end of this semester, and will be in Athens two months from now.
• I can't begin to express how gutsy a season that the Myke Compton, Dwayne Harris, Jotis Head, and Anthony Cloud had. Those four seniors in particularly carried this young, young team.
• I'm not sure about next year yet. A lot of that depends on the QB situation. However, 2007 is looking very, very promising. When the current crop of sophs are seniors, and Chris Beck is junior QB (or someone emerges even better than him), look out, state of Georgia.
• Tonight was one of the most bizarre nights in my 25+ years of following high school football in Georgia. NINE of the 32 #1 seeds were dispatched. Someone posted at a high school football message board that in the past 5-10 year, no more than three #1 seeds have lost in the first round in any given season. In AAAA, not only three #1 seeds fall tonight, but big, bad Warner Robins got beaten as well. Utterly stunning.

At some point soon, I'll post about next year's hopes.

[JonInMiddleGA]

A brutal night with the turnovers, sorry things came to such an unexpected halt.

It was indeed a wild night statewide:
In AAAAA - #7, #8, and #10 are done
In AAAA - #3, #4, and #5 all lose at home
In AAA - #1 and #4 are finished
In A - #2 is knocked out
Only AA managed to keep most of the top teams alive, with only #6 Vidalia losing.

Like you, I've got 20+ years of following the playoffs & can't remember too many nights where the first round saw this many surprises among the top teams.

[digamma]

I think this is the first season since the fall of 1990 where I haven't been to at least one Tucker game.

Next season will be different, as it will be the first season where I don't really have any connections to the players on the team. If Ballard and company stay, I'll still have relationships with the coaches which is significant, in and of itself, but it will still be quite strange.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Final scores from the Elite Eight round ...
In AAAA
Statesboro 31
SW DeKalb 0

Baldwin 31
Marist 14

Northside-Warner Robins 14
Rome 2

Griffin 28
Dalton 14

Next Friday 11/25 - at the Georgia Dome
Baldwin(#2 from Reg.2) vs Northside (#1 from Reg.3) 6pm
Griffin (#2 from Reg.3) vs Statesboro(#1 from Reg.2) 9pm

-------
Other classifications (since I've mentioned a few of these teams & a few people might recognize at least 1 or 2 teams)

Class AAAAA
Lowndes 38-0 over Central Gwinnett
Brookwood 28-19 over Starr's Mill
Stephenson 20-14 over Parkview
Dacula 10-7 over #1 ranked Camden County
Final Four will be
Lowndes vs Stephenson & Brookwood vs Dacula

Class AAA Final Four
Dougherty vs Shaw
LaGrange vs Peach County

Class AA Final Four
Grady vs Calhoun
Greene County vs Charlton County

Class A Final Four
Washington-Wilkes vs Bowden
Lincoln County vs Johnson County

Of these ... Lowndes, LaGrange, and Charlton are defending state champions ... LaGrange is looking for their 3rd straight title & 4th in 5 years ... Johnson County is looking for their first championship since 1979, when they won behind a running back you might remember: Herschel Walker (they won tonight at Herschel Walker Field btw) ... Washington-Wilkes hasn't won a title since 1967, but that pales in comparison to Calhouns (1952) & Grady (1953, coached by Erk Russell) ... Peach County has never won a state football championship, neither have much newer schools Dacula & Stephenson

[JonInMiddleGA]

Results from the first day of semi-finals at the Georgia Dome ...

Class AAAA
Charles Rock scored early on a 6-yard touchdown and Statesboro played solid defense, beating high-scoring Griffin 7-0 in the Class AAAA state semifinals Friday night.

The Blue Devils (14-0), who lost against Warner Robins the title game last year, will face Northside-Warner Robins (14-0) for the division crown. Northside defeated Baldwin 28-7.

Statesboro's defense held Griffin star Bobby Rainey, who rushed 32 times for 102 yards, to just 3 yards a carry.

The Bears (12-2) came into the contest scoring 34 points a game. But Griffin had trouble against Statesboro, who also shutout Southwest DeKalb in the quarterfinals last week.

Turnovers hurt the Bears before halftime.

Griffin had a successful drive going until Jaudon Butler picked off Wade White's pass at the 20-yard line. On the next possession, Sidney Harris made a tough catch at the 5, but then lost a fumble on the ensuing play.

Rock, who had the game's only score in the second quarter, ran for 25 yards on 11 carries. His TD run was set up by Statesboro quarterback (and Michigan signee) David Cone. On 3rd & 9, Cone glanced to his left to fool the secondary for a moment and quickly turned to his right to fire a screen pass to Sharrod Natson, who ran 36 yards to the Griffin 11. A couple of plays later, Rock ran 5 yards up the middle for a touchdown.

Class AA
Calhoun was paced by 5'10" 180 lb RB Adam Urbano & advanced with a 42-20 win over Grady. Urbano scored four times, rushed for 185 yards (3 TDs) on 20 carries and caught two passes (1 TD) for 61 yards.

Calhoun will host defending state champion Charlton County, who advanced with a 34-33 win over previously unbeaten Greene County. Back to back missed PAT's (first a block, then a shank with 2:00 to play) doomed the Tigers.

Class A
Lincoln County is headed to their 17th title game in 34 seasons under head coach Larry Campbell after a 48-21 dismantling of Johnson County. The Red Devils now look for another championship, battle-tested by their first 0-3 season start since 1955.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Results from the 2nd day of semifinals at the Georgia Dome

Class AAA
Quarterback Antonio Henton ran for two touchdowns and threw for two others to lead Peach County to a 35-17 win over LaGrange in the Class AAA semifinal at the Georgia Dome.

Henton, who has commited to Ohio State, scored on runs of 6 and 8 yards in the first half. He threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Duranzo Brown and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Slaughter.

Dougherty also advanced to next week's title game by beating Shaw 30-14.

Class AAAAA
Brookwood wins the all-Gwinnett County semi-final 23-14 over Dacula & earned the chance to face defending state champ Lowndes County who returned to the finals with a 14-0 whitewash of Stephenson.

Class A
Washington-Wilkes nipped Bowdon 18-14 and will now face Lincoln County in the Class A championship game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Class AAAA
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/13315871.htm
STATESBORO - Josh Rich kicked a 29-yard field goal with 6.9 seconds remaining Friday night to lift Statesboro to a 13-10 victory against Northside the GHSA Class AAAA state championship game at Paulson Stadium.

The win completed a perfect season for the Blue Devils (15-0), who were making their third straight appearance in the title game and fourth in five seasons. The loss was the first of the season for the Eagles (14-1), who lost in the AAAAA championship game in 2001.

Rich's kick, his second of the game, came after Northside fumbled following a pass reception with less than two minutes remaining. The possession came after the Eagles had stopped Statesboro near midfield after the Blue Devils had blocked David Grayson's 39-yard field goal attempt.

Elsewhere tonight
Class A
Lincoln County gave Coach Larry Campbell his 10th state championship & his first in a decade with a 25-0 shutout of region rival Washington-Wilkes. Campbell started at Lincoln County in 1972 and has a 389-68-3 career record & is the winningest coach in Georgia history.

Security was expected to be heavy for a game being called "The Battle Of Armageddon," which goes along with the normal "The 378 War." The two schools are only some 18 miles apart on Highway 378 and who started playing each other in 1922. The loss for the Tigers is their sixth in a title game since 1985, although never before to Lincoln. With tonight's result, the all-time series between the two stands at 31-31-6.

[Ben E Lou]

COMMITMENT UPDATES:

Asher Allen-->UGA (He finished high school this semester, and practiced with the Dawgs on Saturday.)
Donnie Hardy-->Miami (OH)

Jotis Head-->Undecided
Myke Compton-->Undecided
Dwayne Harris-->Undecided

We'll probably have a small handful of other players get full or partials at smaller schools come late winter/early spring, but those are the five that are potential D1 material

[Ben E Lou]

TEAM AWARD UPDATES FROM BANQUET LAST THURSDAY

(These are the ones I can remember. I don't remember all of the official names of the awards, though, and I forgot to bring my program home.)
"Little Man With A Big Heart"--Anthony Cloud
Weight Room--Myke Compton
Venable Lineman Award--Cameron Reed (He was wearing a pin with a picture of Billy and Bill on it, too, and I'd venture a guess that Cam wears that pin more than any other current student at Tucker. Fitting. Cam is a pretty quiet kid who pretty much just brought his proverbial lunch pail to practice every day and got the job done.)
Captains--Jotis Head, Anthony Cloud, Myke Compton, Asher Allen, Donnie Hardy
Kelly Cofer Award (top student/athlete all-around Tucker Tiger...considered most prestigious award given at banquet)--Donnie Hardy

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

COMMITMENT UPDATES:

Asher Allen-->UGA (He finished high school this semester, and practiced with the Dawgs on Saturday.)
Donnie Hardy-->Miami (OH)

Jotis Head-->Undecided
Myke Compton-->Undecided
Dwayne Harris-->Undecided

We'll probably have a small handful of other players get full or partials at smaller schools come late winter/early spring, but those are the five that are potential D1 material

Myke has stated both to the press and to folks in Tucker that Maryland is the clear favorite.

Dwayne's CMU visit, scheduled for this weekend, is off. His stock went up after starring in the state all-star game a couple of weeks ago, and some of those recruiting him as an "athlete" are changing their tunes at the 11th hour. This could get interesting.

I haven't talked to Jotis since the kids came back from Christmas break, so no update there.

[Chas in Cinti]

Hey SD...

Just saw Brandon Lampkin named as an UGASports.com Elite 11 Honorable Mention for 2007... Since my Hoosiers are listed as a team of interest... can you give me some general comments?

Thanks!

Chas

[dacman]

What's up with this?

2005 Ball State Commitment list
...
RB Nick Wedlow, 5-10/185/4.63, Statesboro (GA)
OT Andre Ramsey, 6-4/291/5.4, Cordele (GA) Crisp County
G Roger Morris, 6-4/331/5.78, Jonesboro (GA)
CB Trey Buice, 5-9/175/4.4, Tucker (GA)
CB Ronald Warner, 5-9/170/4.4, Newnan (GA)
S Marcus McClure, 5-10/180/4.5, Rome (GA)
...


2006 Ball State Commitment list
...
WR Eulas Taylor, 5-10/175/-, Sandersville (GA) Washington County
OT Lance Helton, 6-5/330/5.4, Sandersville (GA) Washington County
DE Justin Woodard, 6-2/210/4.65, LaGrange (GA) Troup County
ILB Spain Cosby, 5-11/218/4.6, Villa Rica (GA)
S Brandon Houston, 6-2/195/4.5, Cartersville (GA)
ATH Terrell Johnson, 6-0/185/4.5, Cartersville (GA)
...

What's the draw for a bunch of GA boys for Muncie, Indiana?

[Chas in Cinti]

They must have an asst with some good GA ties...

-Chas

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by dacman

What's up with this?

2005 Ball State Commitment list
...
RB Nick Wedlow, 5-10/185/4.63, Statesboro (GA)
OT Andre Ramsey, 6-4/291/5.4, Cordele (GA) Crisp County
G Roger Morris, 6-4/331/5.78, Jonesboro (GA)
CB Trey Buice, 5-9/175/4.4, Tucker (GA)
CB Ronald Warner, 5-9/170/4.4, Newnan (GA)
S Marcus McClure, 5-10/180/4.5, Rome (GA)
...


2006 Ball State Commitment list
...
WR Eulas Taylor, 5-10/175/-, Sandersville (GA) Washington County
OT Lance Helton, 6-5/330/5.4, Sandersville (GA) Washington County
DE Justin Woodard, 6-2/210/4.65, LaGrange (GA) Troup County
ILB Spain Cosby, 5-11/218/4.6, Villa Rica (GA)
S Brandon Houston, 6-2/195/4.5, Cartersville (GA)
ATH Terrell Johnson, 6-0/185/4.5, Cartersville (GA)
...

What's the draw for a bunch of GA boys for Muncie, Indiana?

First off, Ball State recruits Georgia HEAVILY. I see them around Tucker as much as anyone else, so they get build relationships with coaches, and now that they're got a pipeline established, they can point to other kids from Georgia who are there. Plus, they're smart. They don't go after kids that would go to the SEC and ACC schools nearby. I'll point to Trey Buice's recruitment as an example. Trey was a captain, a hard-working kid, but didn't have the size to be a top-tier player. Throughout his high school career, Trey watches college coaches lavish Thomas Brown, Brandyn Young, Asher Allen, D.T. McDowell, Myke Compton, Dwayne Harris, etc. etc. etc. with attention, phone calls, and early scholarship offers. He works as hard as any of them, is as much of a team leader as any of them, but he's gettin' no love, no scholly offers, nothing. However, while the TV cameras and rivals.com analysts are taking pictures of Rodney Garner talking to Asher Allen, the Ball State coach is on the sidelines, out of the limelight, talking to Trey. In Trey's case, Ball State was the closest-to-home D1 schollie offer that he had (and he only had two, I'm fairly certain, but he was good enough to play a good bit as a true freshman). I'd imagine Trey's story is similar to some of those other guys'.

[DeToxRox]

Just bumping for tomorrow, I am sure you'll keep us posted, Ben.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Just bumping for tomorrow, I am sure you'll keep us posted, Ben.

I charged the digital camera at the office today in preparation. To update you on what I know...

LB Donnie Hardy-->Miami (OH) SOLID
RB/DB Asher Allen-->UGA VERY SOLID (ALREADY ENROLLED THERE)
OT/DT Jotis Head-->Valdosta St. SOLID
QB Dwayne Harris-->will decide tomorrow (shades of D.T....) East Caroina or Southern Miss, probably E.C.
RB/DB Myke Compton-->may not sign tomorrow...Georgia Southern and La. Tech appear to be leaders

(Myke's father passed away last week, so he was in Oklahoma for the funeral from Wednesday night until Sunday, slowing down the last-minute stuff with him.)

A handful of others will probably sign at least partial schollies later, but those are the most likely to sign tomorrow.

[Chas in Cinti]

SD... any comments on the Junior I asked about above (post 165)?

Thanks!

Regards,
Chas

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti

SD... any comments on the Junior I asked about above (post 165)?

Thanks!

Regards,
Chas

Sorry! Missed that.

Having been at Tucker as long as I have, I'm pretty good at identifying D1 skill position players, but less adept at linemen. That being said, Lamp is a nice player, but I think he's being touted more for his size and body type than for his skill level. He's got good feet and solid athleticism, but he doesn't have that D1 look about him to me, at least not yet. He did not play well at all in the playoff game against SW DeKalb. He transferred from there, and the SW guys knew him, and were able to get inside his head pretty early on.

One caveat for all of that, though: he DOES have TE-type athletic ability, so if he can get up to 280 or so (which seems very plausible, as 6'5" seems about right for his height) with that kind of athleticism, he could be a real force. I'll try to take a picture of him tomorrow.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Roddy is a Junior, and he is going to be BIG-time next year.

Roddy Jones committed to Georgia Tech over the weekend.