2005 Tucker Tigers Real-Life Dynasty

[Senator]

GO Etowah!!!

[digamma]

Nice new unis for the War Eagles. I mean, they still look like crap, but they added a little color. I'm impressed.

[Ben E Lou]

Asher's injury is a grade 3 separation. Look for him in the playoffs. With him out long-term, look for some other offensive changes, too. More on this on after Friday's game.

[Ben E Lou]

Interesting week in 6-AAAA. First off, in what was considered to be the most important matchup of the week, Chamblee spanked Pius 35-10. Meanwhile, somehow Lakeside managed to lose to North Springs. This turn of events now gives Chamblee a pretty clear inside track to a playoff spot, and virtually clinches a playoff spot for North Forsyth. The scores...

Tucker 42, Etowah 21. For the second consecutive year, we played a very, very uninspired game the week after a win over Marist. In the past five seasons, neither Tucker nor Marist has played well the week after a win over the other. We led 23-0 before the first quarter was over, but even that lead was helped tremendously by 2 Etowah turnovers in our territory. We pretty much did a sleepwalk the rest of the way. We'll really only have one practice (Wednesday) next week due to school being called off Mon. and Tues. I suspect that the boys are gonna run a good bit.

Chamblee 35, St. Pius 10. Once again, the AJC did not send a reporter to cover the DeKalb Game Of The Week, so I'm left to reading message boards and talking to people to find out what went down in this one. My understanding is that Roddy Jones had a good number of yards, and that Chamblee also threw two TD passes. They'll be riding high next week, hoping to spoil Tucker's Homecoming game.

Marist 64, Forsyth Central 0. The flip side of the letdown for the Tucker-Marist winner has been this: dating back to 2001, the last five teams who had the misfortune of playing the Tucker-Marist loser the following game lost by an average score of 44.6 to 7.2. There's nothing more serious than a pissed off Tiger or War Eagle about to blow out your ass, apparently.

North Springs 20, Lakeside 13. Unbelievable. Just when it looked like LHS was starting to get things turned around, they hand North Springs their first win of 2005. After a 3-1 start, it appears that 3-7 isn't out of the question for the Vikings.

North Forsyth beat a non-region patsy 24-3.

UP NEXT WEEK...

Chamblee tries to spoil Tucker's homecoming, and Roddy Jones hopes to show off in front of the folks he played park ball with. Roddy will get his yards, but Chamblee will fall short.

Lakeside travels to Pius in the Battle Of Teams Clinging To An Ever-Thinning Playoff Hope. The loser of this one, while perhaps not mathematically eliminated, is virtually 100% assured of packing up the equipment after game 10.

Forsyth Central and Etowah face off in the Battle To Avoid Last Place. Etowah gets their first win of the season in this one.

I don't like upstarts, unless my team is the upstart. Never have. Probably never will. Here's hoping Marist gives them complete bitch-slapping next week and reminds them that they have no place among the big boys.

North Springs is off, giving them two weeks to prepare for Marist. It won't help.

[Ben E Lou]

Chamblee and North both led in their games against Tucker and Marist, respectively, but both succumbed in the end by a TD after being shut out in the second half.

Tucker 28, Chamblee 21 (Cha 21-7 at the half)
Marist 21, North Forsyth 14 (NF 14-0 at the half)

Dang it! I prefer that upstarts be beaten like they'd stolen something, but it is good to see both of them put in their places in the second half.

Up next: Pius and N.O. transfer Ronald Cousins.

I'll give more detail on the Tucker game tomorrow. I'm too tired to get into it much right now.

[Ben E Lou]

Chamblee came out rockin' last night. They're a pretty good football team. We had a key turnover in the first half, but otherwise, their 21-7 halftime lead was pretty much self-manufactured. We were driving for a chance to score when the half ran out. Roddy played both ways nearly all night long for them, and had a very good game. He is, as I've said, the real deal. I'd look for him to be a Top-20-or-better back in the nation as a Senior, perhaps a member of the Rivals 100, even. I'd go so far as to say that if he'd chosen to attend his home district (Tucker) rather than go into the magnet program, Tucker would be virtually unstoppable this year. Dat boy run so good...

Anyway, enough of the Roddy platitudes for now. The THS coaches and players went through a real gut-check at halftime, and were found worthy. Dwayne, Derrick and Myke led the way on offense, and the defense shut 'em down in the second half. A fairly balanced diet of Compton runs, Big H to Little H passes, designed runs for Big H, and scrambles got us two TD's in the third quarter to tie things up. The difference-maker came on a third and five or so in our own territory with the score knotted at 21 about midway through the fourth quarter. Gliatta called good ol' toss sweep left to Compton. (I will ALWAYS root for a team that runs the toss sweep on third and five.) Myke found a crease, and that was all he needed. BAM 28-21 good guys. Ol' SkyDog was singing a little "California Love" on the sidelines ("In the city...city of Compton...we keep it rockin'") as the stadium rocked. Tucker 28, Chamblee 21.

One thing is becoming clear to me: without Asher, this is a Region Championship team, but probably not a State Championship team. When we lost Thomas in '03, we still had enough talent to make a strong run at the title without him (and probably would have had him for the finals had we not had five turnovers in the semis). I don't see us making a run that deep without Asher. He is scheduled to return for the playoffs, but what is unclear to me is what kind of shape he's going to be in with nearly two and a half months off. Of course, the 17-year-old body is remarkably resilient. Let's not forget Andrew Childers returning to the starting lineup in the playoffs after nearly dying during emergency surgery to remove a ruptured spleen in early September. Only time will tell us what will happen with Asher.

[digamma]

Tucker's in a battle tonight. Up 14-10 in the fourth quarter, but St. Pius is driving deep in Tucker territory.

[digamma]

St. Pius scores.

Tucker blocks the PAT.

16-14 Pius with a little under six minutes left.

Tucker will have to drive for the win in a heavy rain.

[digamma]

Tucker is at the 50 with just under three minutes left.

[digamma]

First and goal at the five.

[digamma]

Tucker to bring on the field goal unit on fourth down. :22 left.

[digamma]

Nevermind. GOING FOR IT ON FOURTH AND GOAL IN THE RAIN.

[digamma]

TOUCHDOWN TIGERS!!!!

2 point conversion no good. Tucker leads 20-16 with :16 left.

[digamma]

Pius ball at their own 35. :13 left.

[digamma]

And the final....Tucker 20, Catholic Lite 16.

Go Tigers!

[primelord]

How do we not get an indepth update from Ben on this game?

[SirFozzie]

Ben's probably got racking pneumonia from the rain

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by primelord

How do we not get an indepth update from Ben on this game?

'Cause he had an all-night lock-in immediately after the game, and therefore basically all he did on Saturday was sleep and watch the UGA game.


As they say, rain is the Great Equalizer. Add to that injuries that kept three defensive starters out of this one, and you end up with a close one. Pius is a well-coached team that has done well against everyone else in the region in the past except Tucker. They have not our speed and quickness at all. Well, on Friday night, our guys were unable to plant and cut very well. It rained from Thursday afternoon on in Atlanta, and there was a steady moderate-to-heavy rain for nearly all of the game. Pius is a little bigger than us, so they were able to win the battle at the line of scrimmage a little more often than we were. However, Dwayne made some great plays with his arm and with his feet, just enough to give us a lead.

In the fourth quarter, we led 14-10 and had the ball in our own territory. Compton ran straight up the middle, and broke free into the secondary. He ran over the free safety, and had nothing but wet field in front of him. He looked to have a game-clinching TD. However, as he veered toward the sideline, it looked like he tried to shift the ball into his outer hand, and that sucker just squirted right out. Pius recovered, and drove it for the go-ahead TD. Myke blocked the extra point.

We got the ball back after the kickoff with 5-6 minutes to play, and just came out in the I and did some power running with Compton, mixed with a QB draw or two, getting us into Pius territory. With a minute and a half or so to play, Dwayne and Myke made a highlight-film play to put us near paydirt. It was 2nd and long, and Dwayne appeared to bobble the snap. It looked like a broken play that would put us in big trouble. Dwayne was JUST about to be dragged down for a 5-7 yard loss when he noticed Myke standing behind him and off to the side. He managed to twist his body around before he went down, and make an ugly-looking pitch to Myke. 25 yards later, Myke was hauled down by his face mask, and the penalty set up the first and goal at the five. It took us four plays to pound it into the end zone against the bigger Pius team, but we managed to do it. Dwayne got the sneak on fourth and goal, and the win was sealed. As far as going for the field goal there, on that wet field and with a wet ball, I liked the call when it was made. As wet as the field and ball were, hoping for a good snap, good hold, AND good leg-plant by K Steve McClure felt like a lot to ask.

Here's the very brief AJC writeup. You'd think when their #3 team in the state nearly gets upset by a .500 team, it would merit more, huh?

Tucker 20, St. Pius 16: Myke Compton and Dwayne Harris were all Class AAAA's No. 4 Tucker needed to stay unbeaten at 7-0 and 5-0 in Region 6-AAAA. Compton carried 21 times for 160 yards and Harris ran for 86 yards and three touchdowns, including a 1-yard score in the fourth quarter ).

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Ben's probably got racking pneumonia from the rain

After spending a game standing in the rain, then staying up all night with 120 middle school kids, SWMBO is pretty much 100% sure that I'll be getting sick soon.

[Ben E Lou]

I will say this: our boys have shown great character in the fourth quarter the last couple of weeks.

Around the rest of the region, the favorites all held serve, but games were much closer than anticipated, probably also due to the rain:

Marist 27, North Springs 7
North Forsyth 12, Etowah 7
Chamblee 24, Forsyth Central 14
Lakeside was off.

Looking at those scores of three games that all should have been blowouts helps put the Tucker-Pius game in a little more perspective.

NEXT WEEK
Tucker at Forsyth Central--Tucker should win this by >5 TD's, although I'd imagine that anyone with the slightest injury will sit this one out for us. Marist hung 64 on these boys.

Etowah at North Springs--Winner of this one avoids any chance of finishing last in the Region. Etowah should take this one by 10 points or so.

Marist at Lakeside--Most of LHS's best players were at YL on Thursday night. I now have a pretty good idea why they folded up the tent after the Tucker loss. Most of their top players seem to believe that they don't have a prayer against Marist, even with the entire off week to prepare for the option. With attitudes like that, they won't have a prayer.

Chamblee at North Forsyth--This is definitely the Region 6-AAAA game of the week. If North wins, they actually would still have a shot at finishing first in the region by upsetting Tucker. Chamblee can pretty much lock up a third-place finish in the Region with a win. In all likelihood, the winner of this one finishes third in the Region, which could prove to be important for advancement in the state playoffs. Region 6's #3 plays Region 5's #2 in the first round. Region 5 is looking pretty unimpressive this year, and there's a decent chance that whoever finishes #3 in our region will be able to grab a first-round playoff win, which would give nice momentum for either the North or Chamblee program going into next season. Further, the winner of that first round game will likely play Region 7's #1 team, and Region 7 isn't looking too good, either. It certainly appears within the realm of possibility for our #3 to win that game, too, and make it to the q-finals. That would be a HUGE boost for either program. There could be a lot riding on this one.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, I guess I'll comment on my thoughts for the Chamblee-North showdown next week. I haven't seen North play this year, but based on past experience, I don't see them shutting down a strong and fast back like Roddy. Bulldogs over Raiders.

[oliegirl]

This is totally off topic, but I'll post it anyway...I was thinking about you the other day - I am Spirit Wear Co-Chair for my son's school/PTA and we used Patricia's Spiritwear for our fall stuff, I was over there picking some stuff up and was right in front of Tucker High School! If you don't know where they are (and I am sure you do), they are right off First and Main next to the bank Next time I am there I'll wave to you!

[Ben E Lou]

We're still pretty banged up on defense. Starters Chad Sims and Cody Davis are Doubtful at best for tonight, and of course Asher is still out. That being said, there's little chance that Central will give us much of a game tonight. However, we *really* need Chad and Cody next week against North.

[primelord]

*cough* update *cough*

[digamma]

41-7 Tigers.

[Ben E Lou]

Injuries or no injuries, we're a much, much better team than Forsyth Central, and demonstrated it on the field last night. Myke Compton led the assualt with 12 carries for 152 yards and 2 TD's, and an interception return for a TD. Dwayne threw some crisp passes and had a handful of impossible escapes from the pocket, and the Tigers rolled 41-7. The Forsyth Central faithful were really marvelling at Dwayne. Elsewhere around the Region...

WHEN YOU GOT A HOSS, YOU RIDE HIM!!! Chamblee gave North Forsyth large doses of Roddy left, Roddy right, and Roddy up the middle en route to a 24-20 come-from-behind win. He had 38 carries (and keep in mind that we're talking about a 48-minute game, not 60) on the night.

In the most meaningless game of the night, Etowah beat North Springs 31-7. Finally, Marist whupped LHS 42-19.

CURRRENT PLAYOFF PICTURE

1. TUCKER (6-0)--We've got it virtually locked up now, even if North Forsyth can pull off the upset next week, because the Raiders now have two losses, and there's pretty much zero chance that Tucker loses to North Springs in the finale. By virtue of the win over Marist, we'd win a tiebreaker with them in the event of the upset next week.

2. MARIST (6-1)--By my cipherin', Marist cannot fall to #3, even if they lose their finale against Pius. At worst, they'd finish 6-2 in the Region. The only others that could get to 6-2 are Chamblee and North, and both already lost to Marist.

3. CHAMBLEE (4-2)--Just like the two above 'em, it would take pretty much a miracle for Chamblee to drop any lower than this slot. They're extremely unlikely to lose either of their two final games: Lakeside and North Springs. They'd have to lose one of those AND North Forsyth would have to upset Tucker for N.F. to slip into #3. Ironically, although the Bulldogs are now in *much* better position than North, Chamblee hasn't officially clinched a playoff spot yet. If the wheels were to completely came off the bus, and they lose both games and Pius wins their last two (including the finale against Marist), St. Pius X technically COULD sneak in, but that's very much a long shot.

4. NORTH FORSYTH (5-2)--I didn't look carefully enough to notice that the Raiders went into last night having already clinched a playoff spot. They've only got one game left now: Tucker. A loss to the Tigers only drops them to 5-3 in the Region. The only team below them who can finish 5-3 is Pius, and North already disposed of Pius this year. As mentioned above, they have very little chance of climbing to #3.


We've got North for Senior Night next week. Last year, the game couldn't impact playoff seedings, so the Raiders completely tanked it, sitting out nearly all of their best players--injured or not, I'm told. While mathematically they *could* climb to #3, realistically it is highly unlikely. I wonder if they'll bother to play next week.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by primelord

*cough* update *cough*

Heh. I'd already started working on the update when you posted this. I've been busy all morning and into the afternoon, between giving the newly-arrived Diplomacy game a run-through, and final preparation for my first middle school club meeting of the year, which is tonight. My bad.

[Ben E Lou]

We've got ourselves a big one tonight. North Forsyth is comin' to town, and they think they can derail the Tiger express. The good news for us is that at least two of our key defensive starters, Cody Davis and Chad Sims, will return. Chad's return is particularly timely, because North's QB also plays cornerback. Chad is a VERY big and physical receiver for high school. He's up to 6'1", 205 pounds. Hopefully Chad's blocking for running plays will help wear down their QB.

Just so y'all know, I won't be posting an update tonight. I've got a leadership overnight, and we're planning on leaving from the stadium. I'll be posting the score and my impressions some time late Saturday afternoon.

[Ben E Lou]

I LOVE it when upstarts get reminded of where they belong in the natural order.

Tucker 49, Wannabes 7

Their QB was quoted in a North Georgia newspaper article saying something along the lines of "When we played Chamblee, they smacked us in the mouth, and we smacked them in the mouth. Tucker's a finesse team. They'll lay down when we smack them in the mouth."

Ha!

We dominated this one all night long, and I'm not sure that P Joe Rioux saw the field, other than to hold for extra point after extra point, until the fourth quarter. Dwayne put up some stupid numbers: 7 for 10 for 228 yards and 3 TD's. He hit Compton on an 80+-yarder, and OL/LB-turned receiver Charles McCoggle for ANOTHER 80+-yarder. Charles caught a bomb that was actually tipped by another receiver. He was trailing the play, and when the ball popped in the air, he snagged it in full stride and took it to the house.

For the first time this year, we played a complete 4-quarter football game against a decent opponent, and the results were awe-inspiring. This was a very, very good win for the Tigers!

[Ben E Lou]

In other 6-AAAA action...

Chamblee 31, North Springs 8
Pius 32, Central 0
Etowah 21, Lakeside 14
Marist was off.

This week's results serve to render all results next week meaningless as far as playoff implications go. All four teams and seedings are now set:

1. Tucker
2. Marist
3. Chamblee
4. North Forsyth

[Blade6119]

What year is roddy by the way?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

What year is roddy by the way?

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

[digamma]

It's looking like Tucker will be in the quadrant of death again this year.

The first round play-off match-up looks to be a fairly easy test against Southwest Dekalb, a historically strong school (Quitsey Carter is an alum) that isn't as good this year.

The second round game also appears to be manageable. It looks like it will be Rockdale County (assuming they win against either Murray County or Gordon Central). Against any of those teams, Tucker should have a significant advantage in terms of speed and athletic ability.

Then, it gets interesting.

The top half of their quadrant features Statesboro (we all remember them) and most likely Warner Robins. Warner Robins had been ranked number one in at least one of the polls all season before being knocked off in overtime this past weekend by their arch-rival Northside Warner Robins (also a top five school). The good news is this game would be at "home" for Tucker--though last year's game against Statesboro was at home also.

Win that one and the Dome game is likely against Lee County, a south Georgia school, just outside of Albany. They upset perennial power Thomas County Central 42-41 Friday night.

Marist would get the easier road to the Dome again, facing Salem in the second round and Creekside in the quarterfinals. I don't know anything about Salem, but I could definitely see Marist winning that one. Creekside usually has pretty good athletes and puts together a really strong team every several years. That could be a war. Of course Creekside will likely have to get past either Ware County or Thomas County Central (two South Georgia powers). They play this weekend and the loser falls into that quad. The winner of that game gets to play Northside WR in the second round--another case where the easier path to the Dome may go to the loser.

One more week of regular season play!

(Ben, correct anything I have wrong--I'm not sure of some of the region's tie breakers.)

[primelord]

Any update on Asher?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by primelord

Any update on Asher?

Great question, but not one I'm really willing to discuss publicly. Keep in mind that he has spent 7 of our 9 games in street clothes on the sidelines. Only one other person with no responsibilities during the game has spent more time on the THS sideline this year: me. As a result, we've talked a ton this year, and some of that needs to be confidential, but do the math on the information that is available to the public:

1. He is graduating at the end of this semester, and enrolling in a Top 10 college program in just a little over two months.
2. Tucker has never won a state title, and clearly has a better chance to do so with him in there.
3. The injury has recurred once, and is the kind that could happen again.
4. Tucker's team doctor is a shoulder/knee specialist, and his "6 weeks until fully healed" opinion is well-respected.
5. The hit against Marist where he re-injured his shoulder was a clearly a bad decision by him. He led with his bad shoulder when he could/should have led with the other one, or simply pushed the kid out of bounds. Instead, he just UNLOADED on him with a bad shoulder.

What would you say it all adds up to?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by digamma

It's looking like Tucker will be in the quadrant of death again this year.

The first round play-off match-up looks to be a fairly easy test against Southwest Dekalb, a historically strong school (Quitsey Carter is an alum) that isn't as good this year.

The second round game also appears to be manageable. It looks like it will be Rockdale County (assuming they win against either Murray County or Gordon Central). Against any of those teams, Tucker should have a significant advantage in terms of speed and athletic ability.

Then, it gets interesting.

The top half of their quadrant features Statesboro (we all remember them) and most likely Warner Robins. Warner Robins had been ranked number one in at least one of the polls all season before being knocked off in overtime this past weekend by their arch-rival Northside Warner Robins (also a top five school). The good news is this game would be at "home" for Tucker--though last year's game against Statesboro was at home also.

Win that one and the Dome game is likely against Lee County, a south Georgia school, just outside of Albany. They upset perennial power Thomas County Central 42-41 Friday night.

Marist would get the easier road to the Dome again, facing Salem in the second round and Creekside in the quarterfinals. I don't know anything about Salem, but I could definitely see Marist winning that one. Creekside usually has pretty good athletes and puts together a really strong team every several years. That could be a war. Of course Creekside will likely have to get past either Ware County or Thomas County Central (two South Georgia powers). They play this weekend and the loser falls into that quad. The winner of that game gets to play Northside WR in the second round--another case where the easier path to the Dome may go to the loser.

One more week of regular season play!

(Ben, correct anything I have wrong--I'm not sure of some of the region's tie breakers.)

I think you've got it all right. Bottom line: whoever wins the bottom left quadrant (Tucker, Statesboro, Warner Robins) is likely to be the most "battle-tested" of the Dome teams.

[Ben E Lou]

Tonight, Tucker beats the crap out of North Springs in a meaningless game. As has been mentioned, all four Region playoff slots are set and can't be changed by anything that happens this weekend. I may even leave this one early, to be honest. If it is anything like last year, Ballard will call off the dogs to some extent as early as the second quarter. We started fair-catching all their punts at that point last year, I think, so the offense could get to actually get on the field. If we don't do that, Myke and Derrick could easily have a least couple of punt returns for TD's each by halftime. If we haven't put up 35 by halftime, then we're not playing hard.

The only other 6-AAAA games are Marist-Pius and Chamblee-Lakeside. Marist-Pius could be interesting, as Pius, now that Ronald Cousins is playing a good bit, is probably the best #5 seed in the state of Georgia, and this is a rivalry game.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, tonight is Bill Ballard's 50th game as Head Coach. He'll run his record to 46-4 during that time.

[Ben E Lou]

Just got back. I left a little early as it was quite cold out there, and Myke had asked for my skull cap, leaving me wiht one cold, bald head. We were up 40something to 13 early in the 4th quarter when I left, but the mercy rule had been activated, so those 9-10 minutes left probably didn't yield much more scoring, if any at all. Myke ran a kickoff back for a TD, and had an 80-yarder on a toss sweep (Are you listening, CMR?) on the first play of the second half to finish his and Dwayne's work for the night.

Marist beat the crap out of Pius, and Chamblee did likewise against LHS. I talked to someone who was at Chamblee-LHS in the car on the way home, and he said that Lakeside basically quit in the second quarter. Geez.

[Ben E Lou]

Latest bracket update....

[wbatl1]

Is SW Dekalb gonna play Marist or Tucker? I heard both on the high school football show last night. Either way, that game will be a fun one.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by wbatl1

Is SW Dekalb gonna play Marist or Tucker? I heard both on the high school football show last night. Either way, that game will be a fun one.

Going on the assumption (a pretty safe one) that Washington wins tonight, it would appear that SW DeKalb will fall to the 4th seed in that Region, by virtue of their loss to Columbia. That being said, when there's a Region split into sub-Regions, like 5-AAAA is, it is up to the Region's coaches to pre-determine how the playoff seedings will be determined, and I'm not familiar with that Region's procedures. What is for sure is that if Washington wins tonight, Washington and Mays are the subregion champs, leaving SWD and Columbia second in each sub-region, with one loss each. It would make sense that the two subregion champs get the #1 and #2 seeds. After that, my assumption is that since Columbia beat SWD, they get the #3, and Southwest is #4.

[Ben E Lou]

Still nothing "official-looking" anywhere, but from conversations I've had with those who should know, it looks the first round (6-AAAA vs. 5-AAAA) will be as follows:

1 Tucker vs. 4 SW DeKalb
2 Marist vs. 3 Columbia
3. Chamblee vs. 2 Mays
4. North Forsyth vs. 1 Washington

I'm thinking our top 3 teams should be considered the favorites, and that North has a chance at an upset, too.

[Ben E Lou]

PLAYOFF GAMES INVOLVING 6-AAAA TEAMS

Region 6#1 – Tucker Tigers 10-0-0
Region 5#4 – Southwest DeKalb Panthers 6-4-0

Tucker
Scoring Offense: 36.8
Scoring Defense: 14.8
Scoring Differential: +22.0

Tucker vs. Playoff Teams: 3-0-0
Tucker 27 Marist 24
Tucker 28 Chamblee 21
Tucker 49 North Forsyth 7

Southwest DeKalb
Scoring Offense: 20.2
Scoring Defense: 11.8
Scoring Differential: +8.4

Southwest DeKalb vs. Playoff Teams: 0-4-0
Southwest DeKalb 7 Columbia 21
Southwest DeKalb 0 (AAAAA) Stephenson 6
Southwest DeKalb 16 Washington 19
Southwest DeKalb 10 Mays 30

Series Record: Tucker leads Southwest DeKalb 7-3-1
1966 – Southwest DeKalb 13 Tucker 9
1967 – Tucker 21 Southwest DeKalb 13
1978 – Tucker 15 Southwest DeKalb 13
1979 – Tucker 28 Southwest DeKalb 7
1980 – Tucker 7 Southwest DeKalb 0
1981 – Tucker 3 Southwest DeKalb 0
1982 – Tucker 14 Southwest DeKalb 13
1983 – Tucker 7 Southwest DeKalb 7
1983 – Southwest DeKalb 14 Tucker 10
1984 – Southwest DeKalb 28 Tucker 6
1985 – Tucker 13 Southwest DeKalb 10

This game features DeKalb County's two winningest programs of all time. They're the only two teams with >400 wins. SWD is a traditional powerhouse with state titles in their resume. Their Head Coach, Buck Godfrey, is a legend who really should have retired 5+ years ago. It has been a little sad to watch the Panthers recently. The game has clearly passed Buck by. It is a testimony to something, perhaps just plain ol' bad luck, that Tucker owns so many wins against SWD but no state titles. The Panther supporters still come out in droves. Tucker should win this one fairly handily, but expect a packed house and an electric atmosphere as these two marquee-named programs do battle.

Region 6#2 – Marist War Eagles 9-1-0
Region 5#3 – Columbia Eagles 8-2-0

Marist
Scoring Offense: 35.7
Scoring Defense: 11.0
Scoring Differential: +24.7

Marist vs. Playoff Teams: 2-1-0
Marist 34 Chamblee 14
Marist 24 Tucker 27
Marist 21 North Forsyth 14

Columbia
Scoring Offense: 23.7
Scoring Defense: 14.7
Scoring Differential: +9.0

Columbia vs. Playoff Teams: 1-2-0
Columbia 21 Southwest DeKalb 7
Columbia 23 (AAA) M.L. King 25
Columbia 14 Washington 19

Series Record: Marist leads Columbia 6-1-0
1980 – Marist 24 Columbia 20
1980 – Marist 21 Columbia 20
1981 – Columbia 24 Marist 10
1996 – Marist 21 Columbia 0
1997 – Marist 42 Columbia 0
1998 – Marist 47 Columbia 0
1999 – Marist 51 Columbia 0

Obviously, Columbia struggled mightily against Marist when they were in our Region. There's not a lot of reason to believe that they'll give them much resistance on Friday night, either.

Region 5#2 – Mays Raiders 8-2-0
Region 6#3 – Chamblee Bulldogs 8-2-0

Mays
Scoring Offense: 27.6
Scoring Defense: 12.5
Scoring Differential: +15.1

Mays vs. Playoff Teams: 2-2-0
Mays 16 (AAA) Westlake 15
Mays 7 (AAAAA) Douglass 20
Mays 7 Washington 12
Mays 30 Southwest DeKalb 10

Chamblee
Scoring Offense: 26.5
Scoring Defense: 15.4
Scoring Differential: +11.1

Chamblee vs. Playoff Teams: 2-2-0
Chamblee 26 (AA) Wesleyan 20
Chamblee 14 Marist 34
Chamblee 21 Tucker 28
Chamblee 24 North Forsyth 20

Series Record: 0-0-0
First Meeting

This one is an upset in the making, I think. I don't see Mays having an answer for Roddy.

Region 5#1 – Washington Bulldogs 8-2-0
Region 6#4 – North Forsyth Raiders 7-3-0

Washington
Scoring Offense: 19.8
Scoring Defense: 8.7
Scoring Differential: +11.1

Washington vs. Playoff Teams: 3-1-0
Washington 0 (AAAAA) Douglass 2
Washington 12 Mays 7
Washington 19 Southwest DeKalb 16
Washington 19 Columbia 14

North Forsyth
Scoring Offense: 21.6
Scoring Defense: 18.6
Scoring Differential: 3.0

North Forsyth vs. Playoff Teams: 0-3-0
North Forsyth 14 Marist 21
North Forsyth 20 Chamblee 24
North Forsyth 7 Tucker 49

Series Record Since 1980: 0-0-0
First Meeting

North has struggled against teams with good speed, and Washington (a virtually all-black school inside the Atlanta city limits) has plenty of it. That being said, Washington is probably the least-impressive-looking #1 seed in the state this year. I think the Bulldogs win this one by 2 or 3 TD's, but if North can take an early lead, look out.

[Ben E Lou]

Home School	H	Predicted Score	V	Visitor School	Score
Baldwin (2-AAAA)		14-26	X	Ware County (1-AAAA)
Creekside (4-AAAA)	X	23-16		Upson-Lee (3N-AAAA)
Dalton (7N-AAAA)	X	14-12		Habersham Central (8-AAAA)
Douglas County (4-AAAA)		23-39	X	Warner Robins (3S-AAAA)
Griffin (3N-AAAA)	X	29-8		Sandy Creek (4-AAAA)
Lee County (1-AAAA)	X	33-15		Wayne County (2-AAAA)
Marist (6-AAAA)	X	34-15		Columbia (5W-AAAA)
Mays (5E-AAAA)	X	22-22		Chamblee (6-AAAA)
Northside, Warner Robins (3S-AAAA)	X	35-2		Haralson County (4-AAAA)
Rockdale County (8-AAAA)	X	28-25		Murray County (7N-AAAA)
Rome (7S-AAAA)	X	24-18		Madison County (8-AAAA)
Salem (8-AAAA)	X	21-15		Gordon Central (7S-AAAA)
Statesboro (2-AAAA)	X	24-14		Bainbridge (1-AAAA)
Thomas County Central (1-AAAA)	X	46-15		Effingham County (2-AAAA)
Tucker (6-AAAA)	X	31-14		Southwest DeKalb (5E-AAAA)
Washington (5W-AAAA)	X	17-17		North Forsyth (6-AAAA)

Picks courtesy of Ken Massey, publisher of one of the computer rankings used in the College BCS


...So Massey has Tucker and Marist picked to win handily, and Chamblee and North both having shots at an upset. I'll stand by my comments above: Chamblee wins, but I just don't see North handling Washington's speed. Tucker and Marist win by 2-4 TD's each.

[Ben E Lou]

GAME OF THE WEEK

Tucker vs. S.W. DeKalb
Neighbor schools strangers on field

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/03/05 Tucker and Southwest DeKalb are 8.1 miles apart, but the two schools have not played a football game against each other since 1985.

For the first time in more than two decades, the two longtime area powerhouses will meet, this time in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Adams Stadium.

RENEÉ HANNANS HENRY / Staff (ENLARGE)
Tucker tailback Myke Compton has carried most of the load for Tucker's offense this year with fellow senior Asher Allen out because of a shoulder injury. The Tigers were 10-0 in the regular season.

"Yeah, when you sit back and think about it, it is kind of odd that Tucker and Southwest DeKalb haven't played in so many years," Tucker coach Bill Ballard said. "I guess a lot of it has to do with Southwest DeKalb being in a larger classification than us.

"They've spent most of their time in Class AAAAA, while we were in AAAA. And before that, when the state was divided into four divisions, Southwest DeKalb was in AAAA, while we were in AAA. So we just weren't in the same classification; therefore we both played different schedules.

"And then, when you look at playing someone as a nonregion game, there are still 18 DeKalb County schools playing football, so you can't play everyone."

Even though Tucker hasn't played Southwest DeKalb during Ballard's tenure, the coach said he is well aware of the Panthers. He also considers longtime Southwest DeKalb coach Buck Godfrey one of his mentors.

"Coach Godfrey and I talk from time to time," Ballard said. "He is a man with a lot of wisdom."

Asked about not playing Tucker in 20 years, Godfrey said he was unsure of the reasons: "I hadn't really though about it, but that is a long time. However, the logistics of this county are so out of whack . . . it doesn't surprise me."

Tucker, the No. 1 seed from Region 6-AAAA, completed the regular season 10-0. Southwest DeKalb (6-4) was the No. 4 team from 5-AAAA.

"Southwest DeKalb was not the reward we wanted for winning the region," Ballard said. "When you look at their season and take a close look at what happened, they could've very easily been a No. 1 seed. They are definitely not a typical No. 4, no sir."

Tucker was expected to contend for this year's region championship, mainly because it returned such senior standouts as quarterback Dwayne Harris and tailback Myke Compton. However, Ballard said, winning the region was tougher than it looked because the Tigers were forced to insert younger players because of injuries.

"We have six sophomores on defense," Ballard said. "We knew we were going to be young, but not that young. However, this team has gotten better as the season progressed. The close ballgames served us well. We now know how to fight and come back if we are behind."

At Southwest DeKalb, Godfrey and his staff have been watching film of Tucker and feel good about their chances on Friday.

"I think we match up pretty well with them," Godfrey said. "Tucker is a lot like many of the teams we play: They make big plays on offense and really attack you on defense."

GAME OF THE WEEK

• Who: Tucker vs. S.W. DeKalb

• When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Adams Stadium

• Records, rankings: Tucker is 10-0, ranked No. 3 in Class AAAA; S.W. DeKalb is 6-4 and unranked.

• Last meeting: Tucker won 13-10 in 1985.

• Series record: Tucker leads 7-3-1.

[Ben E Lou]

Tucker goal: Get Buck to stop here
Game against Godfrey's Panthers first since '85

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/04/05 Tucker's Bill Ballard will go against one of his coaching mentors in Friday night's opening round of the state playoffs.

No. 3-ranked Tucker (10-0) plays unranked Southwest DeKalb (6-4) at 7:30 p.m. at Adams Stadium in the Class AAAA playoffs. Southwest DeKalb's longtime coach is Buck Godfrey, who has been at the helm of the Decatur school since 1983 and has 211 career victories.

This is the first meeting since 1985 for the schools, which are 8.1 miles apart."We've never played each other since I've been at Tucker, but Coach Godfrey and I talk from time to time," Ballard said. "He has a lot of wisdom to share."

Ballard was named Tucker's coach in 2002, and he said after a particularly tough loss he got a personal letter from Godfrey, offering encouragement and suggestions.

"That really meant the world to me, that he would take time out and do that," Ballard said. "Coach Godfrey really is a living legend. It's mind-boggling when you think about the positive impact he has made on the lives of thousands and thousands of young men over his coaching career."

When asked about his correspondence with Ballard, Godfrey said, "That's just the coaching fraternity. I admire any coach that does things the right way, and they do a lot of good things at Tucker."

Tucker enters the postseason with an undefeated record for the fourth time in the past five years. Tonight's game could see the return of Tucker's Asher Allen, who is rated the state's No. 4 prospect and has committed to the University of Georgia. The two-way starter at cornerback and tailback missed most of the regular season with a separated shoulder.

With Allen on the sideline, Tucker's offensive load has been carried by tailback Myke Compton (1,214 yards rushing, 14 touchdowns) and quarterback Dwayne Harris (1,158 yards passing, 10 touchdowns).

The 6-foot, 205-pound Harris has gracefully handled the pressure of following in the footsteps of former Tucker great D.T. McDowell.

"Dwayne is an excellent quarterback; he can throw it as well as run it," Ballard said. "He is truly a student of the game. He knows where everyone should be on offense and defense on every play."

Harris always like spreading the ball around, throwing to 12 receivers this year, including his younger brother, Derrick, a sophomore. The older Harris has scholarship offers from Boston College, North Carolina and Southern Mississippi, among others, and says he has no early favorite.

[digamma]

Aside from my interest in Tucker, this game has additional sentimental value to me. I was weened on SWD football. My grandfather was principal there until just before I was born and my mom taught there in the late 70s and early 80s. Some of my earliest memories are going to SWD games one night of the weekend with my mom (she was the cheerleading sponsor) and to Shamrock or Walker games the other night of the weekend with my dad.

Two SWD games stand out in particular. One was the Todd Rampley fog game. Rampley was a hot shot quarterback recruit from Peachtree High School. He ended up going to Georgia Tech where he backed up John Dewberry in the mid 80s. His claim to fame there was stepping in after Dewberry got suspended prior to the All-American Bowl in 1985 and leading Tech to a win over Michigan State.

So, Peachtree and SWD played in an early round play-off game. Both teams were talented, but SWD was favored and was a favorite to win the state title. It was supposed to be a shoot out. The game was played at Memorial Stadium. A fog rolled in early in the game and for most of the game you couldn't see the field from the stands. That took away almost all of the offense. Rampley led Peachtree to the upset 10-7.

I also remember traveling up to Clarke Central one year to watch a state quarterfinal play-off game between SWD and CC. This was when Clarke Central was absolutely loaded (as was SWD). The atmosphere at Clarke was everything you read about Southern high school football. Packed stadium. Redneck fans who live and die with the team's success. I don't remember the game being very close, and SWD was again on the short end of the stick.

Early, I was definitely fascinated by SWD, Buck Godfrey and the Panthers. Cedric Stallworth and Steve Davenport are still my two favorite Georgia Tech players of all time.

Of course, I grew up, learned a little more about ol' Buck and the luster wore off.

GO TIGERS!!!

[primelord]

Any web casts of this game tonight?

[digamma]

Probably not until the quarterfinals.