Real-Life 2003 Tucker Tigers Dynasty

[Ben E Lou]

From this morning's AJC:

War Eagles' slick play-calling does the trick
By MICHAEL CARVELL
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

Marist's Chris Davis was so exasperated after the 31-19 win over No. 3 Tucker on Friday that he refused to believe that he had scored three touchdowns in the game.

"I only got one [score]," Davis insisted. When a reporter went over each of the three touchdowns with Davis, the senior tailback began laughing.

"Oh yeah, that's right," he said. "I forgot, I guess. I was so caught up in the moment, beating Tucker for the first time in three years, that I hadn't really thought about the individual stuff."

Davis was the key figure in the win for the War Eagles: he ran for a touchdown, threw for a score and caught a touchdown, all in front of an estimated crowd of 7,000 fans at Marist. The No. 4-ranked War Eagles (3-0) went into their bag of tricks often in the game between two of Class AAAA's top teams.

On Marist's first offensive play, Andrew Card sprinted 62 yards on a flanker reverse to set up a score. The War Eagles went ahead 14-3 in the first quarter when Anderson Russell threw a halfback pass 22 yards to Davis for a touchdown.

In the second quarter, Marist lined up for fourth-and-1 and backup quarterback Christopher Ashkouti took the snap and pitched to the regular quarterback, Sean McVay, who had a "quick-punt" for 53 yards to the Tucker 2-yard line.

The War Eagles scored their final touchdown when they faked an option play to the right while Davis snuck out of the backfield toward the other direction. McVay threw a short pass to Davis, who had gotten behind the Tucker defense and ran for a 76-yard touchdown.

"We work hard on our [trick plays]," Marist coach Alan Chadwick said. "We've got to keep people off of us because everyone knows we run the option."

Said McVay: "Tucker has so much athleticism that we had to throw some trickery in there to throw them off."

Tucker's Thomas Brown, who is considered to be one of the top tailbacks in the nation and has committed to the University of Georgia, rushed for 169 yards and one touchdown.

It was the first loss of the season for Tucker (2-1).

"Tucker is still a good team and will still go deep into the playoffs," Chadwick said. "I would even venture to say that we might see them again sometime this year. They never quit, even when they were down in the second half."

Tucker 10 0 0 9 -- 19
Marist 14 10 0 7 -- 31

M -- Sean McVay 5 run (Mike Mattimore kick)
T -- FG Blake Harr
M -- Anderson Russell 22 pass from Chris Davis (Mattimore kick)
T -- Thomas Brown 55 run (Blake Harr kick)
M -- FG Mattimore 30
M -- Chris Davis 2 run (Mattimore kick)
T -- FG Harr 37
M -- Davis 76 pass from Sean McVay (Mattimore kick)
T -- Brandyn Young 1 run (pass failed)

[Ben E Lou]

"Tucker is still a good team and will still go deep into the playoffs," Chadwick said. "I would even venture to say that we might see them again sometime this year. They never quit, even when they were down in the second half."

Bold statement there by Coach Chadwick. He's putting it out there. The way the brackets are drawn in Georgia, the only way the Tigers and the War Eagles meet again is for ALL the marbles in the State Championship. Now THAT would be big fun!

[Ben E Lou]

REGION 6-AAAA WEEK 3 RESULTS

TUCKER AT MARIST
Marist 31, Tucker 19.

FORSYTH CENTRAL AT RIVERWOOD
Central wins 23-6, pretty much assuring Riverwood of going 0-10 again.

SOUTH FORSYTH AT NORTH FORSYTH
South whupped 'em 35-7.

NORTH SPRINGS AT ST. PIUS X
Pius makes a stride toward that #4 playoff spot as they win 20-19.

DUNWOODY AT CHAMBLEE
Tonight (Saturday).

[FrogMan]

tough loss. I listened to part of it through the webcast and followed the rest with digamma's reports. Tough loss.

FM

[Ben E Lou]

Region 6, Class AAAA
Team	W/L Record	Region W/L	Region Pecentage
Marist	3-0-0	2-0-0	1.000
South Forsyth	3-0-0	2-0-0	1.000
North Springs	2-1-0	1-1-0	0.500
Tucker	2-1-0	1-1-0	0.500
Chamblee	2-1-0	1-1-0	0.500
North Forsyth	1-2-0	1-1-0	0.500
St Pius X-Atlanta	2-1-0	1-1-0	0.500
Forsyth Central	1-2-0	1-1-0	0.500
Dunwoody	0-3-0	0-2-0	0.000
Riverwood	0-3-0	0-2-0	0.000

[Ben E Lou]

Oh...Chamblee squeaked by Dunwoody 19-18 on Saturday night.

[cthomer5000]

SkyDog,

How many regions are there in Class AAAA?

How are the playoff spots decided? Obviously regional winners would be guaranteed, but are there basically wildcard spots?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
SkyDog,

How many regions are there in Class AAAA?

How are the playoff spots decided? Obviously regional winners would be guaranteed, but are there basically wildcard spots?

Excellent question, and one that I should have addressed earlier!

There are 8 Regions. The top 4 teams from each region advance to the state playoffs, giving you five weeks of playoff action. In the first round, the #1 seeds from each Region all play #4 seeds from a different Region, and the #2 seeds play #3 seeds. The semi-finals of all five Classes are played at the Georgia Dome, but the finals are played at the home field of one of the finalists.

[Alf]

Marist Chris Davis had 3 TDs. Classy game

- 1 passing TD
- 1 running TD
- 1 receiving TD

[Ben E Lou]

Alright...here we go. Week 4. Here are the matchups, and my predictions:

Marist at North Springs
The Spartans opened up the season with blowout wins over weaker teams, but lost a heartbreaker last week to a solid, but unspectacular, St. Pius X team. If they couldn't beat Pius, they won't hang with Marist. Marist 28, North Springs 3

Riverwood at South Forsyth
I hope South agrees to run the clock ASAP. They can probably score as many as they want. South 42, Riverwood 0

Dunwoody at Tucker
Dunwoody has been very unimpressive this year, and they're facing a group of angry Tigers. Tucker 35, Dunwoody 7

North Forsyth at Chamblee
Chamblee continues to make a claim at the #4 playoff spot. Look for their matchup with Pius on October 10th to determine #4. Chamblee 27, North 7

St. Pius X at Forsyth Central
Central struggled with Riverwood last week. 'Nuff said. Pius rolls: St. Pius 38, Forsyth Central 13

[Ben E Lou]

Tucker played its most complete football game in the young season tonight, waxing Dunwoody 38-0. Thoomas had 16 carries for 104 yards and a TD, and DT was 7 for 13 for 99 yards passing. The defense REALLY shone tonight, holding Dunwoody to only one first down in the first half, and five on the night, and scoring two defensive TDs--an 85-yard interception return by Hamilton Sims and a 33-yard fumble return by Clay Muirhead. Brandyn "B.Y." Young added another interception, and Clay had another fumble recovery. B.Y. also had a 2-yard TD run. I'll write a full recap tomorrow.

[Ben E Lou]

WEEK FOUR TUCKER RECAP

Tucker played its most complete football game of the young season tonight against the Dunwoody Wildcats. Still smarting from last week’s loss, the Tigers appeared to have something to prove, and prove it they did. The defense was particularly ferocious most of the night in turning in the first shutout of the year.

The tone was set for the night on the opening possession. Dunwoody tried to open the game as Marist had done, with a trick play. They appeared to run a toss sweep to the right side to the tailback, but the tailback attempted a throwback to the quarterback. However, it was snuffed out by the Tigers and fell incomplete. The Wildcats went three and out on that possession, and Brandon Lang blocked the ensuing punt, putting the Tigers in business in Dunwoody territory. A few plays later D.T. McDowell found the end zone on a five-yard run, and Blake Harr’s extra point gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

A bit later, after Dunwoody’s only first down of the first half, which happened to be an 88-yard run down to the Tucker 10-year line, Hamilton Sims intercepted a pass and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown. Finally in the first half, Clay Muirhead stripped the ball from the QB late in the half and held on for a credited fumble recovery, and Blake Harr hit a 35 yard field goal to close out the half with the Tigers leading 17-0.

The Wildcats’ defense played with nine men in the box most of the first half, giving the Tigers some problems running the ball, but the Tucker coaching staff made some fine adjustments at halftime. To begin the second half, the Tigers got the football. Thomas Brown affirmed the halftime adjustments by ripping off a 25-yard run early in the drive, and Tucker efficiently drove down the field, capping the drive with a 6-yard TD run by Brown. Clay Muirhead gave the defense its second TD of the night when a fumble bounced right up into his hands at full stride, and he galloped 33 yards for his first career touchdown. Brandyn Young closed out the scoring with a 2-yard TD run, and Tigers had cruised to a 38-0 victory.

Thomas Brown led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 104 yards and 1 touchdown, and D.T. McDowell was 7 for 13 for 99 yards passing. As mentioned above, Clay Muirhead had two fumble recoveries. Hamilton Sims and Brandyn Young each chipped in an interceptions, with Hamilton’s return going the distance. All-in-all, it was a fine performance by the Tigers, and we look forward to seeing them in action next week at the Homecoming game against North Springs.

[Ben E Lou]

AROUND THE REGION--Week 4
Chamblee 32, North Forsyth 22
South Forsyth 54, Riverwood 0
St. Pius X 35, Forsyth Central 3
Marist 37, North Springs 21

[Ben E Lou]

Region 6, Class AAAA
Team	W/L Record	Region W/L	Region Pecentage
Marist	4-0-0	3-0-0	1.000
South Forsyth	4-0-0	3-0-0	1.000
North Springs	2-2-0	1-2-0	0.333
Tucker	3-1-0	2-1-0	0.667
Chamblee	3-1-0	2-1-0	0.667
North Forsyth	1-3-0	1-2-0	0.333
St Pius X-Atlanta	3-1-0	2-1-0	0.667
Forsyth Central	1-3-0	1-2-0	0.333
Dunwoody	0-4-0	0-3-0	0.000
Riverwood	0-4-0	0-3-0	0.000

[Ben E Lou]

Alright...here we go. Week 5. Here are the matchups, and my predictions:

SKYDOG'S REGION 6-AAAA GAME OF THE WEEK
South Forsyth at St. Pius
The Golden Lions would tremendously bolster their playoff hopes if they could upset South tonight. Pius will be up and the crowd will be into it, but I just don't see them having the firepower to pull this one out. South Forsyth 31, St. Pius 14

OTHER 6-AAAA ACTION
North Springs at Tucker
The Spartans blew a 19-0 lead against St. Pius two weeks ago, and then were behind 28-0 by halftime against Marist last week. Their season appears to be headed south, while Tucker looks like we're just starting to hit our stride. Furthermore, tonight is homecoming for the Tigers. I look for Tucker to continue to jell and put up a big win. Tucker 35, North Springs 7

North Forsyth at Dunwoody
Neither team has done much this year, but I see Dunwoody putting up their first win of the season tonight. This definitely isn't the game o' the week, but it is probably the toughest call in the region. Dunwoody 18, North Forsyth 14

Chamblee at Riverwood
This one slipped up on Ol' SkyDog. It was played on Thursday night. I'll have to be honest and say I would have picked a Chamblee blowout (like 42-7 or something). It turns out they somehow struggled against the Region's patsies. Final score: Chamblee 31, Riverwood 24

Forsyth Central at Marist
I'm guessing that the War Eagles won't have to punt in the entire first half. Marist 49, Central 13

[Ben E Lou]

Wow. In front of a near-capacity Homecoming crowd, which included coaches from UGA and Nebraska (among others), them Tigers opened up a SERIOUS can against North Springs tonight! Tucker rolled up a 35-0 lead by halftime. We never punted in the first half. Tucker emptied the bench in the second half, and the final score was 35-6.

[Ben E Lou]

Whoa! St. Pius pulled off the upset tonight! They scored 17 second-half points to pull off a come-from-behind 17-13 win over South Forsyth. That's a HUGE win for them, one that now puts them in the drivers' seat for a playoff birth, and actually gives them the inside track toward finishing #3 in the region. If Pius can beat Chamblee in two weeks (which they should), they'll virtually assure themselves of finishing no better than #3 in the Region. If that scenario comes to pass, I'd say that it is HIGHLY unlikely that anyone other than South will claim the #4 spot.

In other action, Marist destroyed Central 57-0, and in a mild upset in a game between two also-rans, North won 17-7 over Dunwoody.

[Ben E Lou]

Off week this week at the half-way point. Here are the latest Top 10's for the state:

Georgia AP Sportswriters Top 10 Poll - 10/01/03

CLASS AAAA

1. Thomas County Central (8) (3-0) 134
2. Marist (5) (5-0) 129
3. Shaw (5-0) 110
4. Tucker (4-1) 67
5. Ware County (1) (3-1) 64
6. McNair (5-0) 61
7. Pebblebrook (3-0) 46
8. Douglas County (4-0) 44
9. Thomson (3-1) 28
10. Dalton (3-0) 23

Others receiving votes: Sandy Creek 16, Rome 9, Westlake 9, Mays 7, Cedar Shoals 6, Troup 6, Paulding County 4, Woodward Academy 4, LFO 2, Clarke Central 1



AJC AAAA Top 10 - 9/29/03

Rank
School Name
Record

 
 
 

1
Thomas Co. Central
3-0

2
Shaw
4-0

3
Marist
5-0

4
Tucker
4-1

5
Ware County
3-1

6
Dalton
3-0

7
Sandy Creek
4-0

8
Westlake
4-0

9
Cedar Shoals
4-0

10
Pebblebrook
3-0

[Ben E Lou]

Everyone in Region 6-AAAA is off this week, and we're at the half-way point of the season. At this point in the season, the AP and the AJC have their Top 4 Teams identical:

1. Thomas County Central
2. Shaw
3. Marist
4. Tucker

A brief word about the two teams above Tucker and Marist is in order. TCC has made it to the semis in the Dome several times in recent memory, and it seems whenever they're there, they beat Marist 30something to 30something in the last minute of the game. (Seriously, I think they've had three last-minute wins in the state semis against Marist in the last 5 or 6 years). Last season was typical: they won a 35-34 thriller against the War Eagles. They lost the championship game by a 42-27 count to Thomson (who lost most of their key players from that team. Thomson is 3-1 and unranked by the AJC, and #9 in the AP Poll, and not considered at this point to be a serious threat to win it all again). At any rate, the TCC Yellow Jackets obviously have a winning tradition.

Shaw destroyed Tucker 37-7 in the quarterfinals last year, and then fell to Thomson in the semis 27-10. The Raiders have a 265-pound fullback with decent speed, and a very good running back as well. Both had very good games against Tucker last year, and they're back, along with (I've heard) the ENTIRE offensive line. However, Shaw is known year-in and year-out for their DEE-FENSE, and this year is no different. The Raiders have given up a grand total of seven points in their four games this year. They won it all three years ago, and if I recall, the score of the final was 30-0. From what I saw last year, and having heard that most of that squad is back, I'm thinking they are the team to beat. On a personal level, Shaw is the school I would have gone to had I gone to public high schools. Three kids of first cousins of mine are at Shaw, and one of them is on the team.

Finally, here's my take on Region 6-AAAA for the rest of the way. Realistically, there are five teams in the hunt for the four playoff spots. I'll focus on those five.

CHAMBLEE (4-1, 3-1 Region)
It appears that they play up, or down, to the level of their competition. Only beat Dunwoody by 1, and Riverwood by a TD, but hung with South Forsyth. They have to "run the gauntlet" with back-to-back-to-back games against St. Pius, then Tucker, then Marist. I look for them to fade during that run, just like they did last year. Give that Pius coaching staff two weeks to prepare for them, and they'll beat 'em, probably by more than the 10-7 count from last year, and then the again-discouraged Bulldogs lose big to Marist and Tucker.

SkyDog's Prediction: 6-4, 5-4, out of the playoffs.

MARIST (5-0, 4-0)
Looking well-nigh unstoppable in their quest to win their first Region title in three years, except for one thing: they will likely be facing an EXTREMELY charged-up 8-1 St. Pius team on November 7th. Pius and Marist are the two largest Catholic Schools in metro Atlanta, they're only about 6 miles apart, lots of the kids know each other, and Pius hasn't beaten Marist in like 20 years. Ain't no way the itty-bitty stadium at Pius (by FAR the smallest in the Region...probably only holds 1,500 people) is gonna hold the crowd that'll be at this one. Marist is the better team, but anything could happen on that day, especially if Pius can get a little momentum early.

SkyDog's Prediction: 10-0, 9-0, Region Champs.

SOUTH FORSYTH (4-1, 3-1)
That early-season win over Chamblee will probably prove to be the difference-maker in them grabbing the Region's last playoff spot. They've got Marist and Tucker back-to-back after the off week. They'll fall to 4-3 before rebounding to make the playoffs.

SkyDog's Prediction: 7-3, 6-3, #4 Playoff Seed

ST. PIUS (4-1, 3-1)
They fought hard against Tucker. They upset South Forsyth. They appear to be gaining steam and confidence every week. These guys might just be for real. Plus, despite the big game looming with Marist on Nov. 7th, they have one of the easier schedules in the final 5 games.

SkyDog's Prediction: 8-2,7-2, #3 Playoff Seed

TUCKER (4-1, 3-1)
The Tigers appear to have hit their stride. That 35-point first half against North Springs was pretty awe-inspiring. Back-to-back games against Chamblee and South will likely prove to be mere bumps in the road, and North, Central and Riverwood are likely to get steamrolled. The Tigers clearly have the easiest remaining schedule of these five teams.

SkyDog's Prediction: 9-1,8-1, #2 Playoff Seed

STATE PLAYOFFS
IF the brackets are the same as last year (and they're not posted yet on ghsa.net), and Marist as #1 seed is stuck in the same bracket as Shaw, I look for the War Eagles to fall to the eventual champion Raiders in the quarterfinals, and for Tucker to have an offensive shootout on the turf with Thomas County Central in the Dome, with the winner getting the privilege of getting hammered by Shaw in the championship game. Pius could win one playoff game, but will likely be out by round 2. South likely falls in the first round.

[Ben E Lou]

The off week is done, and Region 6-AAAA returns to action tomorrow night! Here are Ol' SkyDog's takes on the matchups:

SKYDOG'S 6-AAAA GAME OF THE WEEK: MARIST AT SOUTH FORSYTH
These birds of a feather are set to lock horns up in Cumming. South is sure to be motivated after a tough loss to St. Pius last week, and they have had 2 weeks to get ready to stop the 'bone. (Of course, Marist has spent 23 years perfecting the 'bone....) Last year's game was an offensive shootout, and I look for more of the same this year, but with a wider margin of victory for Marist. Marist 45, South 28

OTHER MATCHUPS

Dunwoody at North Springs
The Spartans may benefit from the off week more than anyone. They've had two weeks to clear their heads and re-focus after losses to Pius, Marist and Tucker in consecutive weeks, and they get to face the worst Dunwoody team in recent memory. The Wildcats won the state in Georgia's largest classification in '94, but oh how the mighty have fallen. North Springs 30, Dunwoody 7

Tucker at Forsyth Central
Last year, Central hurled late hits and racial epithets at the Tigers as Tucker blew them out. The talent gap between the two teams appears even wider this year. However, Tucker's going to be handicapped tomorrow night in some ways I'm not willing to disclose right now. The Tigers still win big, but don't get to humiliate Central the way the kids on the team want to. Also, Central will probably do like last year and leave their starters in to score against the JV and Freshman teams. Tucker 42, Central 7

Riverwood at North Forsyth
Both of these teams play hard, but just don't have much of a program. North is stronger than Riverwood though. North 23, Riverwood 7

St. Pius X at Chamblee
Amid news that star linebacker Travis Chambers has committed to Ga. Tech, the Bulldogs are riding high with a 4-1 record, but staring down the barrell of a loaded gun: Pius, Marist and Tucker in consecutive weeks. The Golden Lions are for real. They battled Tucker into the fourth quarter, and pulled off the upset against South. Chamblee has shown a tendency in the past to choke in the big ones, and I don't see this one being any different. Pius 20, Chamblee 7

[Ben E Lou]

Oops. Forgot to post the scores from this past weekend:

Marist 57, South Forsyth 21.
Dunwoody 13, North Springs 10. Mild upset there.
Chamblee 10, St. Pius 3. Another surprise.
North Forsyth 28, Riverwood 15.

Tucker 38, Forsyth Central 0. The "handicap" on Friday night was that both starting QB D.T. McDowell and backup QB Raejon Alexander were serving one-game disciplinary suspensions. CB/RB Brandyn "B.Y." Young played QB, a position he'd never played before. B.Y. only threw two passes all night, completing both of them. One was a flanker screen to Swinton, and the other was a quick hit over the middle to TE Brandon Lang. Thomas ran for 134 yards and 3 TD's. FB Jimmy Coleman had 105 yards with a TD, and B.Y. had 87 yards on the ground as well. Sophomore Asher Allen had a 42-yard run for a TD in the 4th quarter. Unless B.Y. throws an incomplete halfback pass or two next year as the starter, it looks like he'll have the distinction of leaving high school and never having thrown an incomplete pass.


This week leaves a muddled mess with regard to the 3rd and 4th playoff slots in the region. (I'm assuming at this point that Tucker and Marist are going to win out the rest of the way to finish 1-2.) As of right now, there are four teams in contention for the final 2 playoff spots. Here they are, with their region records....

Chamblee: 4-1 (hasn't played Tucker or Marist yet, likely to finish 6-3
South Forsyth: 3-2 (hasn't played Tucker yet...likely to finish 6-3)
North Forsyth: 3-2 ("runs the gauntlet" the next three weeks with Pius-Marist-Tucker...likely to finish 4-5 or even 3-6)
St. Pius: 3-2 (has to play Marist and North Forsyth still)

As far as tiebreakers:

Chamblee is 2-1 against the other 3 teams listed.
South is 2-1
St. Pius is 1-1 (still has to play North)
North is 0-2

Realistically, North isn't much of a contender. They got blown out by South (35-7), and struggled to beat Riverwood and Central. They'll probably lose their next three games by an aggregate total of over 100 points. So, looking at the three teams that will likely end the season at 6-3 in the region, they've all played each other already, and they're all 1-1.

I BELIEVE the next tie-breaker is the non-region game. All three of them won their non-region game. After that, I think it goes to a set of mini-games on a Monday night to determine who gets to play on. We'll see.

[Ben E Lou]

Good article in today's AJC about QB D.T. McDowell. Here's the text:

Post pattern to Nebraska
Football future came knocking on baseball trip

By JEFF HOOD
For The Journal-Constitution


An odd thing happened to Tucker senior D.T. McDowell during a baseball tournament this summer at the University of Nebraska: He wound up auditioning for the Cornhuskers football team.

Blessed with the ability to throw a baseball 95 mph and a football as far as 80 yards, McDowell has had scouts from both sports lining up to secure his talents. He has committed to play football at Nebraska.

"It's funny because Nebraska wasn't even recruiting me," McDowell said. "I was out there for a baseball tournament. Someone noticed how strong my arm was and asked if I played football."

McDowell was instantly invited to participate in a one-day football senior camp during his stay in Lincoln. He ran, did the vertical jump, then showcased his arm during a passing drill. At the end of the day, after all other participants departed, McDowell was asked to stay.

"I threw a few passes and all of a sudden [Nebraska coach Frank Solich] said he wanted to see one more pass to see if I'm a true quarterback," McDowell said. "So [Solich] takes off about 25 yards downfield and runs a post-pattern in the end zone. I threw him a pass and he caught it right on the money."

Despite his commitment to the Cornhuskers, his phone keeps ringing, with college football recruiters on the line.

"I still get calls all the time," McDowell said. "They think they can change my mind. Sometimes I get tired of it and sometimes I love it. I'll talk to anybody."

A three-year starter at quarterback for Tucker, the 6-1, 190-pound McDowell is called on by coach Bill Ballard to use his smarts in addition to his cannon arm in the Tigers' spread offense.

"Our offense is pretty complicated," Ballard said, "and we put a lot on D.T. with the great number of formations and sets we have.

"He can run and throw the ball real well. We run the option a good bit, and he does a good job reading the veer. Overall, D.T. does a really good job running our offense."

The Tigers are 27-3 when McDowell lines up behind center. Despite possessing the knowledge to run a complex offense and the ability to throw a football 55 yards from one knee, McDowell beams when talking about his secret weapon to keep the opposition's defense off-balance:

"Our offensive coordinator, Patsy Gliatta, told me I am the greatest play faker in high school football," McDowell said. "With him teaching me and by me watching David Greene and Peyton Manning, I have been able to pick up on some of their good habits and take it on the field at the high school level."

McDowell stays in touch with former Tucker greats such as Patrick Pass, Jabari Davis and Darius Swain. He says he hopes he will one day be held in similar high regard.

"I hope I establish a legacy at Tucker," McDowell said. "I hope everybody remembers me and I'll be known as adding to Tucker's tradition. Of course, we already have a current legend here in [tailback] Thomas Brown."

McDowell will likely have an option to play professional baseball directly out of high school. He acknowledges he will have a difficult decision to make next summer if he is drafted high enough. But McDowell insists his focus, for now, is squarely on Tucker football.

[The Afoci]

God I hope he plays for the Huskers.

[Ben E Lou]

Incidentally, speaking of D.T.'s arm strength. I've watched him stand at the kickoff line (own 40-yard line) and throw the football throw the uprights. That's from 70 yards away, and the goalposts are what, about 10 feet high? I haven't seen him measured at 80, but I'm quite sure he can do it. He had that 70-75 yard one in the air on th last play of the first half against St. Pius.

[Ben E Lou]

THIS WEEK'S PICKS:

Marist vs. Chamblee--Chamblee surprised me, and most folks in the region, with their win over Pius last week. They're looking for real now, but the War Eagles humble them tonight. Marist 38, Chamblee 17

Dunwoody vs. Riverwood--Two once-proud teams that are really struggling. Riverwood is worse. Dunwoody 21, Riverwood 10

St. Pius X vs. North Forsyth--Pius rights the ship this week after the disappointing loss to Chamblee. St. Pius 24, North Forsyth 6

Tucker vs. South Forsyth--The Tigers come into tonight fully loaded. It is drizzling today, but supposed to be clearing by game time. However, there is a game at Adams Stadium right before ours, and it probably will rain a little during that game. Point being, the grass will be churned up and not as fast. We have a HUGE speed advantage over South, so that will be at least partly negated tonight. Still, the Tigers should prevail. Tucker 28, South 17.

[Ben E Lou]

Tucker wins a thriller in overtime by a 20-17 score. Thomas may have a fractured leg. More tomorrow...G'night.

--Ben

[The Afoci]

Hopefully it is just a flesh wound.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by The Afoci
Hopefully it is just a flesh wound.

I don't know. I haven't talked with anyone yet today, but I heard on the way home in the car that he was in a lot of pain, with very little swelling. That's usually a bad sign.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally posted by SkyDog
I don't know. I haven't talked with anyone yet today, but I heard on the way home in the car that he was in a lot of pain, with very little swelling. That's usually a bad sign.

Tell him he is in the prayers of a bunch of internet nerds that he has never met.

Hope all goes well. Thankfully, young bodies heal quickly.

[Ben E Lou]

broken fibula. Out for season.

[The Afoci]

Originally posted by SkyDog
broken fibula. Out for season.

As Ardent has said before, That is what they make splints for.

Well good luck to him and hopefully he makes a full recovery.

[digamma]

Yeah, this is terrible news. I feel for the team, but I know they will keep fighting, and Thomas will come out OK in the end.

On another note, this is the first overtime win for Tucker since a win over Henderson (which has since merged with Tucker) in 1992 (I think).

[Ben E Lou]

Tucker running back Brown out with broken leg

By MICHAEL CARVELL
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

Tucker's Thomas Brown, an AJC Super 11 selection who has committed to the University of Georgia, will miss the remainder of the football season after breaking his leg during game Friday night.

Brown fractured his left fibula while being tackled in the fourth quarter of his team's 20-17 victory against South Forsyth last Friday. The Tigers (6-1) are ranked No. 4 in Class AAAA.

"[We're] definitely saddened by all of this, especially to a super young man like Thomas," Tucker coach Bill Ballard said.

Brown, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back, announced before his senior season that he was accepting a scholarship offer from Georgia and would sign with the Bulldogs in November.

"The good news for Thomas is that it was a clean break," Ballard said. "The doctors said the leg should not require surgery and that it will heal completely in four to eight weeks."

Brown, who also started for Tucker at defensive back, was considered by most recruiting magazines to be the No. 1 tailback in the state and one of the top in the nation. This year, he rushed for 941 yards and 17 touchdowns in seven games after finishing with 1,632 yards and 13 touchdowns during his junior season.

"I am devastated that my high school playing days are over," Brown said. "However, God makes everything happen for a reason, so I place my faith and hope in that. And I'll be ready to play and contribute in some way at Georgia next year."

[mckerney]

He's lucky he doesn't need surgury. I needed surgury to put a metal plate in my arm when it broke last year, and with the metal plate in there I still have pain in it. And it really sucked playing football with it still in there.

The doctor told me it should go away if I were to have surgury to remove it, but then I couldn't do anything in the way of heavy work in my arm for 8 weeks after surgury to remove it.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by mckerney
He's lucky he doesn't need surgury. I needed surgury to put a metal plate in my arm when it broke last year, and with the metal plate in there I still have pain in it. And it really sucked playing football with it still in there.

The doctor told me it should go away if I were to have surgury to remove it, but then I couldn't do anything in the way of heavy work in my arm for 8 weeks after surgury to remove it.

Ouch!

[Ben E Lou]

The Tigers have a game with big playoff implications this week, with B.Y. getting the start in Thomas' place at tailback. Chamblee (5-2,4-2) represents the last team in the regular season with any legitimate chance to beat the Tigers. A win here would virtually assure Tucker of 2nd place in the Region. Chamblee has tended to play up or down to the level of their competition this year. They gave Marist and South Forsyth very tough battles before succumbing, beat St. Pius, but barely escaped games against doormats Dunwoody and Riverwood. Look for the Bulldogs to give the Tigers a tough battle tonight. They are led by a strong defense, anchored by Ga. Tech committee Travis Chambers, who had 30+ tackles last week in their loss to Marist. Chambers will be undoubtedly zooming in on DT and B.Y. The Tigers should win this one, but not in a blowout. I'm predicting Tucker 28, Chamblee 13

Other matchups tonight....

Marist at North Forsyth: North has gotten smacked 35-7 and 34-7 by Pius and South already. No way they hang with Marist. Marist 49, North 7

St. Pius X at Riverwood: Pius wins in a blowout. Pius 42, Riverwood 0

North Springs at South Forsyth: South, fresh off of running the gauntlet (Pius,Marist,Tucker) and losing three straight, gets a reprieve and a win: South 28, North Springs 6

Dunwoody at Forsyth Central: Battle of the bottom-feeders is won by Dunwoody. Dunwoody 23, Central 6

[Ben E Lou]

Heh. I underestimated my boys. For the first time this season, Chamblee gets blown out. Tucker 38, Chamblee 3. It was a vintage Tucker Tiger performance, complete with four scoring plays of 60+ yards. Chamblee returned the opening kickoff to our 35-yard line, but then went 3 and out on offense. On the first play from scrimmage, DT hit Swinton on a 67-yard TD bomb (probably thrown 55ish yards in the air) and the rout was on. B.Y. had a TD run, and had a solid game at tailback replacing Thomas. FB Jimmy Coleman, who at 4.5 is one of the fastest high-school fullbacks you'll ever see, had a 60-yard TD run. The 2nd-half kickoff was squibbed by Chamblee to keep it away from Swinton. However, that sucker rolled a while, then bounced up in the air. Swinton grabbed it at the 25, found a seam, and it was all over in a flash 75 yards later. Sophomore Asher "the next-next great Tucker tailback" Allen closed the scoting in the fourth quarter with a 66-yard TD run. All-in-all, it was about as dominating a performance as you'll see in a game that was supposed to be close. Chamblee's big LB Travis Chambers had some BIG hits during the game. The Yellow Jackets are gonna be pleased with this kid.


A few pics....


Swinton's catch on Tucker's first offensive play from scrimmage. DT hit him in full stride at least 55 yards down the field.



FB Jimmy Coleman's 60-yard TD run. I talked with his mom last night. They're thinking that USC is close to an offer. If he should sign with the Gamecocks, that would put FIVE former Tigers in the SEC next year (and six if Brandon Lang chooses the Dawgs over FSU).




The "D" kept Chamblee bottled up all night long.

[Ben E Lou]

Other scores from last night....

St. Pius 37, Riverwood 0
Marist 58, North Forsyth 0
South Forsyth 35, North Springs 21
Dunwoody 21, Forsyth Central 17

This leaves the current Region 6-AAAA leader board as follows:

Marist 8-0, 7-0
Tucker 7-1, 6-1
St. Pius X 6-2, 5-2
South Forsyth 5-3, 4-3
Chamblee 5-3, 4-3

OUTLOOK
Marist--There's basically no chance that they'll finish anywhere but #1 in the Region, due to their win over Tucker. They finish with Pius, who COULD upset them in an emotional win, but they've got Riverwood next week. Marist has scored 50+ points three times already, and Riverwood is the worst team on the schedule. Marist can name their score in that one.

Tucker--The win against Chamblee virtually assures the Tigers of the 2nd place playoff spot in the state playoffs. Tucker closes with North Forsyth and Riverwood, and to be blunt, Tucker's 2nd teams would probably win each of those games by 2-3 TD's, and the JV team would most likely win both. North has gotten blown out by Pius, Marist and Soutf Forsyth, and Riverwood is 0-8, having given up 30+ points 6 times, while being held to single-digit scoring 5 times. These will be good chances to fine tune some things, but no real challenge at all.

St. Pius--Among the three teams fighting for the final two playoff spots, the Golden Lions are the one that controls their own destiny. They close with Dunwoody, which should be a relatively easy win, and Marist. High school teams sometimes mature, change and grow a lot from the early season to the end of the year, but the Pius team that I saw on September 5th has the potential, if they get a few breaks, of upsetting the Marist team that I watched the following week, particularly considered the emotional nature of the rivalry, and that the game will be at St. Pius. I'll be out of town that weekend. (I'm speaking at a camp in Florida. I figured I'd accept the invitation since the Tigers were playing Riverwood that week... ) If I was going to be in town, I'd probably skip out on the Tucker-Riverwood humiliation and go see Marist-Pius instead.

South Forsyth--South should defeat their final opponents, Central and Dunwoody, relatively easily. If Pius pulls off the upset of Marist and grabs the #3 slot, then South wins the tie-breaker over Chamblee, by virtue of their 14-10 win over the Bulldogs in September.

Chamblee--The Bulldogs close with North Springs and Central. They should win out. They've got to hope that Marist beats Pius on November 7th, which would throw Chamblee, South and Pius into a 3-way tie for third place. I'm not sure of the tie-breaker situation there, since the three teams are 1-1 against each other, but what I KNOW is that if Pius upsets Marist (unlikely) and everything else goes as expected (highly likely--There's a big talent gap between the top 5 and bottom 5 in the Region.), then Chambee's season is done on November 7th.

BOTTOM LINE: It is highly likely that someone is going to finish 7-3 overall, and 6-3 in the Region, and NOT get to play in the postseason.

[digamma]

I'll let SkyDog fill in the details when he has time, but in the interest of keeping the legions of Tucker fans up to date, I'll let you know that Tucker shut out North Forsyth Friday night.

[Celeval]

Originally posted by SkyDog
Chamblee's big LB Travis Chambers had some BIG hits during the game. The Yellow Jackets are gonna be pleased with this kid.

We already are.... gojackets.com

Quick version is a story about a sophmore at Chamblee who was on the football team but was diagnosed with leukemia a couple weeks ago. Chambers has been helping the kid out, mentioned his name on Countdown to Signing Day, brough him his shirt from the show, etc.

Add in that TC will probably be starting at LB for us next year... I'm looking for great things.

Kevin

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by digamma
I'll let SkyDog fill in the details when he has time, but in the interest of keeping the legions of Tucker fans up to date, I'll let you know that Tucker shut out North Forsyth Friday night.

My bad!

Tucker smoked 'em 41-0. TD's were spread out:

RB2 Brandyn Young ("B.Y.")--2 rushing
FB Jimmy Coleman--1 rushing
QB D.T. McDowell--1 rushing
FB2 Hamilton Sims--1 rushing
FB3 Kareem James--1 rushing

DT hit Swinton on a big pass 58 yards to set up one of the TD's. It was slightly underthrown, causing Swinton to have to slow up to catch it, and therefore get tackled as he made the catch. I guess we'll forgive DT for underthrowing it a little, considering that the ball traveled 65+ yards in the air.....

The Region's playoff seedings are now set in stone, no matter what happens next week:

1. Marist
2. Tucker
3. St. Pius
4. South Forsyth

Interestingly enough, Tucker's #2 seed puts the Tigers in what looks to be a significantly easier bracket than Marist. Marist looks to have a quarterfinal matchup looming with the imposing-looking Shaw Raiders, who spanked Tucker 37-7 in last year's quarterfinals, and apparently return nearly everyone from that squad. The 2 #1 seed's in Tucker's bracket are from what are considered to be weak Regions. It is quite conceivable that Tucker will make it at least to the semis in the Georgia Dome, while Marist won't.

Tucker closes this weekend with Region patsy Riverwood. The best news for Riverwood is that the JV season is over, and therefore Tucker will have the youngsters available to play all night long. The other good news for Riverwood is that this is their final game at Class AAAA. Next year they're dropping down to AAA. I hope they'll be able to compete better.

[digamma]

Originally posted by SkyDog

Tucker closes this weekend with Region patsy Riverwood. The best news for Riverwood is that the JV season is over, and therefore Tucker will have the youngsters available to play all night long. The other good news for Riverwood is that this is their final game at Class AAAA. Next year they're dropping down to AAA. I hope they'll be able to compete better.

Last year Riverwood called ahead and asked that a running clock be put in place when the score got to be 28-0.

[digamma]

Dola.

One thing that was lost in the Thomas Brown injury and the South Forsyth game is that the Georgia High School Association has changed its overtime rules to more of a college style overtime. I'm not sure if this is a current year change or was in place last year, but the days of the penetration rules are history.

[Ben E Lou]

Incidentally, I will not be at the Riverwood game this weekend. I'm speaking to a group of middle school kids at a camp down in central Florida this weekend. I'll post a score Sunday night or Monday morning.

--Ben

[Ben E Lou]

GAMES THIS WEEK:
Marist at St. Pius
Tucker at Riverwood
Dunwoody at South Forsyth
Forsyth Central at Chamblee
North Springs at North Forsyth

The only compelling matchup tonight is Marist at St. Pius. They are the two largest Catholic schools in metro Atlanta. (Actually, I'm fairly certain they're the two largest in Georgia, and probably throughout a good chunk of the southeast.) At any rate, Marist has defeated Pius 21 consecutive times, and tonight looks like their best shot in years to even have a shot. Realistically, Marist is a good bit better than Pius, but who knows what could happen in an emotional rivalry? This one lost a good bit of luster on October 10th though, when Pius was upended by Chamblee. Had the Golden Lions won that game, they'd be battling for a share of first place in the Region tonight. As it stands, the seedings are set no matter what happens tonight.

I'll probably have some, but not much, internet access this weekend.

--Ben

[Ben E Lou]

Dola--

I forgot to mention why the seedings are now set. Chamblee let North Springs hand them a 34-28 loss. I guess the Bulldogs were still reeling from the humiliating 38-3 loss to Tucker from the previous week. They can now finish no higher than tied for fourth place with South Forsyth, and South beat Chamblee this year. Travis Chambers will graduate from Chamblee without having ever led his team to the postseason, or to a big win over a big rival. Hopefully, the same will be said for him in college.

[digamma]

With SkyDog out of town, I'll go ahead and post the scores from last night.

Tucker won 55-3 over hapless Riverwood. In the upset SkyDog half-called, Pius upset Marist, 20-17. The play-off seedings don't change and Tucker goes in as the #2 seed from the region.

Tucker wraps up the regular season at 9-1.

A word about the seniors on this team...

Their four year record at this point is 41-6. At worst they will finish their careers 41-7. At best, 46-6.

Their four year regular season record finishes up at 37-3, including a 27 game regular season win streak.

In their sophomore, junior and senior years, they were a combined 31-3 (and counting).

In their junior and senior years, they were a combined 21-2 (and counting).

They won two region championships and got to the state quarterfinals two times (and counting).

Tucker is off next week and the state play-offs start in two weeks.

[tucker342]

wow..... That's a good class of seniors....

[Ben E Lou]

Tucker will play the #3 seed from Region 7-AAAA on next Friday. Their seedings are NOT set yet. Most of them have one more regular season game to go. I won't even BEGIN to try to sort out the possibilities in that Region. Look at these Region Standings:

Rome 6-1
Ringgold 6-2
Dalton 5-2
Paulding County 5-2
Lafayette 5-2
Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe 5-2
Gordon Central 5-3
Woodland 4-3

There are four other also-rans in the Region. This week, Rome plays Woodland, Paulding plays Gordon Central, Lafayette plays LFO. Dalton plays one of the also-rans. If Rome loses to Woodland, there could be a FIVE-way tie for first at 6-2. Even if Rome wins, there is likely to be a four-way tie at 6-2, for the three other playoff spots. The guys I saw night-before-last said, "all we know is that we're at home, and we'll play whoever they tell us to play."

[Ben E Lou]

OK. Region 7-AAAA finished with four teams at 6-2 (Paulding, Dalton, LFO, Ringgold), and Rome at 7-1. Paulding Co. gets the number 2 seed by virtue of having a better record agains AAAA teams than any of the others. Therefore, Dalton, LFO and Ringgold will play mini-games on Monday night to determine the #3 and #4 seeds. The head coaches from those three schools met to do coin flips yesterday. They are playing the games at a neutral sight that is centralled located among the three schools. Dalton will play Ringgold in the first mini-game. The winner of that gets a playoff spot. The loser then plays LFO, with the winner of that game getting a spot. Seeding between the two remaining teams will be based on how they did against each other during the regular season. Both Tucker and Marist get to go scout their first-round playoff opponents on Monday night!