Football Recap: Tigers Hold Off Mays for Region Title

By Mark Brock

Tucker finished the regular season 10-0 for the fifth time in seven seasons.

Dominick Sanders intercepted two passes in the fourth quarter to stymie a Mays comeback and give the No. 1 ranked Tucker Tigers the Region 6-AAAAA football title with a hard-fought 16-11 victory at Lakewood Stadium on Friday night.
 
The Tigers (10-0) had retaken the lead at 16-11 on a 16-yard run by Elijah Sullivan late in the third quarter to convert the first of three second half interceptions into the lead taking touchdown.
 
Sanders staved off the first of two Mays drives in the fourth quarter with an interception return for an apparent game sealing touchdown only to have it called back on penalty.
 
The Raiders (7-3) defense was able to stop the Tigers and force a punt to get the ball back with just under two minutes to play. Sanders struck again with less than a minute to play with his second interception to allow the Tigers to run out the clock for the win.
 
Tucker had led 7-0 early on a Raquan Rush one-yard touchdown run before Mays took an 8-7 lead midway through the second period by taking advantage of one of four Tucker second quarter fumbles.
 
Eric Webber, the DeKalb County leader in points by kicking with 69, kicked a 34-yard field goal to send the Tigers into the half up 10-8. Mays grabbed a short-lived 11-10 lead with a 20-yard field goal in the third period.
 
Blessed Trinity 21, Cedar Grove 14
Brandon Norwood caught eight passes for 118 yards, including a 57 yard touchdown pass in the first half, but it was not enough for Cedar Grove which suffered a second consecutive tough loss in Region 6-AAA action to fall to the fourth seed heading into the state playoffs.
 
Deion Sellers had a 100-yard game rushing to surpass the 1,000 yard rushing mark.
 
Stone Mountain 27, Therrell 0
Freshman quarterback D’Vonn Gibbons, making his first start and throwing his first passes of the season, threw two touchdown passes in leading the Pirates to a 27-0 win over Therrell in Stone Mountain’s season finale.
 
Jahvez Mitchell, Robert Sims and Gaston Kangni all scored touchdowns to help Stone Mountain finish 4-6 on the season.
 
Clarkston 40, North Cobb Christian 7
Rooshambi Pacquette scored four touchdowns to lead the Clarkston Angoras to a 40-7 win at North Cobb Christian.
 
The Angoras came up just short of its second consecutive non-losing season by finishing 4-5-1 on the year.
 
M.L. King 40, Miller Gove 22
Quarterback Roland Rivers threw three touchdown passes to lead the Martin Luther King Jr. Lions to a 40-22 win over DeKalb County rival Miller Grove.
 
The Lions (7-3) sealed the No. 4 seed for the Class AAAAA state playoffs with the win as Devin Williams and Jamel Smith both scored on touchdown runs in the win. Miller Grove finishes the year 4-6.
 
Arabia Mountain 38, Lakeside 20
The Arabia Mountain Rams rallied from a 14-8 halftime deficit to knock off the Lakeside Vikings 38-20 to set a school record of seven wins in a season. The Rams came up just one win short of the state playoffs at 7-3. Lakeside finishes the season at 2-8.
 
Redan 49, South Atlanta 13
The Redan Raiders wrapped up their season at 1-9 by thrashing South Atlanta 49-13 at Avondale on Saturday night. The win ended a 0-9 run on the season and prevented the first winless season since 1996 for the Raiders.
 
Week 12 Results
Thursday, Nov. 7
Stephenson (8-2) 64, North Atlanta (0-10) 6
 
Friday, Nov. 8
Blessed Trinity (7-3) 21, Cedar Grove (6-4) 14
Towers (5-5) 34, McNair (1-9) 7
Stone Mountain (4-6) 27, Therrell (1-9) 0
Chamblee (6-4) 41, Washington (6-4) 39
Clarkston (4-5-1) 40, North Cobb Christian (1-9) 7
Banneker (5-4-1) 49, Columbia (6-4) 27
Rockdale Co. (6-4) 35, Druid Hills (4-6) 24
Dunwoody (3-7) 31, SW DeKalb (2-8) 14
Grady (8-2) 25, Lithonia (4-6) 22
M.L. King (7-3) 40, Miller Grove (4-6) 22
Tucker (10-0) 16, Mays (7-3) 11
 
Saturday, Nov. 9
Arabia Mountain (7-3) 38, Lakeside (2-8) 20
Redan (1-9) 49, South Atlanta (0-10) 13
 
Open: Cross Keys (1-9)