Tucker Middle Wins Football Championship

By Mark Brock

The 2013 Trail to the Title Middle School Football Championship game was befitting for a match of two undefeated teams going down to the final 57 seconds before the Tucker Tigers held on for a 22-20 win over Chapel Hill Panthers at Hallford Stadium.

Tucker (9-0) was clinging to a 22-20 lead with 57 seconds to play following a 23-yard touchdown run by Chapel Hill’s Devyn Smith on a fourth and three at the Tiger 23-yard line on a drive started with just 2:28 to play in the game.

The Panthers set up for the two-point conversion try which would most likely send the game into overtime. Smith, who had 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 20 carries, got the call again, but Tucker defensive lineman Antonio Showers blew up the play to knock Smith to the ground for a two-yard loss to prevent the tying points.

Tucker’s Joshua Vann secured the onside kick attempt by the Panthers to allow Tucker to run out the clock.

The game was a see-saw affair throughout with Chapel Hill taking the early 6-0 lead on the first of Smith’s two touchdowns on a nine-yard run with 1:43 to play in the first quarter. The Panthers needed eight plays and a roughing the passer call that overturned a Tucker interception in the end zone to travel 25 yards for the score.

The Tigers answered right back as Vann connected with receiver Jervon Mannery on a go pattern down the right sideline for 39 yards and the touchdown as the first quarter horn sounded. Barry Williams ran in the two-point conversion to give the Tigers an 8-6 heading into the second quarter.

Tucker took a 14-6 into the half after a bad snap on a punt for Chapel Hill set the Tigers up on the Panther three-yard line. Williams carried it in from three-yards out for the score and the two-point attempt failed.

The teams went scoreless in the third quarter, but the Panthers began a drive at the 50 with a 13-yard run by Smith as the quarter ended.

Delvalo Baitey gave Chapel Hill a spark with a couple of tackle breaking runs, one for 19 yards as the Panthers moved into striking range. The Tiger defense stiffened to force a fourth and one at the nine and Chapel Hill elected to go for it.

Quarterback Joshua Campbell went off the right side broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and broke loose heading to the end zone. A pair of Tiger defenders got him too late as he was able to fall into the end zone for the score. Baitey bulled in for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14-14 with 5:46 to play.

The Vann to Mannery connection came up big again for the Tigers on a fourth and six at the Panther 38. Vann rolled out and found Mannery down the same right sideline for 35 yards to the Panther three.

The following play the Tigers went to Gerry Vaughn who took the hand off coming from the right side across to the left and turned it up into the end zone for the go-ahead score with 2:28 to play. Williams added his second two-point run of the game of the game to push the lead to 22-14.

Tucker’s undefeated season, a first for the program, included a lot of firsts and put the Tigers into some select company. The Tigers’ victory was the seventh time a team has gone undefeated to win the championship since the Trail to the Title series began in 2004 and just the fourth to go 9-0.

The Tigers’ win over Redan in the first round was Tucker’s first playoff victory in three tries and Tucker also became just the fifth different champion in 10 years joining Stephenson (4), Miller Grove (3), Avondale (1) and Lithonia (1).

Running back Barry Williams of Tucker was named the game’s Overall MVP after contributing a touchdown, two two-point conversions and a pass breakup on defense. He was joined with game honors by teammate Jervon Mannery who had two key receptions for 74 yards and touchdown for the Tigers to be named the Offensive MVP of the game.

Chapel Hill’s Delvalo Baitey was named the Defensive MVP as he led his teammates in limiting an explosive Tucker offense to just 181 yards of offense in the game.