MLK 50, Stephenson 49
By Jeff Haws
For the AJC
It was over. But Blake Tibbs wasn’t done.
Tibbs – already with five receiving touchdowns – returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown with 16 seconds left to give MLK a stunning 50-49 win over Stephenson.
The victory gives No. 5 MLK (10-0) the Region 2-AAAAA title. No. 4 Stephenson finished second.
When Mike Davis plunged in from 4 yards out with 29 seconds left, it looked to everyone involved that he had given the Jaguars a 49-44 win, holding off a Lions team that had roared back from deficits of 17 points late in the third quarter and 26 points in the second quarter.
But, despite Tibbs’ reputation coming into the game, despite his 166 receiving yards and five scores, the Jags rolled the dice with a straight-up kick. Tibbs caught it with his foot on the 18-yard line. Nobody touched him.
He flew up the right side of the field, splitting the defenders, making one cut and then outrunning the kicker down the sideline into the end zone, as much of the MLK bench stormed toward the field.
It was the third “ending” of the game in the final 3:32 – first with the Lions completing a wild comeback to take a 44-43 lead, then Davis’s touchdown run, followed by Tibbs. Each score looked like the winner when it happened. Only Tibbs’ held up.
Stephenson’s final drive started on its own 25-yard line, after the Jaguars had surrendered a 17-point late third-quarter lead to the Lions, who also fought back from 26 down earlier in the first half to take a 44-43 lead.
The Jaguars had thrown the ball far more than usual in this game. But, with the game on the line and time getting short, they stuck to the ground and workhorse Mike Davis.
Davis (39 carries, 212 yards, 2 TD) had 54 of the Jags’ 75 yards on the drive, including the touchdown that could have been the winner.
It would have spoiled what had been a big comeback from the Lions.
MLK trailed 43-26 when Stephenson had to punt with 3:16 left in the third quarter, and it looked like the Jaguars were ready to salt the game away. The Lions had other ideas.
They scored once to cut the lead to 43-32 at the end of the third quarter, then got good field position after a short punt and penalty to convert on fourth and 10 with a 14-yard strike from Dawson (15 of 35 for 296 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT) to Tibbs that made it 43-38 with 8:34 left.
MLK started its final drive at its own 11 with 5:12 left and quickly marched downfield. The Lions got three catches from Tibbs to move the chains, and then Joshua Stanford caught a short pass, made a man miss and went in from 59 yards out to give MLK its first lead of the game.
S 15 21 7 6 – 49
M 12 8 12 18 – 50
M – Andrecas Jackson 1 run (kick failed)
M – Blake Tibbs 20 pass from Jonquel Dawson (pass failed)
S – Demarcus Sweat 38 pass from Justin Holman (kick failed)
S – Carlos Hood safety
S – Mike Davis 18 run (Wisdom Nzidee kick)
S – Holman 1 run (Nzidee kick)
S – Sweat 47 pass from Holman (Nzidee kick)
S – T.J. Moon 11 run (Nzidee kick)
M – Tibbs 5 pass from Dawson (Joshua Stanford pass from Dawson)
M – Tibbs 42 pass from Dawson (pass failed)
S – Josh Parris 33 pass from Holman (Nzidee kick)
M – Tibbs 14 pass from Dawson (pass failed)
M – Stanford 59 pass from Dawson (pass failed)
S – Davis 4 run (pass failed)
M – Tibbs 82 kickoff return (run failed)
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162 comments Add your comment
formerplayer
November 5th, 2011
1:59 pm
gatrell and sellers suck, and they blew the game…..plain and damn simple, and i know this for fact cause i had to live through it for 4 years…they need to rid of gatrell and sellers find a new head coach and promote coach cory to defensive coordinator
Stephenson fan
November 5th, 2011
2:03 pm
Mlk-lion1#…go back to twitter with that extra stuff…this is a blog for plp who no about football not menu’s..yu must really be hungry
dekalbfootball1
November 5th, 2011
2:54 pm
I want to congradulate both schools. Last night game worth every dime! I want them to meet again in the dome. To everyone else hate to inform you; but more is on the for the 2012 season. The JV team was undeated this season along with the returning players and coaching staff!!!
TheKidKazu
November 5th, 2011
3:05 pm
As a 2010 Graduate of stephenson I have been around stephenson football for quite some time. This was by far the greatest game I have ever seen. Its a shame someone had to lose that game. I agree with all of you who say stephenson was out coached. I have seen evryone of these D1 caliber players from stephenson all have those championship dreams shattered because of coaching. 2002 reggie ball, craig lumpkin 2005 (perhaps the best team) Marcus Ball, Jermaine Cunningham, perry riley, Andre Anderson ETC. 2010 Raymond sanders, Kenny ladler , Tyrone Cornelious, Mike Thornton jabari johnson, ETC all this talent and no state championships….You tell me thats not coaching…had these players been at Camden or lowndes they’d have championships every year. Ex. Colquitt county got the coach from Hoover right? He’s been here 3 years and already has been to both semi finals and the state finals if I’m not mistaken. Thats coaching and his teams werent undefeated either he barely made it into the playoffs…C’mon Stephenson we have to do better so can be considered as the top team in 5A like Camden and lowndes and other South GA teams
TheKidKazu
November 5th, 2011
3:20 pm
@DostaDawg I understand that south Georgia has great teams but please you talk as if you guys beat the breaks off us everytime we play Every Stephenson vs south ga game i’ve been to it came down to the wire. Matter of fact it came down to coaching which you guys definitely have the advantage. So the D1 comment, trust me sir we produce them turn your TV to an SEC football game you’ll see some. one more thing Valdost lost to MLK too and you couldnt find the endzone…Stehphenson Put up 49 jus Sayin.
Stephenson Jag Fan 4 Life
November 5th, 2011
3:33 pm
Whoever said or thought it was over for Stephenson STAY TUNED!!! And yes we STILL ‘Beefing It Up’ Watch how we bounce back!! Shoutout to Mike Davis #28, Shawn Blaylock #18, Demarcus Sweat #19, Raphael Kirby #22, TJ Moon #20, Darreon Herring #35, Brandon Washington #25 and ALL the Stephenson Jaquars!!!!
Dekalb Fan
November 5th, 2011
3:40 pm
@TheKidKazu You are not being fair, if’s and nut’s… Well Camden, Lowndes, and Colquitt are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT enrollments(bigger than Stephenson), NOT under control of the school system, have A LOT more coaches on staff! I really don’t think a lot of people in Dekalb realize how bad it is, NONE of the coaches you spoke of at Camden, Lowndes, or Colquitt would even give a THOUGHT at coaching here in Dekalb! I could also say that if Gartrell coached at one of those schools and had the SAME support, money, facilities,etc he would be just as successful with titles.
Did you forget that Kregg Lumpkin was NOT in the playoffs because he was injured his Sr year? I do recall 2005 making it to the dome, the champion was either gong to be Stephenson or Lowndes. You can’t give these other coaches credit when they have it much better than Stephenson does in terms of support, coaching staffs, salary coaches make,facilities the coaches desire! You put them here in Dekalb with how things have been run, money split between all schools,etc. Before Corey Jarvis left MLK for Duluth he began a campaign to raise money to put turf on the practice field, guess how they ended for MLK? Talent is one aspect, but it takes much more than that to win championships in football yaer in and out! I understand not liking calls coaches makes, but don’t just diminish all of the efforts they have put it with virtually NO HELP!
Dekalb Fan
November 5th, 2011
3:47 pm
The people who saw them in Tift County commented on how well prepared, coached,and disciplined the team was. You know Gartrell getting as many people to the next level is actually turning people against him for losing a game, or not winning a title. That doesn’t seem too fair to me, but I guess he will take the good with the bad. Nobody likes to be talked bad about, especially when you have done nothing to warrant such comments. Maybe this loss is what the entire Stephenson community needed, to see what they are really made of this year… Good luck to all Dekalb teams in the playoffs!!!
Sherman
November 5th, 2011
4:10 pm
We have bigger and faster players than MLK! How could we lose this game &%^#@.
Coffee Trojan#44
November 5th, 2011
4:20 pm
Stephenson + MLK = No Defense.
cat doc
November 5th, 2011
5:08 pm
defense wins games!
TheKidKazu
November 5th, 2011
5:14 pm
@Dekalb Fan You are absolutely right but at the same time I believe that quantity of coaches should not determine the quality of coaches. Not bad talking gatrell and the rest of the Stephenson Staff its just frustrating to see such good teams fall because of bad coaching decisions. If it just happened once or twice its fine but its been happening for almost a decade now. Something has to give. I totally agree with you on funding for dekalb schools since it is all spread equally I assume, but its not like the teams that are winning championships have million dollar coaching staffs. In professional sports when you cant get your team to win big games, they dont wait year after year until you do they replace you with someone who will, and thats just life. I commend Gartrell for putting his players into great schools, He’s a great teacher, but Criticism for him will not stop until he wins a championship
Dekalb Fan
November 5th, 2011
5:29 pm
@TheKidKazu Yes I understand that all too well… The playoffs are a different season, Stephenson will have to go all out if they want to bring a title home. Looks to have the hardest path to a title potentially if all the top seeds win. They will have earned it that’s for sure!
TheKidKazu
November 5th, 2011
5:32 pm
@Dekalb Fan Lets just hope we rebound quickly and get back to Jaguar football
Coffee Trojan#44
November 5th, 2011
5:38 pm
@TheKidKazu,
Stephenson don’t have a chance against Lowndes.
James
November 5th, 2011
6:07 pm
Welcome to UGA Mr.Tibbs
CatFan12
November 5th, 2011
6:47 pm
Congrats MLK on the win, but dont get the airhead, both stephenson and mlk have tough first round games. A pissed of Lowdnes team is not to be underestimated. Hopefully both can live up to the hype they are producing.
GRRRRRRRRR
November 5th, 2011
8:03 pm
Westlake has the worst coaching in the history of high school football. They have just as much talent as MLK and Stephenson but never do anything with it. That is why your players transfer. And even with the transfers you still have talent there. That is a TRAVESTY! At least MLK and Stephenson give their players a shot for the playoffs!
Dekalb all the way!!!
November 5th, 2011
8:41 pm
By the way, if Stephenson keep throwing to keep your defense honest, it may be embarrassing for Lowdnes next week. Region 2AAAAA 1st and 2nd seeds win the first rounds!!!
Andre
November 5th, 2011
8:49 pm
@Jaguar Pride(AMHS Dad) Seriously man, what year did SWD put on 82 on Doug?
westlakefootball
November 5th, 2011
11:00 pm
everyone getting on westlake someone took my name the one westlake transfer was c.j I dont know who was saying all that other stuff but ever seens I was 9 years old south fulton talent couldnt beat dekalb county talent but still reading these comments makes me feel like crying but if usc and the gators fell off why cant westlake fall of for a little while but yea class of 2010 7-3 that year
Stephenson former Player
November 6th, 2011
1:52 am
It sucks……… WE NEED A NEW HEAD COACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! check out the resume of SUPER STAR PLAYERS from stephenson and yet still no STATE CHAMPIONSHIP…………
Jaguar Pride (AMHS Dad)
November 6th, 2011
2:00 am
@Andre, dude SWD used to beat the brakes off everyone back in the day, I think it was ‘85 or ‘86 at pantherville stadium. I think Clemente was QB, and Davenport was the WR, along with Stallworth at CB.(steve and cedric, later played at GT) with Jaba at DT. Fred Jones was like a WB I think.
DH-I
November 6th, 2011
8:14 am
@Jaguar Pride (AMHS Dad) you are correct that group scored a lot of points. That’s during the time frame when Buck started at SWD a much different Dekalb at that time. Back then SW had the most of the talent in Dekalb and metro area and we use to say the same thing everyone is saying about Gartrell, can’t win the big one. Outside of the Quincy era, Coach Godfrey has never had as much top tier talent year after year as Stephenson.
Did I Say That?
November 6th, 2011
9:09 am
I am a Stephenson supporter. Hands Down! This lost can do one or two things. Either fuel Stephenson Staff to display probably one the state greatest runs to the State Title or come out flat and loose. This is the time to see how Stephenson respond in their game vs Lowndes. This is the time to see if this coaching staff is really coaching or just relying on their athletes. This is the time to see if the players are together to obtain their goal. A lot of questions will have to be answered Saturday nite. Either Stephenson win or go home! The crictics will be very strong against our team. This is the one match up I think most people wanted to see.
Let me make this clear. If Stephenson gets
Did I Say That?
November 6th, 2011
9:21 am
Well folks Monday will be here soon and it all starts over again cheering on our teams who is in the playoffs. Once again fans & friends boys & girls this is where football really begins. No more excuses. Win or go home! Every team record that deserve to be in the playoffs are in. Records are 0 wins 0 loses… Hey Jaguars!!!!! Let’s Make Some Noise!!!!!!
Tri Cities Bulldogs
November 6th, 2011
10:04 am
That was an amazing game by both teams and i wish you both the very best in the post season, Dekalb county has some of the best high school talent in the country and know both Stephenson and MLK will do great in the playoffs and the fact of the matter is somebody had to win and somebody had to lose just like LSU and BAMA so keep your head up guys and stay focused on your goal!!!!
Coffee Trojan#44
November 6th, 2011
10:04 am
Stephenson + MLK = No Defense.
Coffee and Lowndes will win easily.
Did I Say That?
November 6th, 2011
10:48 am
LOL @ Coffee Trojan#44.. Do you think there is another high powered offense on either side of the brackets other than MLK? Although difficult it is very well possibly that these two teams can meet in the State Championship. I don’t another team in this seeding that will score 50 points on Stephenson. I do see MLK putting up HUGE POINTS on Coffee. One thing I payed close attention to in that game is Stephenson gave MLK 20 points on mental mistakes. If Stephenson coaching staff get mental game down for the next 5 games I promise you Stephenson will be playing for the State Championship.Everything starts Monday. I do wish MLK much success in the playoffs.
fan2011
November 6th, 2011
11:02 am
@Im just saying – Westlake has a right to be mad. Players should play where they are zoned to go to school and not transfer around to play football . Whatever happened to working to make your team better? Players develop every year as they mature so dont think your coach was the reason for their success.
bksmith14
November 6th, 2011
11:14 am
Coffee Trojan#44……………….you need to stay off these blogs until you can make some since in waht you are saying my friend. COFFEE sucks!! Point blank …………….unless yall hire an nfl coaching staff this week yall are done in rd 1. MLK has already beaten valdosta in DEATH VALLEY………..no way yall go to mlk and win. Coffee gets destroyed by at least 3 tds. As for lowndes………………..we have a much better shot at beating stephenson than yall do at winning against mlk. Lowndes allowed 0 points against tift at tift………………the jags allowed 21…………………they allowed 51 to mlk,…………………what i see with the jags is a good offense…………….but no defense and special teams……………….
One note here for valdosta fans and mlk fans………………..dont read to much into beating valdosta when yall did………………….they are much better on offense. Yall played valdosta right when their starting qb went down and they had to implant an new qb into the offense…………..it showed in that game……….but vhs is much improved……………colquitt is a better team than mlk in my opinion. Defense wins championships………………something neither of these teams have on a dominant level………..(jags and lions)
With all this said……………..coffee is about as weak as tifton………………they have lost to worth county…..appling county………….ware………….lowndes and colquitt and beat tift by 3.
rd predictions…………..mlk 36—coffee–17
lowndes 24—jags 21
bksmith14
November 6th, 2011
11:21 am
lowndes is not the dominant lowndes of the past this year……….at times we can be and look like it but overall we are not…. We have lots of speed…….lots. Our defense is hitting stride at the right time, but this lowndes team doesnt have those 4 or 5 plaers like reid…demps…telvin smith etc. However,,,,,,,,i have been to every game…………..all 10….and we are 7-3…………cd very easily be 9-1…..valdosta fans wd agree they snuck out with a victory even they didnt expect being down by 10 with a min to go. Lowndes lost that on coaching. The mceachern game cd have went either way also…………early in year……….lowndes just wasnt ready for that challenge with still trying to experiment . We lost …………but we also dropped 2 game tying td passes in endzone as time ran out …one that shd have been caught. Dont let anyone be fooled…………lowndes is right on par with both of these teams vhs and mceachern……………so jags ….you better play defense or you guys will lose bc you are not going to score at will on lowndes
Gwinnett loves Dekalb
November 6th, 2011
11:49 am
Any 9th grade staff in Gwinnett County could win a state championship with the talent at Stephenson.
Stephenson, you are a joke and disgrace. What you promote and foster is the reason why this country is in the shape it is in now. Your athletes deserve better, but when you allow them to act the way they do, the good Lord seems to allow your true colors to shine when things get tough. Good luck with all those “signees” who either won’t report to school or will not make it when times get tough. Sad. The only thing that could make the outcome last Friday any better would be if the GHSA finally stepped in to intervene.
MLK, keep working hard. You have a shot if you can stop your opponent because outscoring won’t work once you get a round or two deep. Good luck.
Jeff Haws
November 6th, 2011
12:21 pm
As the person who wrote the story, I’m in a good position to answer why it wasn’t mentioned that Tibbs was a UGA commit. It’s a fair question. My deadline was 10:40, and the game didn’t end until around 10:53, so I had to send my story as close to the end of the game as possible. That meant that I was writing all during the fourth quarter while also trying to watch the game, keep a play by play and individual stats. As such, my story was pretty fluid during those last several minutes. Initially, I had mentioned that he was a UGA commit in one of the versions of the story, but that part got deleted when it became obsolete, and I simply forgot to put it back in my haste to get the story in ASAP. I also forgot to add back in Stephenson’s record, which I had in an earlier version. It was one of the most hectic writing nights I’ve ever had, honestly. If those were my only omissions/errors, I’m actually fairly pleased. Still, my apologies to any UGA fans who felt it should have been in the story. I agree, but it’s the fault of me, not anyone at the AJC.
Thanks, guys. Good comments. Enjoyed reading it.
Did I Say That?
November 6th, 2011
2:21 pm
Gwinnett loves Dekalb… Stephenson, you are a joke and disgrace. What you promote and foster is the reason why this country is in the shape it is in now.
Who are you trying to convience? Yourself? I thought this was the country of opportunity and believing in your dreams. Why is it a problem that Stephenson that is recoginze for accomplishments. If your going to spew your venom, please be accurate on what your talking about. Football has nothing to do with why this country is in the shape it is. It is in this shape because people like you voted for BUSH! Anyway Gwinnett county schools hands are not clean either! So don’t start throwing stones when your house is made of glass to.
Did I Say That?
November 6th, 2011
2:26 pm
Jeff Haws.. No need to mention apologize. Everyone knows that Tibbs is commited to UGA. Why does it have to be mention again? Is it to keep the UGA fans informed that TIBBS is not reconsidereing any place else? Let’s hope UGA use his talents to make UGA better instead of sitting him on the bench or trying to redshirt him like they have done so many other outstanding players here in Georgia.
Again Mr. Haws good article and you did an outstanding job in writing in the amount of time you had sir.
Gwinnett loves Dekalb
November 6th, 2011
3:39 pm
@ Did I Say That,
I hope Gwinnett gets the chance to wipe their butts with you again.
old carrollton fan
November 6th, 2011
3:41 pm
I am neutral in the Spephenson-MLK game debate.Dont take my word for it-have someone verify who has seen the film but the news clip on Friday nights game showed someone with a handfull of jersey(backside)during the big return by MLK.Check it out-wont change the game but would be interesting.
bksmith14
November 6th, 2011
5:10 pm
old carrollton fan ……………refs are human………..they do miss calls….no way to see every player and what they are doing at every moment…………4 refs ……22 players running around……..and i constantly hollar at the zebras
squirrell
November 6th, 2011
5:23 pm
Just a PACKER’S opinion!
CATS played GREAT defense and offensive play calling was much better than ours. It was a defensive battle most of the game where mistakes is what beats ya. We made the most mistakes and played with less passion than the CATS.
Like Propst said in the paper today, “We just did not show-up looking like we were ready to play….We just self-imploded…We got out-played and out-coached.”
Pulling for all FOUR Region 1AAAAA Teams in the play-off!
Go PACK!…Go CATS!….Go TROJANS!…..Go VIKINGS!
See ONE of US at the DOME!
Jeff Haws
November 6th, 2011
7:11 pm
Did I Say That? – Much thanks for the kind words. That’s greatly appreciated. I agree with the complaints that it should have been in there, but you make a good point that it’s not entirely necessary for a high school story.
Again, thanks. Glad you enjoyed the story. Hope it did a somewhat decent job of painting the picture of the finish of maybe the best high school football game I’ve seen in many years of covering this game.
old carrollton fan
November 6th, 2011
8:02 pm
Blacksmith14-I agree with you -there are no perfectly called games.It was just an interesting obsevation.They seldom shown replays of close calls during the Carrollton games-probably mandated.
JAG PLAYER
November 6th, 2011
8:40 pm
AS A STEPHENSON PLAYER I MUST SAY THAT THE PLAYERS LOST THIS GAME. WE TURNED THE BALL OVER 4 TIMES FOR 4 TOUCHDOWNS. AS PLAYERS WE GAVE THEM 28 POINTS. IF YOU TAKE AWAY THOSE POINTS WE WIN 49 TO 22 . THATS NOT BAD COACHING. THATS THE PLAYERS NOT PLAYING. WE WILL SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE ON THIS BLOG WILL BE THERE SATURDAY!!!!!!
I AM KING
November 6th, 2011
9:10 pm
@westlake football. You guys are the dumbest ever. On friday we will still be playing and your season is over with. I feel sorry for the kids. It really killed yall to lose those players. Maybe if you had a better coaching staff they would still be there. Everyone that transferred is still playing. But we will glad to give you guys what you need – friday night entertainment through december. TUNE IN!!!!! TO THE GREATEST SHOW ON TURF!!!!!!!!!!!
I AM KING
November 6th, 2011
9:20 pm
@COFFEE TROGEN#44. ITS FUNNY THAT VALDOSTA ONLY SCORED 3 POINTS ON MLK. BUT YOU SAY WE HAVE NO DEFENSE BUT WE WILL SEE FRIDAY.
RON CARTRELL
November 6th, 2011
9:46 pm
JAG PLAYER…………………..see me in my office son tommorrow after school……………you will sit sat night for getting on this blog…………i have told all my players including you to stay off this blog………you broke a rule………you will not play…………I already know that we are going to lose to lowndes………….and it will be me and my staffs fault as always ………..not the players…….
HELLO
November 6th, 2011
9:59 pm
hey JEFF HAWS
Please find out where Jonquel Dawson is going next year.
Did I Say That?
November 6th, 2011
10:08 pm
Gwinnett loves Dekalb
November 6th, 2011
3:39 pm
@ Did I Say That,
I hope Gwinnett gets the chance to wipe their butts with you again
LOL which would you like for us to beat again? Hopefully we get past Lowndes and then Grayson win we will see. Just be on here Sunday to see
jag fan 2
November 6th, 2011
10:12 pm
One of the high school games I have ever seen. Who told that kid to kick the ball to the most dangerous player on field. Stephenson coaches should be taking out and shot by firing squad , you had the game won . Mike Davis is the best back in the state of Ga.he is a stud.
Did I Say That?
November 6th, 2011
10:17 pm
Gwinnett loves Dekalb can you tell me what you mean about Stephenson, you are a joke and disgrace. What you promote and foster is the reason why this country is in the shape it is in now. Your athletes deserve better, but when you allow them to act the way they do, the good Lord seems to allow your true colors to shine when things get tough? Can you elaborate?