Stephenson 13, Tucker 6
By Jeff Haws
For the AJC
Tucker came into Friday night averaging 48 points per game.
Stephenson was not impressed.
The Class AAAAA No. 4 Jaguars neutralized No. 2 Tucker’s vaunted speed and put together two long touchdown drives to secure a 13-6 win at Hallford Stadium. It was Tucker’s first loss since the 2010 state semifinal against Starr’s Mill.
This was a game played mostly on the ground between two teams that like to throw numerous backs at the defense, but two passing plays may have been the biggest ones of the game.
The first came on third-and-9 for Stephenson (5-0, 5-0 in Region 6-AAAAA), from its own 49-yard line. Leading by just a touchdown, the Jaguars were on the verge of giving the ball back after a Tucker punt.
But quarterback Justin Holman had spotted a vulnerability in the middle of the Tucker defense, and he was ready to make a play.
“They were going man all game,” Holman said. “So we just talked it over as an offense, and I told my coaches we could take advantage of it. And we did.”
They did so by Holman hitting Dexter Neal on a slant pattern that went for 33 yards and a first down at the Tucker 18-yard line.
Three plays later came another third down, and Holman was up to the task again.
This time from the 15, Holman rolled left against the Tucker pass rush, squared his shoulders and found Taylor Henry wide open in the end zone to put the Jaguars up 13-0.
It’s one more time the Jaguars noticed a weakness and exploited it for a big play.
“We thought we got them on the corner,” Stephenson coach Ron Gartrell said. “They got him outside, and we’d have somebody open. They only had one guy covering him. They jumped the short guy, so we had him there.”
The Tigers (5-1, 4-1) did get themselves back into the game, though, and had their shots.
They finally scored on an 81-yard fourth-quarter drive, culminating in a 21-yard touchdown shovel pass on the run from Juwaan Williams to Dallas Rivers, pulling them back to within a score.
After a Stephenson three-and-out, Tucker had the ball with less than 3 minutes left, near midfield.
On the first play, Rivers ran through some tackles and was fighting for more yardage at the Stephenson 35-yard line when he fumbled. The Jaguars recovered and didn’t surrender the ball again until there were 17 seconds left, leaving Tucker with too little time to score again.
In the end, it was the defense that carried Stephenson to this win, holding an explosive Tigers team to just 6 points and fewer than 175 rushing yards.
“To shut Tucker out for three and a half quarters is amazing,” Gartrell said. “We knew we had a good defense; our coaches were well prepared, and we did a good job. We had two weeks to get ready; I think that really helped us.”
T 0 0 0 6 – 6
S 0 7 6 0 – 13
S – Austin Tevin 5 run (Wisdom Nzidee kick)
S – Taylor Henry 15 pass from Justin Holman (run failed)
T – Dallas Rivers 21 pass from Juwaan Williams (kick blocked)
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108 comments Add your comment
stephensonfinest531
October 12th, 2012
10:46 pm
Enter your comments hereBcS2010 oh now its just the regular season huh ok…lol i said if tucker came in with same mindset as the bloggers on here they would loose…they did and looked bad im really bad…@WarEagle like i said THIS AIN’T MARIST THIS IS STEPHENSON!!!… TO THE REST OF THE TUCKER BLOGGERS WELCOME TO 5A FOOTBALL….THIS IS GROWN MAN FOOTBALL WE PLAY AT STEPHENSON LOL… WE JUST GOT TUCKER MIND RIGHT TONIGHT …MLK YOUR NEXT
stephensonfinest531
October 12th, 2012
10:46 pm
BcS2010 oh now its just the regular season huh ok…lol i said if tucker came in with same mindset as the bloggers on here they would loose…they did and looked bad im really bad…@WarEagle like i said THIS AIN’T MARIST THIS IS STEPHENSON!!!… TO THE REST OF THE TUCKER BLOGGERS WELCOME TO 5A FOOTBALL….THIS IS GROWN MAN FOOTBALL WE PLAY AT STEPHENSON LOL… WE JUST GOT TUCKER MIND RIGHT TONIGHT …MLK YOUR NEXT
sportsnut
October 12th, 2012
10:48 pm
Well ! Congrats to Stephenson. Well done.
stephensonfinest531
October 12th, 2012
10:48 pm
SORRY ABOUT POSTING TWO TIMES AND YES I DID POST THIS ON ANOTHER BLOG SO DON’T ASK…I WONDER WHERE ALL THE TUCKER FANS ARE HUHUUHHHMMM LOL
Go Dekalb!
October 12th, 2012
10:56 pm
Good game Stephenson Jaguars. Congrats!! I like Tucker…but they were so sure that they would rule 5A(not…) MLK will be ready…I hope. Tucker….game on now. Get ready for some football. Lions will see you soon.
DHI
October 12th, 2012
11:01 pm
Where are the Tuckers fans? Talked so much JUNK this week, don’t hide now.
Go Dekalb!
October 12th, 2012
11:02 pm
@stephensonfinest531. I think they just need time to take it all in and recover. It takes a minute to digest crow. They will be back soon; afterall we are still all family.
MIGHTY LION KING
October 12th, 2012
11:05 pm
well like i said on my prediction, stephenson will beat tucker, and honestly i think the game cudda been much better if there was more scoring, but overrall good game to both teams..HOWEVER @STEPHENSONFINEST531 dont let one victory hype u up. Dont think you a win on the MLK LIONS gonna be so easy ..YOU ALREADY KNOW BOUT US.. IF NOT.. youtube last yr game..
LION NATION/ THE DOMINATION!!!
Dekalb Co Guy
October 12th, 2012
11:06 pm
Just got back from the game, It was a great game, Stephenson played solid and I definitely think Tucker is not used to playing a team with just as much speed as they do.
BcS2010
October 12th, 2012
11:10 pm
Lol u seen I wasn’t talking junk about Stephenson I jus said respect tucker… Lol y’all won by a touchdown and Yusuf minor didn’t play lol don’t get to big headed lol trust me tucker will b fine
stephensonfinest531
October 12th, 2012
11:14 pm
MIGHTY LION- go play in traffic if you were at the game last year you know about us ….i left at halftime …do you remember 36-12 o ok…we lost the game you beat us …bad coaching allow you back in but you so ok…if thats the type of victory you want bask in go head but that was our game..but forget that this a new season ..we gone get your(MLK) mind right next promise you that…LETS GO JAGGGGSSSS
stephensonfinest531
October 12th, 2012
11:25 pm
BcS2010 you had something to say about stephenson from the beginning of the season…now you half to eat your words …i respect tucker …but now tucker has to respect stephenson…because you just found OUT that two state titles in 4A don’t mean squat to a team WHO has played better teams then you and has just as much talent as you do welcome to GROWN MAN FOOTBALL..STEPHENSON STILL THE ENVY OF DEKALB LOL
alan carson #7 jcsu
October 12th, 2012
11:36 pm
stpehensonfinest531 that was not luck sir your whole team was d1 last year especially your defense … lol are you guys gone make another beef it up video. I never witness a d1 defense give up a 35 to 12 lead just saying mlk will always be the best team in dekalb/ the state tucker fans welcome it’s not flowery branch no more lol it’s like the sec west
Dylan
October 12th, 2012
11:40 pm
I called it! At the beginning of the season I said Stephenson would beat Tucker…Tucker is a really good team but as someone said, they have only really played mediocre-average teams. This stephenson squad is YOUNG (most of the players are underclassmen). They had like 30 guys leave with class of 2012 so the score was not as bad as it could’ve been if this was last years stephensons squad.
I am not taking anything away from tucker. They will come back and beat MLK. In the end it will be
1.Stephenson
2.Tucker
3.MLK
blu eagle
October 12th, 2012
11:40 pm
Stephenson, Tucker, MLK, after all your in fighting ur just gonna have NSWR to deal with , a shonuff grown man football team! But congrats to Stephenson glad you could shut Tucker up and shut them down.
Dylan
October 12th, 2012
11:44 pm
@Alan – Dunwoody not only kept up with but was leading MLK for the entire first half. MLK also lost to cedar grove. MLK is good but Tucker will beat them for the second spot in the region
bulldognation
October 12th, 2012
11:49 pm
um you guys do realize yosef didn’t play right. with yosef tucker wins. I just want to point out Chamblee is 6-0. #bulldog nation
On the sideline for the game
October 12th, 2012
11:55 pm
the stephenson coaches and players showed a lot of class not like snot nose little fan sitting over with the band, yes you stephensonfinest531. Did your mom abuse u as a kid??? Do you have one of those inferior complexes??? you obviously don’t know football
Serious
October 12th, 2012
11:59 pm
@Bulldog – Football is a team sport. Tucker was outplayed the entire game, I doubt ONE player would have made a diffrence. Excuses lead to failure….
“I would’ve win if…” is bogus
And also Tucker was playing with a YOUNG (mostly underclassmen) stephenson squad
Stephenson football
October 13th, 2012
12:01 am
1 guy didn’t play, that’s your excuse. Wow. First off we lost a starting line man on Monday. Not once did we wine or make an excuse. It’s called next man up. No team or player has ever been able to run all over Stephenson so why would he. Second this game should not have been close, Stephenson chose to play conservative and they played not to lose and it worked. If they would have been aggressive they could have beaten the hell out of Tucker, when they went to the spread Tucker was completely confuse, period. but i have said that all year. MLK has the same issues. See I know a little about football. So, no your on man wouldnt have changed much.
Anony
October 13th, 2012
12:07 am
did you honestly blame Tucker’s loss on Yusof Minor nor playing? Really? A runningback in a wing system? Get real man
BcS2010
October 13th, 2012
12:12 am
@stephensonsfinest531…look at my post from all year I have said nothing bad about Stephenson but ok lol I still think we will have 3 teams from our region in the final 4! But congrats Stephenson jaguars y’all are 5-0!
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
12:15 am
On the sideline for the game…yu sound like a sore looser ….lol snot nose fan i guess you haven’t seen your follow tuckers bloggers on here talking as if they were playing central dekalb jags all week well season really..but maybe you didn’t see those classy tucker fateful on here blasting us huh…you know what this is football not golf ok junk talk is apart of the game and if you played like i did you would know that but you were to busy PASSING OUT WATER “ON THE SIDELINE FOR THE GAME”LOL
Lionking2108
October 13th, 2012
12:16 am
Enter your comments here
BcS2010
October 13th, 2012
12:17 am
Stephenson should stay in the spread!! They exposed Tucker’s inexperience… Like I said earlier tucker has 9 new starters on defense this is the 1st real team they have played! And Stephenson exposed the hell out of them and that’s why they got the win 13-6 over tucker… And tucker needs to use juwann Williams more! He played QB and safety last year and they could use him on defense!!
ha ha and ha
October 13th, 2012
12:18 am
I am not affiliated with either school but I must say i’m glad tucker lost. I read the comments from tucker fans on the ajc article posted before this one and they were acting like they couldn’t be beaten. I hate when teams act like that, stephenson knocked them off their high horse.
Lionking2108
October 13th, 2012
12:21 am
Lions will be ready for The Jags believe me. Stephenson does not know how to deal with the passing attack. The wont play like they played Dunwoody!
BcS2010
October 13th, 2012
12:23 am
MLK don’t look past tucker….
TUCNATION
October 13th, 2012
12:39 am
I give Stephenson props. We lost fair and square. BUT Tucker will beat MLK, Stephenson will beat MLK 2.
We lost one but we will still win state
MLKingNation
October 13th, 2012
12:48 am
Everybody talking about our (MLK) game against dunwoody lets get one thing straight. We didn’t practice for 2 weeks and still put up 40 with 3 starting lineman and 3 defensive starters out… how many teams can do that. Stephenson isn’t even a threat anymore and haven’t been since my freshman year (the last time we lost to them) and with them beating tucker that just made out path to state easy. No team can match our pass attack and our run game is no joke (ask mays) and we will show stephenson and tucker what a real defense is!!! MLK LIONS 2013 STATE CHAMPS!
alan carson #7 jcsu
October 13th, 2012
12:50 am
lol you guys are funny Mlk alumni i love how my school is being overlook cant wait till we shut you guys up again 90 dawsgs you guys will find out what that mean
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
12:58 am
MLKingNation- i have seen you play stephenson will win thats all im going to say
Really bro?
October 13th, 2012
1:04 am
@MLK- Dude MLK lost to CEDAR GROVE!!! SWD held MLK to 18 points the entire game, Stephenson put up 32 on SWD and gave up ZERO. Yeah MLK beat Stephenson 2 years in a row(by a COMBINES total of 3 POINTS) but Stephenson beat MLK the two years before that and then Stephenson lost the next year so clearly that dosent mean anything.
MLK let DUNWOODY put up 17 points on them!!!!!!!!!! DUNWOODY was beating MLK the entire first half but you think MLK will beat tucker and stephenson???? GTFOH.
MLK beat stephenson by 1 POINT!!! And to honest MLK shouldve lost that game last year
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
1:19 am
Tucker DAD @Everyone Against Tucker, There is no evidence that Stephenson can compete in a game of this magnatude. History is our most trusted source of honesty. SO YOU WERE SAYING SOMETHING WHAT WAS IT NOW???
5AReg6Fan Jaguar Fans – Oct 12th, Stephenson will be playing ONE of the best football PROGRAMS in its history and wish for the next line to be false.
“WE ARE TUCKER” – 20 Consecutive Wins, with Stephenson being victim #21..SO WHAT HAPPENED??
Tiger4Life We will be taking the Jags out to the woodshed tonight..GUESS YOU GOT THE WRONG DIRECTION TO THE WOODSHED HUH???
uncleJunior Congrats Stephenson!!!! Good game, good victory.
Keep your heads up Tucker!!!!! You have nothing to feel bad about. YOUR RIGHT THE TIGERS DID THERE BEST SO MUCH LOVE TO THE TUCKER PLAYERS
BUT TO THE BLOGGERS WHAT HAPPEN ..WHERE OUR YOU ..S/O TO BcS2010 FOR STANDING BY HIS TEAM
Chad31601
October 13th, 2012
1:46 am
Well if nothing else we can tell by the above postings that the educational standards in these two schools is top notch keep up the good work.
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
3:14 am
rwdekalb …@Mr Johnson. Stephensen might need you to do some research for them after tonight to help them figure out what just hit them…. SO WE DID SOME RESEARCH AND WE FOUND OUT WHAT???I WANT YOU ANSWER THAT!!
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
3:28 am
Tuckerfootball4life… TUCKER QB is more athletic, but not as accurate (but we won`t need to pass anyway) we will have over 300 rushing yards and allow maybe 120, most of that will come in the 4th when the JV takes over for tucker. It`s not personal, we are just to damn strong for you…WHEN THE JV TAKES OVER HUH?? SEEMS LIKE THEY STARTED THE GAME
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
3:40 am
Tuckerfootball4life.. I will eat buzzard if Stephenson can beat us. WILL YOU FILM IT AND POST IT SO STEPHENSONS FANS CAN SEE IT PLEASE??
Stephenson not talking because they know what they have (nothing)
Lb’s are not very fast, corners and safeties are suspect. That is why I’m confident, any further questions. YOU KNOW YOU HAD ALOT TO SAY BUT YOU NOWHERE TO FOUND NUN OF YOU OUR…I BEEN UP ALL NITE WAITING I MEAN EVERYONE WAS LOOKING FOR JAB THIS PAST WEEK BUT NOW NO ONE CAN FIND YOU GUYS LOL IM DONE FOR THE NITE MAYBE I WILL SEE YOU GUYS LATER ON
JAB
October 13th, 2012
4:09 am
Okat! Where is TuckerDAD, Camden74, 5AReg6Fan, Tiger4Life, etc. what now! What did I tell you (ALL)! Stephenson did it! Yes! I said it now let (ALL) doubters have a seat…
JAB
October 13th, 2012
4:14 am
@ stephensonfinest531, I was at the game, got their early tailgated , and I sat on the Tucker side and heard them as they was so over confident but after that second touchdown, a silence covered that side. I couldn’t help myself from celebrating after Stephenson won both games the football game 13-6 and the band show… Where are you guys at, even AJC went with Tucker!!
JAB
October 13th, 2012
4:16 am
I’m just now blogging because I went out with some friends after the game celebrating… @ you know Stephenson do what thwey do like the Falcons. “RISE UP” JAGNATION…:)
JAB
October 13th, 2012
4:25 am
@ Stephenson football, I like your posts man! Very intelligent right to the point…
Realist
October 13th, 2012
5:11 am
@TUCKER DAD and all you other Tucker fans, WELCOME!! This isn’t St. Pius or Marist. As a former Jaguar alum and former player, we have always had really good players and good coaches. When we lose the big games, like we did my senior yr against valdosta, its half the players fault and half the coaches. We usually beat ourselves at the end of the day. What you Tucker fans dont realize is that you guys didnt win anything until Coach Stephens came. You all still have a good team, but now hes gone. You guys werent winning anything either before he came. I dont understand where all this greatness talk comes from, though I will admit you have a respectable program. We have only had one coach and have only been open since 96. We started playing real football in 2000. Im not making any excuses cause we are well overdue, but you guys dont realize, we have played in many big games, more than you maybe, because our competition was better. Our coach hasnt always made the best decisions in big games, but we love him and he runs a respectable program. You guys thought you were gonna run over us. We dont care about that win streak or those championships, that means nothing today. You all played a real team who has played real football tonight, and to be honest with you, this is one of the weaker Jaguar teams that I have seen from my alma mater in some years. If you all played some of our past teams, it would have been 50-0. So you all really have some work to do. There’s a reason why we send so many kids to school, there not overrated, we just have to get some things together in the playoffs to pull out those big games. But we had to teach you, its not your fault, yall didnt know any better. Just wipe the crow off your face and help us to represent our region well, and hopefully one of us can represent the region in the state game. TUCKER, WE PLAY REAL FOOTBALL IN JAGUAR NATION, DON’T GET IT TWISTED. WE ENJOYED INITIATING YOU ALL INTO BIG BOY BALL.
Realist
October 13th, 2012
5:18 am
And TUCKER DAD, throw all that “if history serves us correctly” crap out the window. History started tonight. We should have beat yall worse. I really dont think you saw a Stephenson game before tonight, so you didnt know any better either. If you had seen us play before, I think you would have known that we have traditionally been better than what you were giving us. But you all have a good team and I like your team. Coach Lamar is gonna do a good job over there
Recruiting Insider
October 13th, 2012
6:16 am
I’ll say it again. Tevin Austin is a gamer! The D1 recruiters should be salivating to scoop up this young man.
BigDog
October 13th, 2012
7:39 am
There is no question that the game would have been different if Yusef Minor had played. He has far more speed that anyone else out there. Why is he not playing in many games this year?
Rock Days
October 13th, 2012
7:41 am
Jag nation please stop it!you see the tucker “FAITHFUL”has surrender!And by the way @CHAD this is a football blog not a email to our boss!Get off P.A announcer
lsju82
October 13th, 2012
8:17 am
I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but I have a couple of observations. First, Stephenson, MLK, and Tucker have a combined two state championships — and Tucker has won them all. Second, Tucker has lost to a rival before and gone on to win a state championship, avenging the loss in the process. All three teams would be well advised to let their play do the talking until December since everyone will know which of these teams, if any, are the big dog.
Tuckertown
October 13th, 2012
9:00 am
I was at the game. I give MUCH props to the Jag program. You guys look really good last night and clearly out played my Tigers in a CLOSE game. This was not a blow-out. I look forward to a rivarly that will provide great games like this in the future- with hopefully different outcomes.. I want to remind Tucker, MLK & Jags fans of 2 things. 1) Titles are NOT won in September or October. Let’s see how the season plays out. 2) This is HS football. These are boys playing football. No need to put down another program to elevate your program. What happens on the field speaks for itself (whether in be in 4A, 5A,6A). Let’s show the class in these blogs that we would love to see these kids demonstrate on the field and in life. WIN with class & lose mainting dignity…………………….
MIGHTY LION KING
October 13th, 2012
9:27 am
@stephensonfinest531 yeah I remember that 36 to 12 score by stephenson last yr but I also remember a 38 point come back for MLK to win the game.. and I don’t care what you say about it,but 18 bed let a rival come back on by that much them whether is bad coaching or bad players IS NOT ready to go to state no time soon.. not to discredit STEPHENSON being they are my second favorite team, but the under estimating that MLK get from yall ..its like BOY STOOOPPP!!!.. remind you that MLK is the first ever school to rack up on y’all by 50 points…NEED I SAY MORE..I would say more..but ima leave it at this..MEET ME @THE 50!!!
LION NATION/THE DOMINATION!!!
MIGHTY LION KING
October 13th, 2012
9:33 am
@ stephensonfinest531- I meant a team that let instead of 18 bed lol stupid smartphone error..
LION NATION/THE DOMINATION!!!
Gamer
October 13th, 2012
9:45 am
Where are all those Tucker bloggers? It seems that all were busy writing long memos in preparation for a Tucker win..You can tear them up or place Stephenson’s name where you had Tucker’s. Now you will hear how this is a young team and most of the player are underclassmen and how they have always respected Stephenson– and to go back and look at their blogs–Bull! .
Gamer
October 13th, 2012
9:47 am
I meant “Players”
G-dub
October 13th, 2012
9:51 am
Congrats JAB, Stephenson finest and Stephenson fans, the hype and buildup was amazing and the game was great. So much speed on both teams,and one player would not have made a difference so Tucker fans quit making excuses and give SHS props.
Tiger4Life
October 13th, 2012
10:05 am
I’m making this post before I read any comments, so I will keep a level head.
Congrats to Stephenson. They play a good enough to win. Hats off.
Now, Tucker didn’t play it’s best football last night. We had way to many mental penalties. The two biggest that cost us the “running into the punter” and “holding” on the first qrt. 40 yard run.
On to the next game, we are now getting ready for SWD
WE ARE TUCKER
Run With Us or Run From Us
BIGD
October 13th, 2012
10:06 am
Enter your comments here
M-TO-M
October 13th, 2012
10:17 am
We all know Tucker’s QB threw the touch down pass after he ran pass the line of scrimmage. The refs did not call this and this is the only reason Tucker got 6 points on the board.
Tiger4Life
October 13th, 2012
10:24 am
@anyone looking for me
I’m right here not running from anyone. Eveyone saying “I told you so” win with a little class. You had a 50/50 chance of being right.
Tucker DAD
October 13th, 2012
10:38 am
@Jab & stephensonsfinest and the rest, Sorry I’m late to the party but it took a long time for my balloon to land after it burst!
Nothing to say but great game played by the Stephenson Jags and I was impressed with the discipline they showed all night. I take nothing away from them and their victory, they earned it.
It’s one thing to get on here and talk about what you think your team will do to other teams and then go on the field and back it up, but last night we did not do many things to help our case. I agree with @Tiger4Life that we made way too many mental mistakes and just didn’t play our brand of football. When you run the wing T you can not keep putting yourself in 2nd and long and 3rd and long situations and expect to win the game. We have some issues that need to be addressed before we can say that we are playing the brand of ball that we were used to.
The good news is that we played about as bad as we’ve ever played and we still only lost by 7 points, the bad news is we picked the wrong time to have a bad game. Clearly these issues are addressable and we will see Stephenson down the road again.
Yes, let me quote history once more… back in 2008 we lost to a very strong Marist team in regular season and came back to beat them for the state title. Don’t ever count us out.
Now I must go because we have a lot of CROW to cook and I have to decide how to prepare it! Barbecue it, stew it, bake it, sear it, boil it, fry it, put it in gravy, filet it, skew it………… that’s about all.
Tiger4Life
October 13th, 2012
10:41 am
And Yes, #2 Minor makes a” BIG” difference. On those speed sweeps that picked big gains, he scores everytime and I mean everytime he runs that play. The kid runs a legit 4.2 and once he hit the corner it’s lights out !!! I’m not saying we would have won if he had played, but one can only think it would have made a differance.
Innocent Bystander
October 13th, 2012
10:44 am
Sloppy game by both teams and the refs. 1. The first two plays by both teams set the tone on what type of night it was going to be. The refs were not in the position to call those penalties and probably should not get the opportunity to call any more games of this magnitude. 2. Same OLD Stephenson coaching staff not putting away opponents. Have they not learned anything during their careers about single digit leads, I mean up 7 and go 3 and out in one of the most pivotal drives in the game. Just, think Tucker first play from scrimmage was a 16 yard run with a questionable fumble (again refs not in the correct position to make the call). You could see the way Tucker quarterback was running through their defense that they were tired. Nevertheless good victory for the Jag!!!! Just hope this was not your State Title Game because there are a couple of weeks left before that game will be played
DeeDawg
October 13th, 2012
10:45 am
Good post Tucker Dad. Tucker is a great team and took the defeat like a champion. I think they will be a force to reckoned with the rest of the season. I bet they destroy ML King.
Innocent Bystander
October 13th, 2012
10:58 am
Oh yeah and on that Tucker touchdown the quarterback was clearly over the line of scrimmage (officals not in the correct position to make the call). One last note I have seen both teams play and noticed alot of guys not on the field. I heard about the offensive linemen for the Jags but what about the other Nose guard for Tucker, What is his status
BcS2010
October 13th, 2012
11:00 am
I guarantee y’all Stephenson and Mlk still think tucker are title contenders!! The score was only 13-6 lol that’s 1 touchdown!
mr. johnson
October 13th, 2012
11:06 am
You guys are sadly mistaken… I can guarantee you that MLK will beat both Tucker and Stephenson. If you think Tucker was clueless against Stephenson when they went to the spread, imagine how they will be vs. MLK, a team who does it about as well as any team I’ve ever seen. Their OC is very good at adjusting and calling plays at the right time… Tucker defense was completely lost at times And Stephenson knows how it is… they gave up over 300 yards passing and 6tds last year and oh, oes the name Blake Tibbs ring a bell? Well they have another kid just like him who just lit Dunwoody up for 150 yards and 2tds… and they got a secret weapon in the backfield now too… its gonna be some good football these next few weeks and as we all know, the LION is the king of the jungle….
True Blue
October 13th, 2012
11:14 am
Tucker missing a Starter and Stephenson missing a Starter. Tucker had a run call back because of penalty. Stephenson had a Touchdown call back because of penalty. One man dont start no show. Its a team effort. So quit making excuses about why you lost. High power offense shut down by a strong defense that plays good against the run. Both team are suspect against the pass, because you saw it against Arabian Mountain. So neither team exploited each defense, when you know both teams are strong against the run. Speed dont win games. Who cares that Yusef run a 4.2, but he needs to get his personal life together and dont waste that talent that God gave him. I told you Defense wins football games not speed. You can’t out run a fundamentally sound Defense.
K From Da Wood
October 13th, 2012
11:55 am
@Tuckertown, well said. I want to say s this. It is my firm belief that a lot of these bloggers have a perspective that does not serve the best interest of the players. Winning a state title is an awesome achievement, but it us not the only measure of a program. While it is the ultimate team success at this level, just because a program doesn’t have a state title, that does not diminish the caliber of a program. As a parent and a community supporter, the most important thing to me is that this kids have the opportunity to continue playing the game and getting an education at the next level. To say only schools with championships are quality programs and those without are not, is discounting the effort of all the schools that fall short of a title. Tucker has been a great program for quite sometime, but have only recently won a title. That does not diminish the greatness of their program prior to the titles. Stephenson has 5 players playing in the NFL, 3 from the same graduating class. That is not a true measure of success either, but the fact that so many players from these programs have opportunities to play in college and earned degrees is a great accomplishment.
dekalbcountyfootball1
October 13th, 2012
12:50 pm
I heard that game was the best game of the year so far. I also heard that DeKalb charge $10? If this is true please explain? MLK should currently be worried about Lakeside-DeKalb/Homecoming. That is their NEXT game!
mr. johnson
October 13th, 2012
1:18 pm
@Dekalb. I can guarantee you MLK is not looking past Lakeside.. Dunwoody taught them a lesson…
hillarypayne
October 13th, 2012
1:31 pm
well we beat tucker they out now its time for miller grove thats going to be a blow out i hope and then mlk idk who is going to win that game cuz mlk is good and stephenson is good but i think stephenson is going to out on top sooo …… idk who is going to win state champions !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KeithMLKfan
October 13th, 2012
1:51 pm
I was at the game last night, seemed to me Tucker played way to conservative until late in 4th qt….Looked like their QB should have been much more involved earlier in the game….
Bigdog58
October 13th, 2012
3:02 pm
When its all over at the end Tucker will be playing football long after Stephenson loses in the playoff asl always. They are not a great coach team and never have been. They will lose 2 games this year and then all they will be saying we beat Tucker. As I see it they were 5a last year and realized they were playing over their head and didn’t want to go th 6AAAAAA and keep losing. See Tucker and MLK in the playoff and win then you can talk. It looks like this win was more for Stephenson than Tucker so they can say they can play with the Big Boys. Stephenson has talent but the fans have said for years and years that they are poor coached and it showed last night because Tucker almost pulled it out in the end. The referee took to much from the game also. They hurt both teams. You will see Tucker Nation again.
JAB
October 13th, 2012
3:18 pm
@ Tucker DAD, I like your good sportsmanship, I think you should eat well done barbecue corw Lol., because you guys did rub it in on Stephenson. @ Tiger4Life what do you mean about ” Tucker didn’t play it’s best football last night. We had way to many mental penalties. The two biggest that cost us the “running into the punter” and “holding” on the first qrt. 40 yard run”. Tucker fans, team, & coaches was equally excited and prepared for the game as was Stephenson, both sides played their heart out but the better team won!! NOTE: I am indeed a Dekalb County fan, win one team looses in the playoffs< I then follow all remainding teams. Tucker had a good run at the State bu t move over their is a new sheriff in town and you know what I mean., the STEPHENSON JJJJAAAAAAAAAAGUARS….
JAB
October 13th, 2012
3:21 pm
@ Realist, WELL SAID!!
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
3:24 pm
Bigdog58-cut it …i don’t see how you can talk i mean we are the ones with bad coaches but your boys were lining up offside on offense ..you guys didn’t almost do anything and the TD you got he was over the line of scrimmage clearly..again the respect that stephenson has for the tucker team made then play conservative..which im fine with …we just need to win by one..we didn’t play as well as we should have either as far as execution of the offense and defense we had some plays we had stop in the backfield but didn’t finish the play on good tucker RB’s …Stephenson will do well once we get a few things together GO JAGS
JAB
October 13th, 2012
3:29 pm
@ BcS2010, A WIN IS A WIN WHETHER IT BE BY ONE, 3 POINTS OR A TOUCHDOWN. IT GOES DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOK AS A WIN. GET OVER IT, LIVE WITH IT! TUCKER LOSS… @ I’M NOT TALKING LOUD MY CAP LOCK WAS ON & I’M NOT ABOUT TO RETYPE THIS, WE ARE NOT IN SCHOOL CHAD…
stephensonfinest531
October 13th, 2012
3:34 pm
Tiger4Life …OH NOW WE NEED TO WIN WITH A LITTLE CLASS LOL where was that class you had before the game was even played because you didn’t show it on here…DON’T COME IN THE KITCHEN IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE FIRE..
JAB
October 13th, 2012
3:40 pm
@ MIGHTY LION KING, when it’s all said and done, MLK will have the 3rd playoff spot, “BELIEVE THAT”…
King Of Diamonds
October 13th, 2012
3:43 pm
RUN WITH US OR RUN FROM US? WE ARE TUCKER.. I THINK THAT IS THERE MOTTO.
Great game. As I stated in another post keys to victory for STephenson and it came to past.
I will post what I said. I am surprises there aren’t any excuses. HMMM. Maybe Stephenson is starting to get some respect.
uncleJunior
October 13th, 2012
5:16 pm
I just gotta say one thing. If this was the first of the marquee games being played in Dekalb County. . . . . . .then the spectators of Dekalb High school football are truly blessed!!!!!!!!
french fries – $3.00??????? Is that true??? Well, I guess I’m not going to football games just to buy fries.
dekalbcountyfootball1
October 13th, 2012
5:24 pm
I hope Tucker’s Minor will play the last games. Did you see MLK game vs Dunwoody we missed a total of 6 players. Dunwoody was excited the first half and MLK made some mistakes along with taken them lightly. Playing Lakeside-DeKalb for homecoming will allow them to get ready for the playoff stretch run. (Stephenson, Tucker, Miller Grove)! I got my popcorn ready; meet me at the 50!
BcS2010
October 13th, 2012
6:07 pm
@JAB… Lol I’m over it y’all won I’m just saying dont be too happy lol
MakeThe Call
October 13th, 2012
9:20 pm
This Region is very interesting! it will come down to the wire to see who wins it and who goes to the playoffs. The Jags & Tigers was a Great game but MLK & Miller Grove, SWD still has to play the meat of there schedules. Mays is still there and can be in a very good spot for the playoffs in this region they had MLK until the las few minutes of their game no one else has scored on MLK like they have and they had the tougher region schedule thus far.The Dekalb teams have to continue to knock each other off for this region to start sorting out. The word is MLK will beat everyone and win the region we will see.
Really bro?
October 13th, 2012
10:42 pm
MLK sucks this year……they let dunwoody put 17 points up on them!
It will be
1.Stephenson
2.Tucker
3.MLK
4.Miller Grove OR MAYS
JAB
October 14th, 2012
12:53 am
@ Really bro? I agree with your final region standings and MLK better get right or else they might be fighting for that 4th and final spot. Lastly NSWR., you better get ready to prepare for region 6AAAAA whomever team (Stephenson) comes out on top will win the state championship!! “BELIEVE THAT”…
JAB
October 14th, 2012
12:57 am
I love these AJC blogs cause when it’s all said and done the Stephenson Jaguars will be the State Champions in AAAAA Division… My new motto: In JAG NATION, WE DO LIKE THE ATLANTA FALCONS, WE RISE UP!!! “BELIEVE THAT”
K-man
October 14th, 2012
2:06 am
This is not the same TUCKER team as the previous four or five years ago…..especially without their old ball coach! Anybody that watch high school ball can tell you that. TUCKER wins the big game…called the championship, on more than one occasion….STEPHENSON bows out in the first round year after year after year! Tell me I`m lying!
How U Figure
October 14th, 2012
9:09 am
@JAB how you figure Stephenson will win the Class AAAAA title, because you beat Tucker? Don’t take 5A lightly.
MIGHTY LION KING
October 14th, 2012
10:15 am
@JAB/REALLYBRO?- If yall havent said one funny joke all yr that would probably be the funniest one yet!! THIRD RANK MLK??? Do yall kiss your mother with that mouth lol (just JOKIN) But really, YES MLK did look horrible the other night but as far as i am concern all three TOP teams had one bad game that the win didnt go as we wanted it to..OURS with DUNWOODY and theirs with ARABIA MTN..To be honest no school has made a true break away point from the others in the TOP three so i will hold my tongue until MLK beats both..
LION NATION/ THE DOMINATION !!!
uwillbtuckedaway
October 14th, 2012
11:01 am
@K From Da Wood – Great post!!
Congratulations to Stephenson. Good game.
You were the better team on Friday night. Lets stop right there though as you can attest to all of the previous years where great regular seasons end early due to playoff melt downs.
Appears Stephenson has difficulty with prosperity in games!
Thought we were poised to pull another NSWR come from behind victory out of the hat!!
Fumble late in the fourth quarter ended that possibility but we STILL almost broke the screen pass at the end.
#21 for Stephenson is a BEAST!!!
Loss will only humble our Tucker fans and players to make a strong 2012 playoff run!!
WE ARE TUCKER!!!
True Blue
October 14th, 2012
12:29 pm
BigDog58, Stephenson could have played in your region 3 years ago,but they decided to stay up. They have less Students than Tucker but played up. But its funny how people want to make excuses after getting their butts beat. You were on here bragging talking about things in the past about Stephenson. I don’t understand why people hate on a program that haven’t won anything. They hate on them sending young African – American to College. Our own people be JEALOUS and Hating at the same time on predominately black school helping their Seniors go to College Free. Can you afford to pay for your son or daughter to go to college. Hope don’t pay for everything anymore.
Tiger4Life
October 14th, 2012
1:35 pm
You guys won the game! The biggest win in Stepensons young program life, Now can you guys please stop bringing up the “we send kids to college” bid. We all know, just keep winning so we can mee in the Dome!!!!
DeeDawg
October 14th, 2012
1:57 pm
Step back everyone and think about this…we’re talking 3 GREAT teams (Stephenson, Tucker, & ML King) all within a few miles of each other being undeniably argued as the top squads in the classification 5A. Not to be wishy-washy, but I want one of these to go all the way and win the state championship. I’m partial to Stephenson finally doing it, only because my home is within Jaguar territory, but I’ve gone to watch all of these teams play…including both Tucker State Championship games. I know NSWR is laying low, flying beneath the radar, not being vocal on this blog (ENR is inexplicably quiet this year), but the state champion will come from Dekalb County again.
Fair Play Fan
October 14th, 2012
2:19 pm
JAB and Tucker: Keep your argument between Stephenson, MLK and Tucker———NSWR has their own fight to reach the play-off. Nothing in guranteed.
True Blue
October 14th, 2012
3:42 pm
Tiger4life, you keep talking talent and coaching . All we say is quit HATING and get over it . Plus you keep bringing up cant win the big game and always losing in the first round. But has anybody got on here and said we know. Just get over the loss and move on . Everybody knows Tucker has a excellent program. That’s was a hard loss to team that under achieve as you say in a big game.
stephensonfinest531
October 14th, 2012
4:58 pm
Im done with tucker we beat them and now they have every explanation in the world as to why they lost…the better team won period..stephenson had a bad game to if we would have been working the slot because it was open all nite long it would have been a blowout..but we play it safe so im cool with that..the big 3 still has to be worked out to see WHO is the best and stephenson will be on top when its all said and done..but IN THE playoffs we could have 3 teams in the sim-finals and a all dekalb final …man dekalb is really in a league of its own..best of luck to everyone and now lets get ready for our next game then we will focus on MLK …GO JAGS
STEPHENSON FOOTBALL…WHO’S NEXT
Really bro?
October 14th, 2012
9:43 pm
@K-Man- Yes stephenson has fallen short in the playoffs, but they lost to the most DOMINATE teams in the southeast (lowndes etc.) but never lost by more then a td. Tucker has prospered in the playoffs but take a look at the teams they played!!! That has a lot to do with it. I said it before and I will say it again….they played LOVEJOY for a STATE TITLE!!!! Tucker has never played with the big boys which is why FOR YEARS they have looked better then they actually are.
If you have a average team playing mediocre AT BEST teams, 9 times out of 10 that average team will come out on top, and look really good doing it.
A good Tucker team played one of the worst stephenson teams in years and they still lost. In fact the score couldve been WORSE but Stephenson played conservative doing just enough to win. The game was not as close as the score makes it seem. Tuckers offense was completley SHUT DOWN by Stephenson D. In fact tuckers only TD shouldve been called back because the QB was over the line. Go look at the highlights. Everyone in the stadium saw it.
Stephenson sends more kids to college. Not only that Stephenson is only like 15 years old yet they have the MOST players in the NFL in the entire state of GA. One of Stephensons players played in the Superbowl last year.
And lastly TUCKER opened in 1918 you guys didn’t get a state championship until 2008! That’s 80 years!!!!! It took tucker 80 years to win 1 state title!
Stephenson is like 15 years old and MLK is like 10…it won’t take them 80 years to win a title
Tiger4Life
October 14th, 2012
11:57 pm
@True Blue, I like Stephenson , just not when they playing Tucker! You can check they blog history from last year, I went in on anyone that had something to say about any Dekalb team and I will still defend them from outsiders! I love the opportunities that the majority of your players get to further their football and education, it’s not only great for them but also the community.
Btw, I been over the loss, I’m not a sore loser. So until we meet again we cool! But guys like Really Bro make it hard to be nice to all Stephenson supporters.
@really bro
If you think 9 new starters on defense and 8 on offense is a good Tucker team, thank you. Secondly, if you win the the title this year, then what ? It means nothing because its not in the highest classification? So why play down? And if you lose in the early rounds then what?
Tucker didn’t start playing football until 1950!!! Also we have a 3 time Super Bowl champ. Patrick Pass!
Tigerpops
October 15th, 2012
12:10 am
Stephenson played the game they needed to play in order to secure the victory. Tucker OC sucks really bad. He has a weapon like Williams who has 30 plus D-1 Offers and He runs #7 who was slowwww. Then he doesnt open up his play book until he is desperate. #2 was suspended for violation of team rules so he didnt deserve to play. SHS did surpise me with their toughness and Kudos to them. Tucker Kids played great. #25 is a Beast but their OC let them down because he was garbage.
uwillbtuckedaway
October 15th, 2012
1:18 am
@Really Bro? – I have to start by saying that your name is befitting. Really Brother?
Is that the story you’re going to stick with?
Stephenson deserves better than to have fans like you to disgrace them with such poor comments.
Perhaps some of the better Stephenson teams that you reference needed to play more like the Stephenson team that played on Friday night and you might have a championship or two to add to your brag list.
From what I saw on Friday, this may not be your most talented team but this is a solid TEAM that plays extremely hard.
I agree Tucker struggled on offense. Some of that was due to a solid Stephenson defense. Some of the struggle was also due to having to adjust offensively to playing without important components in just a few days time!
Not an excuse because this is football and you have to be able to adjust.
Injuries, and in this case suspensions, happen and the world moves on!
We all applaud Stephenson for the number of children they send to college, and we will applaud you WHEN and IF you win your FIRST State Championship!!
Until that time, your comments will continue to read as foolish as you must be by your attempts to prop up Stephenson’s accomplishments (and you don’t really need to I must add because as you referenced you’ve done some great things) by tearing down Tucker winning State Championships!
Everyone compares themselves to a Champion so while I understand that human psychology, it infuriates me to take the steps you’re taking which is to also try to tear down the accomplishments of the Champion to somehow make you look better. It doesn’t work.
Because at the end of the day this is the reality:
Stephenson won ONE game against Tucker on Friday.
Stephenson has fielded some great teams.
Stephenson sends numerous children to college on football scholarships.
Stephenson has a history of losing early in the playoffs.
Tucker has a storied football legacy and tradition that includes TWO STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!
Muhammad Ali said it best, “Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.”
This not so good Stephenson team from Friday that beat our beloved Tucker Tigers by a mere six points displayed a Champion type of toughness that I didn’t think I’d ever see a Stephenson team display!!
But then, that’s what it takes to beat a CHAMPION and Tucker should know because we have TWO STATE TITLES!!!!
WE ARE TUCKER!!!!!!!
Camden74
October 15th, 2012
1:20 am
Wow! Haven’t seen this many Stephenson post all season! Must be the shoes……..
Really bro?
October 15th, 2012
2:34 am
@uwillbetuckedaway Tucker having to “agjust” is an EXCUSE. Stephenson was also missing a starter. Still did what we needed to do
DeeDawg
October 15th, 2012
5:19 am
uwillbtuckedaway – move on and get over it. You lost to a better team, and if you are unlucky, you will have to play them again for the state championship. You will lose again…probably to another 5A school. As someone already pointed out, you’re playing in a higher classification now…no more slow Marist teams to beat up. No one discounts Tucker’s football history. That’s nice to read about. Let’s talk about the here and now. It wouldn’t surprise me if ML King or Mays whip Tucker too.
go jags
October 15th, 2012
8:42 am
lets be real stephenson the truth!! and best beleive mlk finna get that a** whooped next friday spray paint that
Tiger4Life
October 15th, 2012
10:27 am
@Really Bro
Ohh… Now I get it !!!
You guys beat Tucker the defending Champs, so you think the title is yours already. Okay…
And I’m still waiting for my answer. “If” SHS wins the title is it going to be less meaningful because you had to drop down in classifications to do it?
uwillbtuckedaway
October 15th, 2012
7:56 pm
@DeeDawg and Really bro? – I’ve moved on but I must admit it is tough to get over because I do STILL think Tucker is a better team than Stephenson.
Well, if only the better team could just win every time there would really not be a reason to play the games.
Ask NSWR, they still believe they’re a better team than our Tucker Tigers from last year. And, honestly, they probably were better but WE WON and I’ll take it.
In regards to Stephenson I say congratulations again I PRAY we meet again in the DOME!!
It will finally answer your critics that you can last longer than a round or two in the playoffs and FINALLY reach a championship game.
And, it’ll give us an opportunity to do what we should have done on last Friday.
WE ARE TUCKER!!!!
MLK lion
October 16th, 2012
2:07 pm
ml king is without a doubt the best team in region 6 and all of 5A
Dallas Rivers and Yusef Minor WILL be shut down when King plays tucker
DeeDawg
October 16th, 2012
8:33 pm
uwillbtuckedaway – you have to admit…we have same darn fine teams in our region… I really can’t fault you for strong support for Tucker. I was very impressed by them, especially the sportsmanship shown after the game. I think Stephenson was fortunate to win, not lucky, but fortunate. I also think Tucker will be back with a vengence.