They are only 1-2 in region play and sit in sixth place in nine-team Region 6-AAAAAA, but make no mistake about it, the Mundy’s Mill Tigers are in the thick of the playoff race.
Just ask ninth-ranked Tucker, which escaped Adams Stadium on Friday with a 36-35 overtime victory over Mundy’s Mill, winning with a two-point conversion after the final touchdown.
Tucker is the two-time defending region champion and has won 16 consecutive region games. Its victory over Mundy’s Mill was just the second during that winning streak that was decided by fewer than 20 points.
Mundy’s Mill is 3-2 overall in its third year under coach Dwayne Davis, whose first two teams at the Clayton County school each went 2-8. The Tigers’ other loss this season came against perennial playoff team Lovejoy, which stopped a late two-point conversion attempt for a 36-34 victory. Mundy’s Mill has been to the playoffs four times in its 16-season history, most recently in 2014.
“They were upbeat after the game but still disappointed. I told the guys that we need to keep our heads up,” Davis said to Luke Strickland of the Clayton News-Daily. “I tried to get the guys to realize that we’ve played five games but we’re three total points away from being undefeated. Last year at this time we were 0-5. We’re competing, putting points on the board. Playing Tucker, which is an elite team in Class AAAAAA, in overtime, who would have thunk it?”
Mundy’s Mill still has some work to do. Unless the Tigers upset Stephenson on Oct 12, their games against M.L. King on Thursday and Drew in the regular-season finale on Nov. 2 are likely to determine their playoff fate.
Here are some of the other big stories in Class AAAAAA from Week 5:
*Still in the hunt: Another team that had a respectable showing despite a loss was Sprayberry, which fell to third-ranked Harrison 21-14. The Yellow Jackets are 1-3 overall but 1-1 in Region 6, which puts them in fifth place as they seek their first playoff berth since 2011. Sprayberry led 14-13 early in the third quarter, but Harrison drove 93 yards to reclaim the lead on a 3-yard Caleb Williamson run late in the fourth quarter. Sprayberry drove to the Harrison 5-yard line, but a pass on the final play of the game was incomplete. Sprayberry's non-region losses came against South Forsyth and Wheeler, AAAAAAA schools with a combined record of 7-1.
*Still undefeated: Since all of the schools were reclassified before the 2016 season, only one AAAAAA team – Dalton in 2016 – has gone through the regular season undefeated. This year, four teams have made it to 5-0, and another is close behind at 4-0. All five teams play in either Region 1 (defending champion Lee County and 2017 runner-up Coffee) or Region 6 (Harrison, Creekview and Sequoyah, which is 4-0), so no more than two can reach 10-0 this season. One of those teams is sure to lose its next game, as Sequoyah plays at Creekview on Sept. 28 after each team has next week off. Lee County lost to Valdosta last year and finished 14-1.
*Good week for Gwinnett: The two Gwinnett County schools in Class AAAAAA – Dacula and Lanier – evened their records at 2-2 with victories that far exceeded the projections of the computer Maxwell Ratings. Dacula, a two-point favorite against Class AAAAAAA Central Gwinnett, broke open a close game with 24 points in a 10-minute stretch of the second half to win 40-6. Lanier was pegged as a nine-point underdog against Clarke Central but won 17-14. The Longhorns, playing without quarterback Zach Calzada, got a 71-yard touchdown return of a blocked field goal to spark a 17-point run that turned a 7-0 deficit into a 17-7 lead.
*How the top 10 fared: Class AAAAAA's top 10 teams had their best weekend of the season, winning eight of the nine games they played. The only loss was by No. 6 Glynn Academy, which gave up two quick second-half touchdowns and lost 29-14 in a game that was tied at halftime. "It's a game we should have a chance to win, and we didn't give ourselves a chance," Red Terrors coach Rocky Hidalgo told Andrew Smith of the Brunswick News. "I'm disappointed in myself. We're going to fix our problems and get back to work." The only top-10 team not in action was No. 7 Valdosta, which had its game against Beaufort, S.C., postponed to Sept. 28.
