AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2006 > December > 17
Sunday, December 17, 2006
With ties, no one wins
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The beauty of parity revealed itself in Class AAAAA’s ultimate game Saturday night at McEachern and resounds all across Georgia today. Unfortunately, the ridiculousness of a mindless GHSA rule ruined an occasion that had the markings of something quite memorable.
The GHSA folks will tell you the coaches around the state would rather a title game conclude in a tie than lose in overtime. Ask Tim McFarlin and Blair Armstrong if they feel that way this morning.
A gem of a game that had a little bit of everything ended with the emptiest feeling. It was deadlocked at 14-14, a fact that left the players, coaches and fans not knowing exactly how to feel.
You go into competition, you expect to win or lose. You do not expect a tie, particularly with the state title in the balance.
And particularly when all season there are no ties. Teams play overtime periods until someone comes away with more points than the other. That’s how sports usually are executed.
Sure, the players can look back over the years and say they had a share of the state championship back in 2006. But it has far less impact to add: “We shared it with …”
Worse for the GHSA, Dublin and Charlton County’s Class AA championship game also ended deadlocked at 13-13. Maybe now, after four schools’ communities go away shaking their heads in dismay, change can occur.
McFarlin could not mask his ambivalence about the outcome. “I feel good — I think,” he said.
And that about sums it up.
The game was too good and the athletes competed too hard to dedicate all this space to a bad rule, however. Peachtree Ridge and Roswell both showed why they were playing on the final night of the season and not the usual suspects.
They carried the night with flair. If Roswell and Peachtree Ridge can reign atop the highest classification, then you can bet coaches from here to all the border states are primed to push the agenda to their teams that it is possible for them, too.
It had been 36 years since Roswell was of championship fiber. In 2006, the Hornets showed a lot, including Saturday, when they built a 14-3 lead that had its massive collection of fans in a frenzy.
Outstanding play, especially early, by quarterback Dustin Taliaferro and running back Alex Daniel helped Roswell gain confidence. Taliaferro had a big 29-yard run and Daniel followed it with a 26-yard score during which he hurdled the pile at the line of scrimmage, juked the safety left and dove in for the touchdown.
Taliaferro added an 83-yard touchdown pass to receiver Garrett Embry, putting Roswell up by 11 at halftime.
It was then that the Lions became resolute about defending their goal.
Led by Cameron Heyward, Aaron Blue and Phillip Davis, Peachtree Ridge did not relinquish another point. Meanwhile, the Lions’ 6-foot-5 quarterback, Zach Graham, was brilliant.
He was unflappable in the pocket, displayed an accurate slingshot arm and an ability to run in times of duress. He highlighted a 12-play drive with a 6-yard run and subsequent two-point conversion run that evened the score. The Peachtree Ridge supporters roared.
Graham’s heroics seemed to precipitate a dramatic finish. What we got, instead, was a letdown.
Still, all hail Roswell and Peachtree Ridge — two championship-worthy teams. The thing is, no one anticipated at the end of Saturday night that they’d both be “champions.”
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