The Tucker Tigers appear to be in rebuilding mode, at least on paper.
After all, they return just six starters – four on offense and two on defense. Among the key losses were 1,000-yard rusher Taurean Taylor (signed with Tuskegee), 1,000-yard receiver Josh Vann (South Carolina) and four-star lineman Dylan Wonnum (South Carolina).
On top of that, the Tigers have a brutal non-region portion of the schedule. Tucker opens the season Friday night at Georgia State against Class AAAAA No. 2 Buford in the Corky Kell Classic. The following week, the Tigers will travel to Class AAAAAAA No. 1 Grayson for a Saturday night game that will be televised by ESPNU.
That should certainly prepare the Tigers for the beginning of region play. Tucker’s first Region 4-AAAAAA game is Aug. 31 against Forest Park at Tara Stadium.
All hope is not lost for Tucker, however. This is a program that has won at least 10 games 16 times in the past 20 seasons, reaching the playoffs 19 times during that stretch. And the Tigers have advanced to at least the semifinals seven times in the past 11 seasons, including last year, and won two state championships along the way.
Tigers coach Bryan Lamar remains optimistic.
“The teams we’ve had before like this have won,” Lamar told Graham David of Score Atlanta. “Both teams that won titles [2008 and 2011] lost in the semifinals the year before and then lost everyone. Then they come back and win the whole thing the next season. We’re going to figure out how to get better every day in order to get back and be one of those teams.”
Here are some of the other interesting games involving Class AAAAAA teams on the opening weekend of the season (all games are Friday unless noted):
*Allatoona at Cartersville: Allatoona will look to build on the momentum created by a 7-1 finish and a quarterfinal berth after starting 2-3 in 2017. The Buccaneers face a Cartersville team that will be playing without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence for the first time since 2013. Allatoona, a state champ in 2015, is ranked No. 6. Cartersville, champion in 2015 and 2016, is No. 3 in AAAA.
*Brunswick at Coffee: Brunswick, under first-year coach Sean Pender, had its best season since 2010, winning seven games and reaching the playoffs for just the second time in seven seasons. The Pirates will have a tough task against second-ranked Coffee, which lost at Region 1-AAAAAA rival 28-21 in overtime in the 2017 state final. Coffee beat Brunswick 30-13 last year.
*Douglas County at Hillgrove: Douglas County had a breakout year in coach Johnny White's second season, winning 10 games and reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Douglas County was 2-8 the year before White's arrival. The Tigers will face a Hillgrove team that won the 3-AAAAAAA title last season but lost several key pieces, particularly on offense.
*Gainesville at Mary Persons: Heath Webb makes his debut as Gainesville's head coach, replacing Bruce Miller, who compiled a 157-46 record in 16 seasons and led the Red Elephants to their first state title. Webb came from Region 8-AAAAAA rival Winder-Barrow, which was 26-19 in his four seasons and made four consecutive playoff appearances. Mary Persons was 11-3 and a AAAA semifinalist in 2017.
*Mays vs. Norcross (Saturday): Mays will become the first Atlanta city school to participate in the Corky Kell Classic when it faces Class AAAAAAA's Norcross at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Raiders are enjoying the best run in program history, posting a 44-9 record over the past four seasons. Norcross is looking to bounce back from a 5-6 mark in 2017, its first losing record since 1998.
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