Chris Broadwater rushed for 162 yards and 4 touchdowns, while the Tucker defense stifled Lovejoy to lead the Tigers to a 31-21 win Friday night.
The win helped position Tucker well for the No. 2 seed out of Region 2-AAAAAA, if the Tigers (6-3, 3-1) can defeat Lakeside next week.
The key drive of the game started with Tucker at its own 48-yard line and 3:01 on the third-quarter clock. Lovejoy had just used pass plays of 43 and 58 yards to drive 98 yards and pull within 7 after being down 21-0 in the first half.
Tucker never deviated from its gameplan, running the ball six times to get to the Lovejoy 13, where the Tigers turned it over to Adam Lippy, who knocked in the 30-yard field goal that gave Tucker its winning margin on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Wildcats didn’t make another first down that wasn’t via penalty the rest of the game.
That was because Tucker’s defense, which wasn’t perfect, completely shut down Lovejoy’s normally effective ground game – 6 total rushing yards, minus-15 for lead back Zion Custis – and took the Wildcats out of their offensive rhythm.
“We know they’re a run team, so we had to stop the run and make them have to throw the football,” Tucker coach Bryan Lamar said. “We’re in a situation where we’ve played a lot of young guys, we’ve had a lot of guys out. Now, those guys are starting to be able to feel what it’s like to play the type of defense that we like to play, how to be aggressive, how to be sharp in your alignments.
“They’re learning to play with some confidence, which is big for us in making a run to the playoffs.”
Tucker scored the first 21 points of the game, with all three touchdowns coming from Broadwater in the first half. The middle score capped off an impressive 12-play, 90-yard drive that ate 5 minutes, 27 seconds off the clock and, with 3:44 left, looked like it would make the halftime score 14-0.
But a quick three-and-out by Lovejoy (4-5, 3-1) gave Tucker the ball back at the Wildcats 41-yard line with 2:21 left.
That was plenty of time for the Tigers, who scored with 1:00 left to extend their lead to three touchdowns.
Lovejoy wasn’t done, though, after Santo Dunn returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Tucker 34, setting the Wildcats up to get on the board before halftime.
Two plays later, quarterback Trevaro Hardy hit a wide-open Dunn, who stepped out at the 4, and Hardy handled the rest on the next play, pulling Lovejoy back within two scores at the half.
The complexion of the first half could have been much different if not for a big missed opportunity for the Wildcats. In the final minute of the first quarter, Hardy lofted a fourth-and-11 pass to Malik Route, who was all alone in the end zone. The ball bounced off his hands, though, and Tucker took over on downs.
About the Author
