Tucker dominated Lovejoy and eased to a 27-12 win Friday night in what served as the Region 2-AAAAAA title game.
The Tigers defense spoiled senior night for over 30 Wildcats and ended a streak of 36 consecutive region wins for Lovejoy, dating back to when the teams competed in Class AAAA.
The tenth-ranked Tigers also got 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns from running back Delvin Weems, who recently committed to play college football at Marshall. His 71-yard run on the first play of the second half put Tucker up 21-0 and left the chilly crowd at Twelve Oaks Stadium stunned.
Tucker set the pace early with two scores inside the game’s first three minutes. Defensive back Elijah Sullivan intercepted a deep pass intended for 6-5 receiver Preston Williams on the first play from scrimmage. On the next play, Tyler Toombs hauled in a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garrett Rigby to put Tucker up 7-0 after 20 seconds.
Tucker forced a Lovejoy punt on the next possession and took over at the Wildcats’ 21 after a 25-yard punt return by Duke Shelley and a personal foul. An 8-yard pass from Rigby to Akeam Peters set up first-and-goal, and Delvin Weems scored on a third-down run from two yards out.
Defensive lineman Mike Jones intercepted Rigby at the Tucker 40 with 5:33 to play in the third quarter to set up the Wildcats' first score. Williams (4 catches, 76 yards) hauled in a 32-yard reception with one hand at the Tucker 5, and Chauncey Jackson scored on the next play. Williams left the game with a leg injury after the catch.
The game had major billing as a rematch of the 2011 Class AAAA title game between the schools, won by Tucker at the Georgia Dome. Before Friday, No. 10 Tucker (7-2, 4-0 in Region 2-AAAAAA) had won six in a row by an average of 56 points since dropping its first two games against Class AAAAAA two-time defending champion Norcross and Booker T. Washington of Miami.
Lovejoy (6-3, 3-1), who will finish as Region 2 runner-up, had won three in a row against region opponents since dropping back-to-back mid-season games against McEachern and Class AAAAA Mays. The Wildcats got two total touchdowns from Jackson, including a 1-yard run with 2:21 left to play.
Tucker 14 0 7 6 27
Lovejoy 0 0 6 6 12
T – Tyler Toombs 65 pass from Garrett Rigby (Camri Shakir kick)
T – Delvin Weems 2 run (Shakir kick)
T – Weems 71 run (Shakir kick)
L – Chauncey Jackson 5 run (kick blocked)
T – Nick Broadwater 37 run (kick failed)
L – Jackson 1 run (kick failed)
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