ATLANTA — Despite not having played in a decade, there was quite a bit of animosity between No. 4 Mays and No. 10 Tucker in Friday night’s regular season finale.
Jawing back and forth on the field, talking smack to the opposing sideline every chance they got and having a little extra physicality in tackles fit the billing of a Top 10 matchup with significant region implications.
By the end of the night, when Mays picked up unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness penalties, getting into it verbally was the only defense the Raiders had as their previously unbeaten record was crumbled by Tucker in all three phases at Lakewood Stadium.
The Tigers dominated Mays 28-0, forcing a three-way tie between Tucker, Mays and Lithonia for the Region 5-5A title. Tucker has not won a region title since 2017.
“They executed,” said Tucker coach Lonnie Jones. “They did a good job of executing and I’m proud of the way they played. That’s a good football team and they were 9-0 coming into this game. You’re not just going to beat a 9-0 team. Our guys took it upon themselves this week not to make the mistakes they made last week.”
The win against a team who came in undefeated meant something to Tucker. Players and students from both schools exchanged words on social media all week. That extended through postgame when Tucker’s players pointed to the ring fingers and chanted “Eastside represent,” making sure Mays’ players noticed.
For senior cornerback Andre Blackburn, he had more than just a win against a DeKalb foe to prove. The 5-foot-9 defensive back got beat in coverage in last week’s loss to Lithonia, the Tigers’ only blemish on their record.
His coaches challenged him to play better and step up against Mays.
“I just had to make a play,” Blackburn said, smiling as he thought about his picks. “It was a get back for last week.”
Blackburn had two interceptions, both at pivotal moments in the game.
The first came midway through the second quarter with the game still scoreless. The Raiders had moved into Tucker territory for the first time and the Tigers were on their heels after a big completion from Kendrick Henderson.
Blackburn followed his receiver into the end zone and nabbed the ball out of the air to keep the shutout intact and give the ball to his offense, who would be in the endzone seven plays later.
“He focused this week,” Jones said of Blackburn. “Last week we had a blown coverage and he gave up the first touchdown. This week we came back and worked on some things. Made sure we stayed in coverage and he did a good job of making sure he stayed in his area.”
Tucker’s offense complimented the defense. Whenever the Tigers defense needed a break following a long drive, quarterback Jace German and running back Champ Tillman provided a lengthy drive of their own. They had five drives of seven plays or more, efficiently taking time off the clock while moving the ball down the field.
German ran for a score and connected with Jayden Joyner for a 41-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
They were giving us what we wanted in the first half, but we were hurting ourselves with penalties and I made a few mistakes holding onto the ball too long,” said German. “The big thing was just executing and knowing that we’re going to drive the ball down.”
Tillman ran for two touchdowns, including a 56-yard rush on their opening drive of the second half.
The Tiger’s offensive line had its way with the Mays defense, churning their legs and helping the running backs pick up 10-15 extra yards as they pushed him down the field.
“(The OL play) motivates you and makes you want to play harder,” German said. “You see those guys, making that extra block and they get extra hype. The energy lifts the entire team up.”
Both teams end their regular season at 9-1 and 5-1 in region play. They’ll learn their playoff fates Saturday.
In prior years, region finish would’ve dictated seeding. This is the first year the GHSA is using the Post Season Rankings formula to determine the playoff brackets. Before Friday’s game, Mays was a 6-seed and Tucker was an 8-seed.
Jones is hopeful his veteran squad can use the win against Mays to avoid complacency in the playoffs, where they’ve gone one-and-done each season since 2018.
“The last four years, we’ve lost the last regular season game and lost in the first round,” Jones said. “We want to make sure we right that wrong. Our guys did a good job tonight of making sure they did that and won their first region championship since 2017.”