Back in 2019, Lovejoy was 3-1 in region play and looked poised to claim a state playoff spot. But the Wildcats overlooked a Martin Luther King team they had defeated the previous season and lost to the Lions 18-12.
That defeat eventually kept Lovejoy out of the playoffs as the Wildcats ended up in a tie with MLK for the region’s final playoff spot.
Lovejoy head coach Edgar Carson reminded his team of that loss all week, heading into their game Friday night against 1-5 Tucker, a proud program that has struggled of late. His players got the message loud and clear as the Wildcats throttled the Tigers, 32-0 at Twelve Oaks Stadium in Lovejoy.
The Wildcats improved to 4-1, 2-0 in Region 4-6A, while Tucker fell to 1-6, 1-1.
“Tucker has always been a good program, but I call these type of games trap games,” Carson said. “We missed the playoffs two years ago because I think we overlooked MLK.
“This week we talked about staying focused, do your job and keep the main thing the main thing,” Carson said. “I think we did a good job of that.”
The Wildcats made it a two-quarter game, rolling to a 30-0 lead at halftime on the strength of four touchdown passes by senior quarterback Stephin Craig. Midway through the first quarter he connected with Troy Washington Jr. on an 8-yard slant to go up 7-0. Late in the period Lovejoy blocked a punt in the endzone for a safety to extend the lead to 9-0.
Lovejoy put the game away in the second quarter. In the first 15 seconds of the period, Craig connected with senior Javon Kinchen on a 49-yard touchdown pass to make the score 16-0. On the Wildcats’ next possession Craig hooked up with Washington Jr. again, this time on a 20-yarder to push the margin to 23-0. Lovejoy tacked on a third touchdown in the quarter with less than a minute left in the half, when Craig found junior Jakeil Middlebrooks for a 4-yard scoring pass.
The second half was played mostly with a running clock, and Lovejoy added the final two points of the game when the Wildcat defense forced a fumble near the Tiger goal line. Tucker recovered in the endzone, and the safety produced the final score for Lovejoy, 32-0.
Even though it was a dominating win, Carson needed only reach in his pocket for a piece of paper that he will show his team this week. He writes down each penalty, who committed the infraction, and how many yards it cost the team.
“We had 10 penalties,” Carson said. “That’s way, way too many so we have to get that fixed.”
Meanwhile, Tucker first year head coach James Thomson said he was proud of the way his team handled the game.
“Whether you’re winning or you’re struggling, you have to take it play by play,” Thomson said. “Turnovers really hurt us, but I give our kids a lot of credit. They kept fighting.”
Thomson said he knows it will take time to rebuild a program that historically has been one of the state’s best. From 2001 to 2017, the Tigers won 11 region titles and two state championships – one of which was in 2011, when they defeated a 14-0 Lovejoy team 22-7 for the Class 4A crown.
“Time will tell. We have to mend some bridges with our feeder program,” Thomson said. “But these kids have been tremendous. I love these kids so much. They work so hard. I’m proud of these kids now, and I’m proud of what we’re going to be.”
What Carson wants his team to be this season is a region champion. For that to happen, the Wildcats will have to knock off two teams ranked in the top 10, Westlake and Langston Hughes, which is the next team the Wildcats will face after a bye week.
“I think we’re in the toughest region in [Class] 6A, and those are two tough, tough teams,” Carson said. “We have to prepare and take things one game at a time.”
