Top-ranked Tucker proved once again that it plays defense pretty well, too.
Tucker held Lovejoy to 207 total yards, got plenty of offense from Jordan Landry and the running game and rolled over the Wildcats 22-7 in the Class AAAA championship game Friday night at the Georgia Dome.
The victory gave Tucker (15-0) its second AAAA title in four years and completed the Tigers’ first undefeated season in school history.
Lovejoy, which opened in 1990 and made its first appearance in a state final, finished 14-1. Tucker’s 22 points were the most allowed by the Wildcats this season.
Lovejoy entered the game allowing a state-best 3.6 points per game, but it was Tucker that made the big plays on the state’s biggest stage. The Tigers intercepted two passes, scored a safety and did not allow a point until midway through the fourth quarter. Of Lovejoy’s 207 yards, 180 came after the Tigers had built a 22-0 lead.
Tucker allowed only 11.6 points per game in its first 14 games, the sixth-best average in Class AAAA, and scored the winning points in a semifinal victory against Northside-Warner Robins on a 100-yard fumble return with less than five minutes to play. The Tigers held 10 of their 15 opponents this season to eight points or less.
Landry rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers, who finished with 259 yards rushing, 270 total. He also had an 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter nullified by a penalty.
Yusuf Minor rushed for 68 yards and a score, and Dallas Rivers had a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Lovejoy trailed 15-0 before it picked up a first down, which came on a 23-yard run by Travis Custis with 9:06 remaining in the second quarter. That run accounted for most of the Wildcats’ offense in the first half, as Tucker went into halftime with a 199-31 advantage in total yards. Lovejoy had the ball for seven possessions in the half, and none lasted more than four plays.
Tucker ran for 188 yards in the first two quarters, led by Landry’s 81 yards on nine carries, and finished the half with a 15:38-8:22 lead in time of possession.
Lovejoy’s only points came on a 6-yard pass from Alejandro Bennifield to Arshad Jackson with 7:44 remaining in the game. Custis, who ran for more than 1,800 yards this season, was held to 33 yards on 14 carries.
