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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
RALLIES
From page 4B
in one of his legs. But he
was cleared to play earlier
in the week and was on the
field with his team trailing
Tucker 28-7 at the start of
the third quarter.
The first half was all
Tucker with 285 total yards,
256 rushing yards and a
touchdown scored off a turn
over. Northside, meanwhile,
had only 61 yards of offense.
Even with Ivory on the
field, the Tucker Tigers had
their chance right away in
the second half to squash
any hopes of an Eagle recov
ery. Tucker was successful in
shutting down the Northside
running game, holding
Tijuan Green -eyeing the
2,000-yard mark coming in
- to a net of three yards in
the first half.
On the second play of the
quarter, Corey Billings forced
Green’s second fumble of the
game. Marcus Nedd recov
ered for Tucker on the Eagle
38-yard-line.
The Northside defense,
after giving up three plays of
30 or more yards in the first
half, began what would be
a customary shutout effort.
Lineman Eddie Thomas
stopped the first play for only
two yards. On 4th-and-2 on
the 30, linebacker Randall
Mcßride stood up Jonathan
Davis for a lost yard and pos
session for the offense.
It was on second down
from the 31 that senior
Kevyn Cooper caught Ivory’s
throw over the middle on
the Tucker 40. Cooper never
stopped running until he had
a 69-yard touchdown at 8:48.
Pike put through the PAT,
and Tucker was now leading
28-14.
The Eagle defense made
another three-and-out stand,
first with lineman Abry Jones
stopping Drayton Calhoun
on the line and Jones and
Eric Fields bringing Calhoun
down for 4th-and-l.
With consecutive catches by
senior Nick Bass, the Eagles
were on the Tucker 10. This
drive stalled, though, but not
before Bass took a shot in the
back as he dropped a fourth
down throw in the end zone.
Bass would be fine, but the
Tigers took over at its 14.
Tucker’s only significant
drive of the half took up the
rest of the third period and
featured a 51-yard speed
sweep run by Derrick Harris.
Davis gave him two blocks on
that run, and Harris broke
from two tackles to the Eagle
32.
The Tigers had first down
on the 18, but Fields ended
the quarter with a sack of
quarterback Chris Simpson
for 3rd-and-19. Northside got
a punt in the fourth period
spotted on the 5.
Green broke tackles to get
to the 14* Tucker remained
respectful of his running abil
ities, for they bit on Ivory’s
play-fake. Instead, the play
was a fly to Cooper for an
82-yard touchdown at 9:28.
With Pike’s PAT the Eagles
were now down by seven,
28-21.
On the next Tucker posses
sion, the Tigers could not get
over the 50 as Jones, Thomas
and Fields put the clamps on
Harris for 4th-and-7 on the
36. The offense took over
with a punt to the NS 25.
Ivory did the play-fake
again and found Cooper on
the 46. Evan Arthur, the
tight end, was open for first
down on the Tucker 40 with
four minutes left. On third
down from the 31, Brandon
Jordan caught Ivory’s third
touchdown pass, and Pike’s
kick tied the game 28-28 at
2:32.
The defense one more
time came through with the
three-and-out in less than
a minute. Simpson took a
bad shotgun snap on third
down, and the result was an
Anthony Taylor sack on the
Tiger 13. Bass returned the
punt for great field position
on the 30 with 1:42 to go.
In that time, Ivory and the
offense got off six plays. Bass
made a third-down catch on
the 14 (:29) and a 17-yard
grab on 2nd-and-15 at the 2
(:18). Marcus Clark of Tucker
knocked down Ivory’s first
down pass, so coach Conrad
Nix opted for the field goal
to win it.
Pike first thought he had
a 19-yarder, but got a bonus
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The Eagles burst out onto the field in their state Class AAAA semifinal game against Tucker Friday in the Georgia Dome.
yard on Tucker’s offsides.
But the 18-yarder turned into
23 yards after a delay call.
All the waiting and moving
didn’t phase the sophomore
as the ball went between the
posts.
Ivory in all completed 11
of 16 passes, and he never
had to hurry a throw or take
a sack due to the standout
play of his offensive front
(Jerome Bibbins, Vashawn
Oates, Jordan Dooley, Will
Zunino among others). He
was backing up junior starter
Joe Scott, who was 4-for-10
in the first half for 55 yards
and a touchdown to Bass. It
was Bass who ended up as
the leading rusher for the
first half with 11 yards on
three carries. Green wound
up with 40 yards on the
ground.
Cooper h’ad 183 total receiv
ing yards on five catches.
Bass also caught five balls for
97 yards.
Northside’s string of three
straight playoff shutouts and
four games without giving
up offensive points ended
at 9:51 of the first quarter
when Davis, a transfer from
St. Pius X, went off left tack
le for a 36-yard touchdown.
Tucker went 61 yards in five
plays for those points.
Clark came up with a sack
for the Tiger defense to end
Northside’s first drive. With
its next drive, Tucker con
verted two third downs and
had the ball on the NS 15.
Fields stopped Calhoun on
the outside and the 17, and
then Anton Williams came
up with a fumble recovery on
the 20.
Calhoun, on his next touch,
got the blocks to go 34 yards
to the Eagle 21. Early in
the second quarter, Simpson
sneaked for a first down by
a nose on the 1. Davis went
to his left and dove in for his
second touchdown at 10:07
(14-0).
The Northside offense
gained its first momentum
on pass interference call that
led to a first down on the 50.
Scott hit Arthur on the Tiger
27, and his next throw was
a touchdown to Bass at 8:06
until halftime.
That also got the defense
inspired as Fields went full
charge on the kickoff return
for a stop on the 17. Ben
Hicks chased down Davis on
the 2 after he hobbled the
ball. The Eagles didn’t get
good field position on the
punt, however, and Tucker
held to get possession on its
22. Four plays later, from
the 32, Calhoun went up the
middle for a 68-yard touch
down at the three-minute
mark (21-7).
Only 17 game seconds
later, Northside would fall
behind 28-7 as star Tucker
safety Jamoris Slaughter
hit Green and knocked the
football loose. Tristan Carter
picked it up and covered 18
yards for a touchdown.
Calhoun had 148 rush
ing yards by halftime, but
only 26 in the second half for
174 total. Harris gained 102
yards on 13 carries.
Northside’s Arthur punted
four times in the first half for
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How do you spell victory? E-A-G-L-E-S!
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A hard-hitting Eric Fields drops a Tucker funner.
a 34.25 average, but didn’t
punt in the second half. Bass
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had an average of 28.5 yards,
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2007 ♦
last one coming to start the
second half. Fields and Jones
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GNI/Gary Harmon
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were in on at least 10 tackles
each for the defense.
5B
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