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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 \ & ** k « fjk n& Bl iB Mm 11 jig , HMkI A '■**'*-& fIK RibmbSt, IB pgar v a 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 ’ ,.a How do you spell victory? E-A-G-L-E-S! if w BPPpT * f m M yrm T-- A hard-hitting Eric Fields drops a Tucker funner. a 34.25 average, but didn’t punt in the second half. Bass WeillJjp You Keep —YoißPromise A Shape up and keep your WR New Year's \ 1H Resolutions. • 24 Hour Access • Personal Training • no Contracts 02gjj& 1030 Ball Street (Downtown Perry) W 987-8516 SPORTS had an average of 28.5 yards, on four kickoff returns, his • Free Weights • Treadmills • Family Plan Available • Online Personal Training WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2007 ♦ last one coming to start the second half. Fields and Jones o#'7CTorin#"Tyrk art#li4 r*il i jr jy ikiiii |jp fi Did we rapture \ i your photo? o \ V \ f cl p/ yßMwfSnr Click on the big blue button on 1/ our website at A www.hhjnews to see. f L If we did, you can order prints, key chains, t-shirts and more right from your computer! Swww.hhjnewsxomi GNI/Gary Harmon ENI/Gary Harmon ENI/Gary Harmon were in on at least 10 tackles each for the defense. 5B 52724