Tucker had one of the most dramatic wins of the season on Friday and is now in position to win a region championship.
The Tigers came back from a 20-point deficit to beat St. Pius 28-26, which means coach Wayne Jones’ team can finish with the No. 1 seed in Region 5 – if they can find a way to knock off No. 1-ranked Marist on Friday.
Earlier this month the Tigers looked like they were going to be No. 4 seed after a loss to Southwest DeKalb. But last week’s win over St. Pius means they will go to the playoffs as the region champion and host the first round of the playoffs or finish as the No. 3 seed.
Tucker’s rally against St. Pius was completed when quarterback Jace German connected with Jayden Joyner for a touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining.
Trailing 26-21 with just 1:21 to play in the game, Tucker (7-2, 6-1) drove 80 yards on the arm of German who was 4-for-4 passing on the drive, including three to Joyner. With the clock ticking under 40 seconds the Tigers were at the St. Pius 25-yard when German dropped back and was forced to roll right, pulled up and threw to the middle of the field to Joyner at the 3-yard line where Joyner hauled in the pass and went untouched into the end zone. Lance Harrell hit the PAT to make it 28-26.
The defense then held the Lions during the final 25 seconds to close back the comeback victory.
Tucker got on the scoreboard just before half as German connected for a 10-yard touchdown pass to Eli Ffrench to head into halftime down 20-6. The second half opened with the Tigers driving 80 yards for a touchdown. German hit Robert Robinson for an 8-yard touchdown pass and then threw to Josiah Horner for the two-point conversion to pull Tucker within 20-14.
Izayah Horsham helped the Tigers to their first lead of the game with a 30-yard touchdown run and Harrell hit the PAT to make it 21-20 with just over six minutes to play. St. Pius answered with a 63-yard drive to regain the lead at 26-21 as the two-point try was stopped.
Top performances:
Eastside’s Christian Gass had six tackles, six assists, four tackles for loss and one sack in a 62-10 win over Cedar Shoals. … Cartersville quarterback Nate Russell completed 16 of 22 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-43 win over Hiram. … Blessed Trinity’s Ahmontae Pitts ran 21 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-3 win over Centennial. … Landon Roldan of North Oconee caught four passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns in a 63-7 win over Flowery Branch. … Juelz Davis ran six times for 130 yards and one touchdown and scored on a fumble recovery to help Cedartown to a 52-0 win over Woodland. … Luke Hooks completed 16 of 23 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown to help Ware County defeat Warner Robins 24-21. …
Ian Williams returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and had 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and forced a fumble in Villa Rica’s 32-17 win over Allatoona. … Brayden Reese of Kell had 12 tackles, four tackles for loss and 2 ½ sacks in 28-14 win over Cambridge. … Ola’s Caden Waye rushed 15 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-10 win over Hampton. … Southwest DeKalb’s Samuel Turner caught three passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns in 55-8 win over Northview. … King’s Jamarcus Harper ran for three touchdowns to help the Lions beat Drew 38-12.
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