Tucker junior running back Jordan McCoy (right) out races a pair of Miller Grove defenders to the end zone for one of his four scores on the night in Tucker’s 45-14 win at Hallford Stadium. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Junior running back Jordan McCoy rushed for 281 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries to lead the way for the Tucker Tigers in a 45-14 season opening win over the Miller Grove Wolverines at James R. Hallford Stadium in Clarkston on Friday night.
McCoy scored three touchdowns in the second quarter after Miller Grove had closed the gap to 14-7 on a Christian Jamison to Keshawn Weathers 55-yard pass play with 1:03 left in the opening period.
The junior would score on back-to-back possessions on a seven-yard run around the left corner and a tough 12-yard run up the middle taking a pair of would-be tacklers with him. Ethan Ffrench added both PATs to make it 28-7 with 6:58 left in the first half.
Another quick strike by Miller Grove followed as Jamison connected with Jayvonne Dillard for a 77-yard scoring toss to cut the lead to 28-14. Sydina Muhammad hit his second PAT of the night with 6:08 to play in the second quarter.
McCoy answered with his quick hitter running for 61 yards into the end zone with 5:02 left in the half. Ffrench was again good on the PAT to make it 35-14.
A bad snap on a punt attempt by Miller Grove set up Ffrench for a 30-yard field goal that sent the Tigers into the locker room with a 38-14 halftime lead.
The two teams played a scoreless third quarter before McCoy tacked on one-yard touchdown run behind the left guard with 6:59 to play. Ffrench hit his sixth PAT of the night to make it 45-14.
Miller Grove’s Christian Jamison throws deep to Keshawn Weaters for a 55-yard scoring strike. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Tucker jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a Connor Whaley 30-yard scoring toss to Hasaan Sykes with 6:03 left in the opening period. Ffrench hit his first PAT of the night for a 7-0 advantage.
Ethan Sanders (11 carries, 114 yards rushing) struck on a 15 yard run with 2:58 left in the first quarter and Ffrench’s PAT made it 14-0.
Tucker (1-0) finished with 380 yards rushing on 47 carries and five touchdowns. Jamison finished the night with a six of 12 night passing the ball for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Miller Grove (0-1).
Columbia 13, Camden Co. 10
The Columbia Eagles traveled to Camden County for their season opener for the second season in a row, but with a different outcome as they held off Camden for a 13-10 win.
Camden had beaten the Eagles 31-0 a year ago, but Jadan Baugh took the football to the house on the second play of game. Baugh went 83 yards for the score. Giovanni Ramirez hit the PAT to make it 7-0.
Eli Morgan would finish off the Eagles second possession with a one-yard run to make it 13-0.
Camden scored before the half to cut the lead to 13-7 heading into the third quarter. Camden scored the only points of the second half with a field goal.
Columbia’s defense continued to play tough including a big second half interception by Lamaze Williams to hold off the Wildcats (0-1). Columbia (1-0) held Camden to just under 150 yards of total offense.
Dunwoody 21, North Springs 9
The Dunwoody Wildcats had a solid night on both sides of the football on the way to a 21-9 road win over North Springs to open the 2022 season.
The Wildcat defense had a big night including a fumble recovery in the end zone by Sam Glick. The defense was led by Luke Cole, Luke Phillips and Will Hernandez. Cole finished with 11 tackles (7 solo, 4 assists), two sacks, three tackles for a loss, two fumbles caused, one fumble recovery and a blocked PAT. Phillips finished with eight tackles (7 solo, 1 assist), two sacks and three tackles for a loss and Hernandez finished with 10 tackles (7 solo, 3 assists), one sack, one tackle for loss and one fumble caused.
Porter LeDoyen and Jordan Wade (122 yards rushing) both scored touchdowns in the win. Danny Boden came up with some big plays on special teams for the Wildcats (1-0) as well.
Cedar Grove 30, Bainbridge 14
The Class 3A No. 1 ranked Cedar Grove Saints bounced back from an early 7-0 deficit to pick up a 30-14 season opening victory over Bainbridge.
Bainbridge got out to a 7-0 lead, but the Saints answered with a field goal and a 60-yard touchdown pass to take a 9-7 lead in the second quarter. Cedar Grove (1-0) took a 16-7 lead into the half.
Boden Walker and Quintero Lawson had rushing touchdowns for the Saints and Jakyre Horton and Barry Jackson caught touchdown passes from Elliot Colson (17-10-0, 161 yards, 2 TDs) in the win for the Saints.
Lakeside 20, Berkmar 6
Lakeside picked up a 20-6 road win over Berkmar to open the Vikings’ season. Kyle Davis threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Asher Lin and Luke Chilton scored a rushing touchdown for the Vikings. Davis finished with 92 yards passing and 64 yards rushing for Lakeside. Carlos Garcis added a 20-yard interception return for another score. The Vikings now lead the all-time series with Berkmar 11-3-1.
Rutland 15, Towers 0
Towers dropped a 15-0 decision on Thursday night at Rutland. Rutland used a bad snap on a punt and an interception for short fields to score. Towers had one touchdown nullified by an inadvertent whistle. Deshaun Broughton had a big game on both sides of the football for Towers with several tackles for a loss on defense and some tough running on offense.
DCSD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE – WEEK 1
Thursday, Aug 18
Rutland (1-0) 15, Towers (0-1) 0
Friday, Aug. 19
AVONDALE STADIUM
Duluth (1-0) 35, M.L. King (0-1) 0
GODFREY STADIUM
Maynard Jackson (1-0) 12, Arabia Mountain (0-1) 6
HALLFORD STADIUM
Tucker (1-0) 45, Miller Grove (0-1) 14
AWAY GAMES
Cedar Grove (1-0) 30, Bainbridge (0-1) 14
Columbia (1-0) 13, Camden Co. (0-1) 10
Dunwoody (1-0) 21, North Springs (0-1) 9
Lakeside (1-0) 20, Berkmar (0-1) 6
Alcovy (1-0) 37, Lithonia (0-1) 6
Northview (1-0) 23, McNair (0-1) 12
Central-Carrollton (1-0) 36, Redan (0-1) 12
Chapel Hill (0-0) 17, Stone Mountain (0-0) 0 (Lightening delay)
Saturday, Aug. 20
AWAY GAMES
AT STOCKBRIDGE
Dutchtown (1-0) 24, Stephenson (0-1) 13
Stockbridge (1-0) 13, SW DeKalb (0-1) 0
OPEN: Chamblee (0-0), Clarkston (0-0), Cross Keys (0-0), Druid Hills (0-0)