A look back on 2012 football playoffs from sports writer, Matthew Brown

2012. The Year of the Dragon on the Chinese lunisolar

calendar … and in Georgia high school football. It was also the Year of the Elephant. But, alas, not the

Year of the Eagle.

As a heads up, if your mascot name is Rattler or Cobra, you

have to like your chances in 2013. That is the Year of the Snake.

The Georgia high school football season ended weeks ago with

the Jefferson High Dragons and the Gainesville High Red Elephants among the

seven teams celebrating state titles in the Georgia Dome.

The contest that drew the most interest in Middle Georgia

had to be that Gainesville-Ware County matchup in Class AAAAA. Gainesville

quarterback Deshaun Watson, only a junior, is already committed to Clemson with

offers also coming from Auburn, Florida State and Ohio State. His team scored

more than 200 points in its last four playoff games, and he threw 50 touchdown

passes in 2012.

Only a junior. Only 108 career TD throws, 9,360 passing

yards, both state career records.

So it was no surprise to this writer that Gainesville rolled

past the Ware Gators. How, you may ask, can I say that when I witnessed Ware

defeat Northside, a program that looked destined for a 15-0 record?

What I witnessed in Waycross was Ware County NOT be able to

put Northside away when time was running out and the Eagles needed not one, but

two scoring plays to either tie the score or win outright. With the kind of

defense Kevin Kinsler and Kevin Smith design and the way those players never

stop executing, it is impossible to build a comfortable lead on the Eagles.

Just as the Tucker High Tigers. They also had a 10-point

lead Nov. 30 in Warner Robins.

On Dec. 7, 17-7 looked big enough, but the green-clad side

couldn’t be comfortable until the clock showed 0:00. And when it did, the score

was 17-17. And that only after the score was 17-14 with 20 seconds to play.

It was the second week in a row Northside had to pull some

kind of magic out of the bag against a formidable foe. The Eagles beat Tucker

High on a Glenn Smith touchdown pass in the last minute. Isaac Rivera, in his

own Willis Reed moment, kicks a 40-yard field goal on an injured leg to force

overtime at Ware.

Now, this is certainly one game where, on more than one

occasion, you could have heard the words we’ve all come to love hearing out of

a referee. “The previous play is under further review.”

So why didn’t Kinsler, on that overtime touchdown, throw the

challenge flag? Oh, that’s right, it was a scoring play. Can’t throw it. Don’t

want to make Roger Goddell mad.

Ware County, very good team. Tucker, excellent team. All

things being equal, in a contest between this year’s Gators and Tucker, I make

Tucker the favorite. The only aspect of football Ware showed it was better was

in protecting the football.

 

Tucker probably wins for a second year in a row at

McConnell-Talbert if not for a bad case of the butter-fingers.

But, the Tigers had their year in 2011 … but not according

to the Chinese calendar … that was 2010.

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