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Seniors’ last game rally sends Tigers to state playoffs, team holds on until final seven minutes
Nov 20, 2003 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
Heading into the last game of the season against Dade County, the Tigers had garnered seven wins and just three losses. Their 35-13 victory over Dade County earned them the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AA and set them up to travel to Putnam County for the first round of state playoffs on Nov. 21.
“All of the seniors knew this might be our last home game, so we used that as a rallying point,” quarterback Lawton Wilson said in a Rome News-Tribune story about the game. Twenty-eight of the 35 points were scored in the first half.
The Tigers have scored big wins this season, having shut out Model (34-0), Armuchee (39-0), and Rockmart (34-0) and suffered just three close losses to Adairsville, Trion, and Calhoun. “I can’t say enough about these kids,” Head Coach Tommy Atha said about the team’s 35-13 win over the Chattooga Indians on Oct. 24. “Week in and week out, you know what kind of effort you’re going to get out of them. This is a tough place to win in and I’m glad we got out of here with a victory.”
After a rare non-playoff year and a lengthy preseason, the Tigers were prepared to get back on the field for the first time in early September since being denied a playoff spot last November. The Tigers returned a strong nucleus of players from last year’s 7-3 team, including quarterback Lawton Wilson and running back Chantz McClinic, both seniors. The combination of McClinic’s speed and newly developed power and Wilson’s peerless field leadership had the Tigers feeling optimistic about the season. With the tremendous speed of slotback Will Foss, the experience of Jon Chumbler, and the defensive leadership of Ben Beville and Michael Webster, this year’s team was predicted to be the best since the Tigers won their state championship in 1998.
“Knowing that we are going back to the playoffs is a huge lift mentally,” Atha reported to the Rome News-Tribune. “Our kids were really disappointed about not being in the postseason last year and they took it hard. This year, our top goal from day one was to get back to the playoffs and live up to the Darlington tradition.”
For three-plus quarters Friday night, the Darlington Tigers held onto their hope of winning the state playoffs against undefeated Decatur. But with 6:45 left, fifth-ranked Decatur wrangled a 14-13 win in the second round of the Class AA state playoffs at Decatur Stadium.
“We didn’t finish our drives tonight, and that was the biggest thing that cost us,” Atha said in the Rome News-Tribune game wrap-up story. “We made mistakes when we got inside their 10 and you can’t afford those when you’re playing a team like them.”
But Atha expressed pride in the team’s effort. “Before the game, we asked for every ounce of energy they had. And there’s no doubt that they gave that. Our kids really played their hearts out.”
“All of the seniors knew this might be our last home game, so we used that as a rallying point,” quarterback Lawton Wilson said in a Rome News-Tribune story about the game. Twenty-eight of the 35 points were scored in the first half.
The Tigers have scored big wins this season, having shut out Model (34-0), Armuchee (39-0), and Rockmart (34-0) and suffered just three close losses to Adairsville, Trion, and Calhoun. “I can’t say enough about these kids,” Head Coach Tommy Atha said about the team’s 35-13 win over the Chattooga Indians on Oct. 24. “Week in and week out, you know what kind of effort you’re going to get out of them. This is a tough place to win in and I’m glad we got out of here with a victory.”
After a rare non-playoff year and a lengthy preseason, the Tigers were prepared to get back on the field for the first time in early September since being denied a playoff spot last November. The Tigers returned a strong nucleus of players from last year’s 7-3 team, including quarterback Lawton Wilson and running back Chantz McClinic, both seniors. The combination of McClinic’s speed and newly developed power and Wilson’s peerless field leadership had the Tigers feeling optimistic about the season. With the tremendous speed of slotback Will Foss, the experience of Jon Chumbler, and the defensive leadership of Ben Beville and Michael Webster, this year’s team was predicted to be the best since the Tigers won their state championship in 1998.
“Knowing that we are going back to the playoffs is a huge lift mentally,” Atha reported to the Rome News-Tribune. “Our kids were really disappointed about not being in the postseason last year and they took it hard. This year, our top goal from day one was to get back to the playoffs and live up to the Darlington tradition.”
For three-plus quarters Friday night, the Darlington Tigers held onto their hope of winning the state playoffs against undefeated Decatur. But with 6:45 left, fifth-ranked Decatur wrangled a 14-13 win in the second round of the Class AA state playoffs at Decatur Stadium.
“We didn’t finish our drives tonight, and that was the biggest thing that cost us,” Atha said in the Rome News-Tribune game wrap-up story. “We made mistakes when we got inside their 10 and you can’t afford those when you’re playing a team like them.”
But Atha expressed pride in the team’s effort. “Before the game, we asked for every ounce of energy they had. And there’s no doubt that they gave that. Our kids really played their hearts out.”
