WCHS records first shutout of season beating Tucker 38-0
Post-season football is the best way to overcome the frustration of a mediocre regular season, and Ware County took a step in that direction Friday night in Memorial Stadium blanking Tucker 38-0 for an 18th consecutive first round win in the GHSA playoffs.
The Region 1 runner-up Gators (6-5) entered the game off a 48-41 upset loss to New Hampstead leaving them with their first non-winning regular season since going 4-5 in 2017. Ware County, the AAAAA champions two seasons ago, put the defeat in the rearview mirror with a spirited week of practice leading to one of its best all-around games of the season.
“They’re not ready for (season) to be done. I’m really proud of them,” Ware head coach Jason Strickland said.
The win moves the Region 1 runner-up Gators into Friday’s second round at third-ranked North Oconee. The Titans, 11-0 and winners of Region 8, eliminated Eagles Landing 49-0 in their opener.
Ware County rode a balanced offense with 237 yards rushing and 212 passing that totaled 18 first downs for the win.
Tayshaun Franklin led the ground game with 81 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. Eight players had carries for the Gators, each ending in positive yardage. Senior Trey Orange was among the eight with 42 yards on four carries and a touchdown.
Quarterback Luke Hooks was 13-for-19 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. The senior teamed with sophomore Ja’Londi O’Hara on both scoring tosses. Seven players caught passes for the Gators with O’Hara topping the group with four receptions for 127 yards.
“It was a big night for Ja’Londi,” Strickland said. “He had a really good game last week. He’s growing in confidence.”
Senior kicker William Bates completed Ware’s scoring with a field goal and five conversion kicks.
The Gators held the visitors to 215 total yards with just 57 of that coming on 34 runs. Tucker quarterback Jace German was 16-for-29 passing with an interception for 158 yards, but he suffered seven sacks totaling 59 yards.
The first of those sacks ended Tucker’s best scoring chance of the night on their first possession and set the tone for the rest of the game.
After forcing the Gators to punt on their opening series, German moved the Tigers from their 21 to a first down at the Ware County 11. The sophomore collected 33 of the yards in the drive off scrambles from the pocket and designed runs.
However, after a threeyard loss on a first down run by Izayah Horsham, German misfired on two passes, and was smothered for an eight-yard sack on fourth down to end the threat.
“Early on, don’t think our guys understood how fast he was until he got here,” Strickland said of German. “The first drive especially and some in the second, too, we were rushing too deep and opening lanes for him.
“Coach Watson (defensive line) helped them make the adjustment of getting to the quarterback’s level and then squeezing in. The success we had after that was having some good players who were willing to be coached.”
Franklin scored his touchdowns in the second quarter to get the Gators headed toward a 21-0 cushion at halftime.
The 6-foot, 210-pound junior ended a 68-yard, eight-play drive with a four-yard run over left tackle with 10:50 left in the second quarter. Franklin ran for 47 yards of the possession on six runs and Bates added the first of his conversion kicks for a 7-0 lead.
After forcing a punt, the Gators moved 63 yards in eight plays, the last an eight-yard run by Franklin on a fourth-and-1 play with 6:39 left in the half upping the lead to 14-0. The bulk of the yards n the possession came on a 43yard pass from Hooks to O’Hara to convert a thirdand- 15 situation at the Ware County 37.
The Gators threatened again less than two minutes later after Cole Justice returned a punt 40 yards to the Tucker 28. However, Leshaun Hudgins intercepted Hooks at the Tigers’ five on a second down pass.
Tucker was able to get a first down before punting with 1:14 left in the half. Hooks and O’Hara teamed to convert the stop into a touchdown with :45.9 remaining on a 26-yard pass off a post pattern that saw no defender within a zip code of O’Hara increasing the margin to 21-0.
The Gators forced another punt after the second- half kickoff, and the Hooks-to-O’Hara connection padded the lead to 28-0 with 6:54 left in the quarter. The touchdown came on a 26-yard swing pass to cap a 54-yard, seven-play possession in which Franklin ran twice for nine yards and caught a pass for 13 more.
“Ja’Londi is starting to become the explosive player we were really hoping to have,” Strickland said. “We’ve felt he was the guy who could go change the scoreboard in a hurry for us.”
Orange tallied the final Ware County touchdown on a two-yard run to end a 49-yard, nine-play drive with 9:49 left in the game for a 35-0 advantage. Hooks completed four passes for 27 yards in the possession, the biggest covering 17 yards to Gunter Fore.
The Gators then turned back Tucker’s only other scoring threat on an interception by Careen Moore at the Gators’ five with 6:25 remaining off a fourth down pass under a heavy rush.
Jasper Bolds helped the Gators convert the turnover into points by racing 42 yards with a jet sweep on the first play. The drive finally stalled at the Tucker one. Bates came on to cap the vic-tory with an 18-yard field goal with 2:17 remaining for the final 38-point margin.
The Tigers had the clock run out of them after taking over at their 28 and moving to a first down at the Gators’ 17 on the game’s final play.
