Tucker, Horry and Lower Richland Defense Overpowers Wilson

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HOPKINS |</strong> Lower Richland was coming into Thursday's showdown with Wilson on a two-game losing streak. The Tigers were driving and looking to take the lead late in the fourth quarter and <strong>Joshua Tucker</strong> knew someone had to step up and make a play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not only did Tucker make a play but he set the stage for a frantic final five minutes that saw the Diamond Hornets force three turnovers to claim a much-needed 28-13 victory over Wilson.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tucker intercepted a pass at the Lower Richland five-yard line and returned it 70 yards to set up the go-ahead score. The ball deflected off the receiver; Tucker tipped it in the air to himself and was able to corral it near his goal line and flip the field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two plays later, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1356028' first='Solomon' last='Kelson']</strong> powered in from four yards out with 4:29 remaining to give Lower Richland the lead they wouldn't relinquish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We wanted to play man and lock everybody up,” Tucker said. “We're capable of doing that and I was just able to make a play when we needed it.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It only took the Diamond Hornets a little over two minutes to add to the lead. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821295' first='Dominick' last='Heath'] </strong>(pictured, No. 24) batted the ball in the air at the line of scrimmage and picked it off. Two plays later, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823907' first='Ziyear' last='Yates']</strong> scored on a two-yard run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And to cap things off, <strong>Jordan Hargrave</strong> knocked the ball loose after a completed pass that <strong>Ernest Pope</strong> scooped up to preserve the two-touchdown lead with 30 seconds remaining.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The turnovers didn't come until the fourth quarter, but it was a dominant defensive effort by the Diamond Hornets. They limited the Tigers to 131 yards of total offense and just 57 yards in the second half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Th defense played outstanding,” Lower Richland coach Marlin Taylor said. “We came up with three turnovers at the end of the game and we needed them with the offense kind of sputtering a little bit.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823904' first='Maurice' last='Horry']</strong>, <strong>Maxwell Wilson</strong> and Heath made it difficult at the line of scrimmage. Linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267324' first='Ophir' last='Hill']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823903' first='Sergino' last='Samuels']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816308' first='Malik' last='Katio']</strong> then cleaned things up. The secondary had some penalties for pass interference but made the big plays when they needed to.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We were locked in the whole game,” Horry said. “We were coming off two losses where we played terrible. We made sure we locked in and were dominant, especially in the second half.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the defense being so stingy, it gave sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817639' first='Raymond' last='McLaughlin']</strong> time to settle in. McLaughlin was making his second start in the place of the injured <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821292' first='Gerald' last='Gibson'] </strong>and had a rough first half with two interceptions. But he finished 8-of-12 for 83 yards and tossed a 5-yard TD pass to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821289' first='Seth' last='Hudson']</strong> that tied the game on the third play of the fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lower Richland only had two runs over 10 yards, but Kelson and Yates tucked in behind the senior-laden offensive line to average 4.1 yards per carry despite the fact Wilson played with seven or eight in the box most of the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592686' first='Chama' last='Sabb']</strong> leads that group but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823902' first='Jeremah' last='Goodwin']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823909' first='Adrian' last='Davis']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821286' first='Tyler' last='Robinson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816276' first='Zaiyr' last='James']</strong> helped get the tough yards and move the chains.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“That's our identity,” Taylor said. “We want to be able to run the ball. The had seven or eight in the box so hats off to the offensive line to be able to create some running lanes. That's five seniors so we put a lot of weight on their shoulders.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lower Richland (5-3, 2-2) opened the game with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 6:29 of the clock to take a 7-0 lead on Kelson's 1-yard scoring run. Wilson tied it in the middle of the second quarter on a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822811' first='Taumaury' last='Echols']</strong> 1-yard run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639822' first='MyQuan' last='McWhite']</strong> opened the second half with an 88-yard kickoff return to give the visiting Tigers (5-3, 2-2) a 13-7 lead they would hold until the fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McWhite came in with 257 rushing yards and 607 receiving yards but outside of the kick return, he was held in check for the most part. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734485' first='Tristen' last='Howard']</strong> struggled in the passing game and finished 9-of-23 for 86 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower Richland Notables</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823905' first='Daquan' last='Middleton']</strong> turned into a safety outlet for McLaughlin. The senior tight end caught four passes for 49 yards but all four were caught at or near the line of scrimmage that Middleton turned into yards after the catch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wilson Notables</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822808' first='Jalen' last='Boston']</strong> and <strong>Isiah Moore</strong> both had interceptions for the Tigers in the first half. J<strong>a'Bron McFadden</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820293' first='Omir' last='Douglas']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822809' first='Shyheem' last='Henicks']</strong> all played well at the line of scrimmage and made it tough for Lower Richland. The Wilson defense only allowed 216 yards.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->