ERIC SCOTT PICKS UP YARDAGE FOR THE TIGERS He'll be back next year along with a lot of other players. Last Friday the Washington-Wilkes Tigers traveled to Athens to take on the Athens Academy Spartans in the first round of the state playoffs, and in what would end up being the Tigers' last game of the 2008 season. Even though Washington played a tough game, the Spartans came out on top in the end by the score of 24- 14. The Spartans set up to receive the opening kickoff.

Larry Raiford kicked the ball out of bounds to start the game. Athens Academy started its first drive with the ball on the 35-yard line. On second down, the Spartan quarterback hooked up with his receiver for a 30-yard pass and a first down. Four plays later on fourth down, Athens Academy broke an 11-yard run for a first down. A penalty, a pass, and two short runs later, the Spartans gained another first down and were down to the Tiger six-yard line. Athens Academy was forced to attempt a field goal after being stopped on first, second, and third downs. The field goal was missed.

Washington-Wilkes started off its first possession from its 20-yard line after the missed field goal. The Tigers went three-and-out on their first drive and were forced to punt. Tyrece Ashmore punted the pall 46 yards for Washington and the kick was returned nine yards to the Athens Academy 34-yard line.

The Spartans started their next drive from the 34-yard line. After an offsides penalty against the Tigers and a six-yard run, the Athens Academy offense gained a first down. The Spartans connected a 15-yard pass on third down to gain a first down at the Washington 40-yard line. Three plays later they completed another pass, this one for 20 yards and another first down. On the next play Washington committed a personal foul giving the Spartans the ball on the 12-yard line. The Tiger defense held and Athens Academy was force to attempt another field goal which was blocked by Washington-Wilkes defensive end Drew Wilson.

The Tigers started their next drive from their 45-yard line after the blocked field goal. On first down, sophomore quarterback Teverrius Jones hooked up with sophomore Deon Jackson for a 52-yard pass and a first down on the Spartan threeyard line. Two plays later Jones ran the ball into the end zone to give the Tigers their first score of the game. John Gowen made the extra point to give W-W the lead at 7-0.

The Spartans returned the Tiger kick 29 yards out to the 50-yard line. The Washington defense stopped Athens Academy on first, second, and third down but on fourth, the Spartans pushed through and gained a first down. On the next play, the Spartan quarterback broke a 40-yard run for a touchdown. The point-after attempt was made tying the game at 7-7.

Dexter Norman returned the Athens Academy kick 32 yards to the 38-yard line. Teverrius Jones ran the ball on back-to-back plays for a total gain of 18 yards and a first down. Two plays later Jones completed a seven-yard pass to Akeimos Coleman for another Tiger first down. Four runs and two first downs later the Washington offense was down to the Spartan 13-yard line. On fourth down the Tigers attempted a field goal. On the field goal, the snap went wide and was recovered by the Spartans on the Washington 39-yard line.

Athens Academy went three-andout on its next drive and was forced to punt. The ball was punted 32 yards and no return was offered by the Tigers. Washington took a knee on first down to end the first half. The score at the end of the first half was 7-7 with no team having an advantage.

The Spartans kicked the ball off to start the second half. Dexter Norman returned the kick 28 yards out to the 38-yard line. On third down Teverrius Jones completed a 14-yard pass to junior Deandre Stewart for a first down. Three plays later however Washington-Wilkes was forced to punt. Ashmore punted the ball 31 yards and the Spartans returned it six yards.

Athens Academy started its first drive of the second half from its 27- yard line. On first down the Spartans completed a 34-yard pass for a first down. Three plays later Athens Academy broke a 13-yard run for another first down. The Spartans kicked a 39-yard field goal on fourth down to give them a lead of 10-7.

The Tigers took over from their 25-yard line after a 17-yard kick return. Washington went three-andout and was forced to punt for the second drive in a row. The ball was punted 15 yards and no return was offered.

The Spartans started their next possession from the 36-yard line. On the first play of the drive Athens Academy completed a 29-yard pass. The next play, the Spartans ran the ball seven yards into the end zone for their second touchdown. The extra-point was made advancing Athens Academy's lead to 17-7.

The Tigers started their next possession from the 20-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Teverrius Jones connected with sophomore receiver Desmond Jackson for an 86-yard pass down to the one-yard line. Jones took the ball into the end zone on the next play with a one-yard run. Gowen again made the point after attempt, narrowing the Spartan lead to 17-14.

John Gowen kicked the ball off to the Athens Academy 18-yard line and the Spartans returned the kick 25 yards out to the 43-yard line. Athens Academy gained a first down on three consecutive runs. Two plays later the Spartans completed a 16- yard pass for another first down. On fourth down Athens Academy completed another pass, this one for 19 yards and a touchdown. The extrapoint was made making the score 24-14 in favor of the Spartans.

W-W took over after the kick on the 32-yard line. On the second play of the drive Athens Academy intercepted the Tiger pass on its own 49-yard line. The Spartans were forced to punt after going three-andout. The Tigers started their last drive of the game from their 16-yard line. On the fourth play of the drive Deon Jackson gained a first down on a five-yard run. Three plays later, Washington threw another interception giving the Spartans the ball on their 43-yard line.

On the second play of Athens Academy's drive they picked up a first down on an eight-yard run. The Spartans picked up another first down four runs later. Athens Academy took a knee three times to run out the rest of the time remaining on the clock. The game ended with the Spartans winning by a score of 24-14.

The Washington-Wilkes offense put up 193 yards of total offense led by quarterback Teverrius Jones who completed 8 of 17 passes for 195 yards and had 19 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Tiger defense was led by Drew Wilson who had nine tackles, four assists, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and a blocked field goal and Tyrece Ashmore who had seven tackles, five assists, and one tackle for loss. In addition, Anthony Smith recorded his 15th sack of the season to go along with 21 quarterback pressures and nine other tackles-for-loss. The Tigers end the 2008 campaign with a 6-5 record.