DEON JACKSON SPRINTS AWAY FROM A WOULD-BE TACKLER But he is still fighting a nagging ankle injury as the Tigers enter the playoffs this week. What could be worse than closing out the regular season with a loss to the lowly Aquinas Fighting Irish? Not much. But that's what the Washington-Wilkes Tigers suffered last Friday night as the cap to end a week of hard luck, injury, and sickness. In the end, Aquinas upset W-W 28-12, but the good news is, it didn't change the playoff situation or the Tigers' finish in the region standings.

Running back Deon Jackson was still nursing an ankle injury as the week of preparation began. Then 1,000-yard rusher Eric Scott also suffered an ankle injury and spent most of the week swollen and unable to push off. On Tuesday, junior running back Robert McGill broke his collarbone in practice to end his season and that left no starting running backs at full speed going into the game.

On top of that, Demoris Jackson was sidelined with a back injury and as game time approached, starting quarterback Teverrius "Poody" Jones came down with the flu. Jones tried to play sick but could last only part way into the second quarter before having to leave the game to be treated for dehydration.

"It was a very disappointing loss, a very frustrating loss," Head Coach Lee Hutto said, but took the blame, adding, "We just didn't play as well as we needed to play and that's my fault. So, I've got to do a better job of preparing our kids and getting them ready to play."

The Tigers actually had considerably more offense than the Irish, it just didn't translate into points on the board. And though the game remained close through three quarters, two fourth-quarter touchdowns by Aquinas made the game seem worse than it actually was. Nevertheless, the loss left W-W at a disappointing 5-5 for the regular season.

"It was a situation where we had a lot of adversity during the week and we just didn't do a good job of handling it," Hutto said. He then countered optimistically, saying, "We will definitely get it corrected."

Whatever correcting is done is critical for the Tigers as they enter the first round of the state playoffs against a formidable team of Red Devils which, this year, may be even hotter than those in Lincoln County.

The Tigers will be travelling to Bowdon this Friday for a game beginning at 7:30 p.m. against the Region 6-A No. 2 team. Bowdon is 9-1 for the year, having lost only to that region's champ, Darlington. The Red Devils' average score in 2009 is an impressive 35-13.

"They have a great program and a good football team. It's going to be tough," Hutto commented. "Having to travel up there and play is going to be a big challenge for us."

He reported that Bowdon is "not a real big team" but that they have a lot of speed and a lot of athleticism. They run the Wing-T on offense and have some outstanding running backs. Among those is Maricio Askew, No. 2, a sophomore, who Hutto says is "probably as good a running back as we've seen all year."

Bowdon's very athletic quarterback, Avery Cheeks, No. 10, "is a kid who can run and throw," Hutto said. Cheeks is also a starter on defense at free safety. "He's a heck of a defensive player. He's a guy that really stands out," Hutto said. "We've got to block him. We've got to put a hat on him or he's going to make a lot of tackles."

The Red Devils are a running football team and Hutto expects them to "line up and do that" with a squad of talenting running backs in addition to Askew that includes numbers 32, 6 and 13 (names not available).

"Year-in and year-out they're going deep into the playoffs so it's a program with a lot of tradition and a lot of history," Hutto said. "They are well-coached, and good football players.

"You look at them and they don't have a lot of big kids but they play hard and they get after you," he continued. "They are good at what they do because they have been doing it for so long. Coach [Dwight] Hochstetler has been there for 20-something years and they have run the same system for so many years, they're just good at it."

Hochstetler, who has been coaching a total of 32 years won his 300th game earlier this year.

For now, the Tigers will continue to try to fight back that adversity and get over the injuries. "We can't afford any more injuries right now. We are very very thin," Hutto said. "But we'll have Poody back, and Eric and Deon are just going to have to play."

The coach spoke highly of Brian Hardigree who had to step in and take over as signall-caller for W-W when Jone couldn't go any more against Aquinas.

"Brian did a great job and has done a tremendous job for us all year," he said. "To be a freshman, you wouldn't expect to see him doing what he's doing. The team responds to him almost like if Poody was out there. I think the kids respect him and he's earned it. He's got a bright future."

Still, not having the starter on the field at Aquinas took a heavy toll. "It all just limited the kinds of things we could do offensively," Hutto explained. "But we still should have gone out there and won the ball game regardless of who was playing or not playing. We didn't do that so no we've just got to regroup and focus our attention on Bowdon."