Terrific Tigers!!!

There are so many great story lines surrounding the Troup Tigers I am not sure where to begin.

I think I will kick things off with the fact that the Blue and Gold are undefeated on the season 6-0 overall and 2-0 in region play.  Coach Tanner Glisson has done a fantastic rebuilding job as his Tigers went from 1-9 his first season three years ago to 8-3 last year to the perfect season so far, 6-0, in 2017.

“The season is going very well,” Coach Glisson says. “We have had (three years) of great progress.  When I got the job (three years ago) the administration was fully committed to supporting extra-curricular activities for the students including sports, and football was a high priority.  We have had great stability in the coaching corps, the kids bought into our plan and it is paying off now.” 

The Tigers are coming off one of the most impressive wins in school history, a 71-16 win over Sandy Creek, a team with a great pedigree and multiple state championships, and this is where we come into another great story line in Troup County- senior quarterback Montez Crowe.   Number 15 had a big game against Sandy Creek passing for 525 yards and 8 touchdowns. Let those numbers sink in… 525 yards and 8 touchdowns. Take that Tom Brady.

Coach Glisson admitted, “Montez really had an amazing game.  It was wild, he was making all the right calls, he was making all the right reads, and he was on time and on target with the football all night long.  In the second half we only took 14 snaps, and we scored 3 touchdowns.  He was really amazing.”

While we are on the topic of AMAZING… how about this: 

Montez Crowe is the leading passer in the state of Georgia with 2,205 yards, 24 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions.  Maybe most incredible of all the 6-5, 200 pound quarterback began his high school career as a triple option quarterback.  He was a running quarterback.   Coach Glisson told me he was not a very good passer at all, but he has grown into a good one. 

Coach Glisson said this about Montez Crowe, “He has great arm strength, he makes all the reads, and he is like a coach on the field.  He is a great leader, a great teammate, a great student.  You just can’t say enough about Montez as a player or a person.  He is just terrific.”

Montez has a great corps or receivers to throw to including Jamari Thrash, Kobe Hudson - who has 30 scholarship offers, Mark-Anthony Dixon and Jarrell Smith. 

Defensively the Tigers are loaded as well- led by junior King Mwikuta (who will declare on December 15th if he is going to Georgia or Alabama),  Joco Willis, Kevin Martin (who led the Tigers in tackles last year with 105), and Andy Boykin who has over 20 offers including a boat load from SEC schools.

Now, I also want to point out that Coach Glisson is starting just three seniors on offense and just three seniors on defense.  These Tigers are not rebuilding, they will be reloading for seasons to come.

I told you I had all these great story lines about Troup County,  and I know you are not supposed to look ahead, and I know you play ‘em one game at a time. What is up next up for the Tigers?

Arch rival Lagrange… 

Although, the Tigers have three more regular season games, and then on November 3rd, the Tigers wrap up the regular season against region rival Cartersville.   That’s right… Cartersville.  The same Purple Hurricanes who are on a 37-game-winning streak and have won back to back Class AAAA titles. A team that also just happens to have the number one rated drop back quarterback in the country, Trevor Lawrence.

Now do you see? As a fan of high school football why I am licking my chops?  This is getting good!

That Troup-Cartersville game is going to be one of the best of the year.  The region title most likely will be on the line and the game will match up two of the top quarterbacks in the state of Georgia with both teams running the spread offense and throwing the ball all over the field.   It is going to be an old-fashioned, Wild West, shoot out-show down. There may not be enough lights on the scoreboard to count all the points!

Man, this is what high school football in Georgia is all about. I know I have to wait, but like a kid waiting for Santa Claus to arrive Christmas eve, it is going to be so hard.