CARRYOVER EFFECT
Tigers reload for run at another state championship
State champ Whitehaven and runnerup MUS rank 1 and 2, respectively, in The CA’s prep football Dandy Dozen.
The Whitehaven football team has grown accustomed to being the circle game on everyone’s schedule. And now that the Tigers have a state championship, it’s only going to get tougher.
After losing in the semifinals in 2010 and in the championship game in 2011, the Tigers finally got to hoist the gold ball in 2012, defeating Maryville, 35- 34 in overtime, in the BlueCross Bowl 6A title game. The victory capped a 15-0 season and gave the Tigers their first state championship since the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association adopted its current playoff format in 1969.
“It was a surreal experience,” said defensive back Stevorius Kimball. “But it’s not about last year; we want to come out harder this year. Everyone wants to be a champion, everyone wants to beat the champion.”
Said coach Rodney Sauls- berry, “Last year’s over. It’s a brand-new year and we’re staying humble and staying hungry. The prize is still the same but now that we’ve gotten one, our motivation is to get two gold balls.”
The Tigers open the year No. 1 in The Commercial Appeal’s Dandy Dozen. But to become a championship team again To get that, though, the Tigers will have to navigate a treacherous schedule. Whitehaven has not lost to a team from Shelby County since falling to Ridgeway, 7-0, in the fourth game of the 2010 season.
“Motivation is not a problem,” said Saulsberry. “We’ve got about 150 guys out here competing ... somebody is always ready to step up.”
The Tigers will need lots of somebodies to step up if they’re to duplicate last year’s successes. Many key players — most notably running back Mark Dodson (Ole Miss) and defensive back Darius Sims and
receiver Gerald Perry (both Vanderbilt) — are gone.
But this is Whitehaven, and talent is never in short supply.
The running game got a boost with the addition of Ramadi Warren, a senior who transferred from Christian Brothers. The senior will share the load with classmate Marshawn Jones.
Returning starter Duane Willingham heads the receiver corps. And Sauslberry has plenty of confidence in his “battle-tested” quarterback Jordan Williams, who stepped in when Patrick Smith was injured last season and threw four touchdown passes in a playoff victory over Southwind.
The Tigers’ best offensive player, though, may be 270-pound offensive lineman Thomas Burton.
“It all starts with the offensive line,” Saulsberry said. “And Thom- as Burton is a tremendous football player.”
There will be lots of new faces on defense, too, but the Tigers will have a star in junior Josh McMillon, the latest talented linebacker off the school’s assembly line.
“The same expectations go; try to get as many doughnuts (shutouts) as we can and get back to the state championship,” McMillon said. “I’m ready to put the team on my back.”
Kimball and fellow senior Terrignon Brown hold things down in the secondary. And everyone on the team is excited about the potential of linebacker Elex Harris, who saw plenty of playing time in the state championship game after last year’s star Adam Collins was injured.
Saulsberry said several freshman could make immediate impacts, including two — Tyler Walton (6- 4, 280) and Shabar Wilson (6-2, 260) — on the D-line.
“People say you can’t come to Whitehaven and play as a freshman,” he said. “We’re refuting that.”