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Updated: Tucker Football First Look

Tucker's scrimmage with Stephenson provides season preview

Updated 12:20 p.m. Thursday: Correcting cost of scrimmage T-shirts and date for Tucker Spirit Night.

August in Atlanta doesn’t exactly scream “football weather.” When an afternoon walk to the mailbox feels more like a swim, it’s hard to imagine Friday nights under the lights (let alone actually putting on pads and playing full speed, but I think it’s safe to assume the players are in far better shape than I); but this Friday at Hallford Stadium, the players will take the field for our first look at 2011 Tigers football.

Dubbed the “Battle of the Big Cats,” Tucker takes on Stephenson at 7 p.m. August 12 in what should be a far greater challenge than last year’s preseason scrimmage, which Tucker won 29-6 vs. MLK.

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No disrespect intended to MLK, but Stephenson’s roster reads like a rivals.com recruiting sheet. It’s preseason, so neither team needs the W, but to say nothing is at stake would be remiss. With all the big-hype recruits, Stephenson likely isn’t willing to stomach a loss in any format. The Tucker Tigers, meanwhile, enjoy success year after year and have their fair share of graduates playing on Saturdays and Sundays, but don’t enjoy the attention the Stephenson Jaguars command.

Pride is on the line here, so don’t expect this game to be a walk-through. I won’t go so far as to call it a “measuring stick” kind of matchup, but we’ll see how close the Tigers are to being ready for their August 25 season opener against Southwest DeKalb. Win or lose, it should be a great game between two juggernauts.

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The Tucker Quarterback Club is selling advance tickets for $8 during school lunch periods this week. If you don’t have a THS student, you can call QB Club Co-President Felicia Collins at 678-789-8627. Scrimmage pre-sale tickets are the QB Club’s biggest fundraiser of the year, so grab them now instead of waiting until you get to the gate (they’ll also cost $10 at the gate). Scrimmage T-shirts are also available for $8.

The Spirit Night at Jason's Deli has been changed to Wednesday, August 24th. That is the night before the opener against SW DeKalb on August 25th. To participate in this fundraiser, just eat at Jason’s Deli between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. next Thursday night. The game will be televised on WSB Channel 2

Next for Tucker:

Stephenson (scrimmage)

Hallford Stadium

Aug. 12, 7 p.m.

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