Tornadoes' Tyson Runs Hog Wild In Semifinal Win Over Irish

Alcoa running back Jaquez Tyson ran hog wild Friday night.

He ran left.

He ran right.

He ran up the middle.

He ran frequently.

And, he always ran hard.

Tyson, a 5-foot-9-inch, 210-pound bruiser with speed, rushed a record-tying 50 times for 266 yards and three touchdowns while leading the top-ranked Tornadoes to a 28-19 victory over Notre Dame in the TSSAA Class 3A state playoff semifinals at Finley Stadium.

“It hurt carrying that much,” said Tyson, whose cousin Taharin Tyson (5-11, 240) is a senior fullback at Tennessee-Chattanooga.

“I have to be honest, Notre Dame laid some pads on me, but the victory makes this whole thing a lot sweeter.”

Behind Tyson’s rib-rocking runs, the Tornadoes (13-1), who have won 11 games in a row, advanced to the state championship game and will play Christ Presbyterian Academy (14-0) on Dec. 5 at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville.

Alcoa is seeking its second straight state title and 14^th overall.

And Jaquez Tyson is keeping the family tradition going strong at Alcoa.

“(Taharin) won four championship rings when he was at Alcoa,” said the younger Tyson. “I’ve only got one state ring on my finger. A second one would mean a lot.”

From start to finish, Tyson was a one-way wrecking ball on the ground, zigging and zagging through the Notre Dame defense, slowing to give blockers a chance to make more room, and when a defender had had a bead on him, he dished out more punishment than he got.

And Tyson seemingly never tired.

“Well, I’m only human,” he said. “I’m not Superman. I just run as hard as I can and don’t worry about any obstacles out there.”

There weren’t many.

Tyson carried the ball on all but eight of Alcoa’s rushing attempts and picked up 266 of the team’s 286 rushing. His 38-yard gainer was negated by a penalty late in the third period.

Tyson’s three touchdowns – runs, of course – covered 2, 26 and 3 yards.

Tyson personally took care of an entire five-play, 24-yard touchdown drive, which was set up by Braxton Dockery’s recovery of an Auston Banks fumble. That was one of five turnovers – four fumbles and an interception – committed by the Irish (12-2).

About three minutes earlier, Dockery picked up a Jared Andrews fumble following a 3-yard pass reception and rambled 53 yards for the game’s first touchdown.

“Against a team like Alcoa, it’s hard to give the ball up like that because it limits your possessions,” Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said. “They complete one pass and that guy (Tyson) does what he does, man, that says something about that player.”

Tyson gained a paltry 142 yards on 23 carries last week in the Tornadoes’ 35-14 quarterfinal win over Christian Academy of Knoxville, but 129 yards and three touchdowns came in the second half when Alcoa rallied from a 14-7 deficit.

In his last two games, Tyson, who entered the game with 1,800 yards and 31 touchdowns, gained 265 yards with four touchdowns after halftime.

“He’s big-time,” said Fant, who saw his team’s 12-game winning streak – and season – come to disappointing end. “Our defense made some amazing stops, but their O-line gave him some openings and the way he just keeps running, well, he’s just a fantastic player.”

Said Alcoa coach Gary Rankin, who set a state record with his 369^th victory, “Tyson carried our offense.”

Tyson’s 50 carries better his own personal-best of 49 set in last year’s state championship game. He said his highest yardage production was somewhere “in the 270s.”

Oh, by the way. Alcoa completed one pass – the Tornadoes attempted just three – and that was a screen pass that Tyson turned into an 18-yard gain on the team’s first possession of the game, giving him 284 yards of total offense.

Notre Dame’s team had 222, just 66 on the ground.

With 7:36 left in the second quarter, Alcoa had built a 21-0 lead and that followed a pattern Notre Dame used all season – demoralize the opponent quickly and breeze to an easy victory.

However, the Irish didn’t roll over.

They rallied.

Quarterback Alex Darras hit Andrews on a 26-yard touchdown play and after Notre Dame recovered an onside kick, Darras found wide receiver Kareem Orr in the end zone from 34 yards out.

The two touchdowns came in the final 23 seconds of the first half.

But, Orr, who also plays in the Notre Dame secondary, knew Tyson hadn’t caught an early bus back to Alcoa.

“He’s good,” Orr said. “We knew he’d get his yardage and you have to give him credit for what he did. He runs really hard; he runs close to the ground and is hard to tackle. He’s the best running back I’ve faced in my career. He’s like Maurice Jones-Drew.”

Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing yards in 2011 while with the Jacksonville Jaguars and is now with the Oakland Raiders. Jones-Drew is 5-7 and 207 pounds.

On Notre Dame’s first third-quarter possession, Alcoa’s Dustin Clabough intercepted an underthrown Darras pass at the Tornadoes’ 11-yard line. Tyson gained 5 yards on three carries and Alcoa punted.

Andrews, the Irish punt returner, fumbled the kick and Johana Koko recovered at the Alcoa 48. Tyson ran five times for 27 yards. Quarterback Mitchell McClurg was sacked for a 6-yard loss and Clabough lost 2. The Tornadoes punted the ball away.

On the next possession, Tyson ran on seven of eight plays, but again Alcoa was forced to punt.

The Irish fumbled again and Alcoa gained possession at the Notre Dame 38.

Tyson, who said he’s being recruited by Tennessee Tech, Cumberland and UTC, carried five straight times and scored on a 3-yard burst up the middle, pushing the Alcoa lead to 28-13 with 7:01 left.

“I think (Notre Dame) stopped me four or five times,” Tyson said. “In a 48-minute, four-quarter game, that’s not much.”

On three occasions the Irish tackled Tyson for minus yardage. Once he was tagged for no gain.

The other 46 carries netted positive yards.

“He’s like Maurice Jones-Drew,” said Orr, referring to the 5-7, 207-pound NFL rushing leader in 2011 while with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“No doubt, he’s probably the best running back we faced this season,” Fant said. “Skye Wilson up at Signal Mountain is pretty good. But when a kid can do what Tyson did, it’s not too hard to just call plays for him.”

Still, Fant isn’t about to push aside what the third-ranked Irish were able to accomplish this season and, for the seniors, throughout their careers.

“This was the fourth time to the semifinals, but we still haven’t reached the championship game,” he said. “For the seniors, the year before they got here Notre Dame went 1-9. They won 5 games, nine game, nine games and 12 this year. They’re really a special group.”

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)