Historic season for Tigers
Published 12:08 am Saturday, June 1, 2019
By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY
Daily News
It was the finest season in the history of the football program.
The Troup Tigers set a program record for wins a season, while also making it to the Class AAAA semifinals for the second time in school history.
Troup’s memorable run came to a close with a 51-35 loss to Blessed Trinity, which went on to beat Cartersville to win the state championship.
That was part of a successful 2018-2019 sports year for Troup, which finished sixth in Region 5-AAAA in the Georgia Athletic Directors Association Director’s Cup standings.
The more successful a team is, the more Director’s Cup points it receives.
At the close of the school year, the points are added up, and the results are announced.
Troup finished with 402 points, and 10 different teams contributed.
Leading the way was the football team, which earned 82 points for making its semifinal run.
Troup started 9-0 before losing to Cartersville in the final game of the regular season.
After beating Oconee County, Pickens County and Cairo, Troup met its match in the semifinals.
No team scored more points against Blessed Trinity, but it wasn’t enough against a powerhouse that finished 15-0.
Troup’s only two losses came to Blessed Trinity and Cartersville, who played for the state title and combined for a 29-1 record.
“If we had to lose two games, losing to Blessed Trinity and Cartersville are two good ones,” Troup head coach Tanner Glisson said.
Another Troup program that has been thriving in recent years also had a terrific season.
Troup’s cheerleading team placed at state for a fourth consecutive season, earning 54 Director’s Cup points in the process.
It was a memorable four-year run for Troup, which has placed as high as fourth in the state finals during that stretch.
“Being on the team for four years, this team has been more of a family, and more cohesive,” said one of the seniors, Riley Ferguson said. “We hang out. It’s been a family, a sisterhood. It’s been very nice, and we’ve always motivated each other.”
Also enjoying a banner season was the Troup volleyball team, which reached the second round of the state tournament before losing to Marist.
In the first round, Troup won the fifth and deciding set 17-15 to advance.
Trailing 2-1, Troup won the final two sets to get the hard-earned win.
“I was so happy to be out there with the team,” Kyla Bailey said. “We were all working together.”
Troup received 45 points from the girls’ golf team, which placed fourth in the area tournament before finishing 15th in the state.
Sarah Blanks was Troup’s top player in the region tournament, and Sydney Lindsey led the way in the state tournament.
Troup’s wrestling team earned 38 points, with two team members placing at the state finals in Macon.
Seniors Darious Hanson and Colby Harry both finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
Troup earned 28 points in track and field, with junior speedster Ashanti Tigner securing a pair of high finishes at the state finals in Albany.
Tigner was fourth in the 100-meter dash, and sixth in the 200-meter dash.
“Throughout high school I’ve been getting hurt,” Tigner said. “This year, it’s been a pretty good year. I got a lot of new (personal records), and I’ve become a whole lot better sprinter.”
Troup earned 26 points in swimming, with Kate Moore racing to an eighth-place finish in the 50-meter freestyle at the state meet.
Moore, Sophia Pacelli, Madison Bilbo and Belinda Hart also competed in the 200-meter medley relay at state.
Three Troup teams earned 25 points by making it to the state tournament.
That included the girls’ basketball team, which finished second in the region tournament before falling to Oconee County in the first round.
Troup finished with a 17-9 record, and most of the key players from last season’s team will return.
Also making it to state was Troup’s boys’ basketball team, which lost to Stephens County 62-59 in the opening round of the state tournament.
The Tigers went 17-10 in Blake Craft’s second season as Troup’s head coach.
It was an unselfish team with a balanced scoring attack, which was a key to the Tigers’ success.
“It doesn’t matter who the leading scorer is,” said senior JaQuavo McFarland said. “I don’t even have to touch the ball. Winning’s all that matters.”
Troup’s baseball team also made it to state after finishing second in Region 5-AAAA.
Troup’s season came to a close with a loss to St. Pius X in the first round of the playoffs.
It was the final series for some talented seniors, including Colby Williams, Jackson Knox and Cooper Doughman, who will all be playing college baseball next spring.
“It’s tough to see that last out made and know that your season’s over,” Troup head coach Craig Garner said. “But, you can either mope and pout or start making your plans for next year, and that’s what we’ve already done. So we’re going to take what we’ve got and try to improve on our weaknesses and work on our strengths as well, and move on.”
DIRECTOR’S CUP
POINT TOTALS
BOYS
Football – 83
Wrestling – 38
Basketball – 25
Baseball – 25
GIRLS
Cheerleading – 54
Volleyball – 53
Golf – 45
Track – 45
Swimming – 26
