Week 10 Winner: Tucker Herzog
Tucker Herzog may not start at quarterback for
Holy Cross (New Orleans) any more, but the unflappable senior is still winning games for the Tigers.
Tucker Herzog, Holy Cross
Courtesy photo
His
latest rescuing act came last week against East Jefferson (Metairie)
when he replaced injured James Tabary early in the fourth quarter with
Holy Cross trailing 14-7. Undaunted, Herzog drove Holy Cross 49 yards
with time running out and capped the 14-play drive with a 1-yard
touchdown sneak.
Todd Spriggins followed with the 2-point conversion run.
Not
only did that give Holy Cross a 15-14 victory and the Class 10-4A
district title, but it earned Herzog recognition as the New Orleans
Capital One Bank High Yield Student Athlete of the Week.
"He came in and did a heck of a job," said Holy Cross coach Barry Wilson. "That's two games he's done that now."
Herzog
replaced Tabary against Warren Easton (New Orleans) last month and
rushed for three touchdowns, including two in overtime, to give Holy
Cross a 35-34 double-overtime victory. The sixth-seeded Tigers, 7-2
overall and 4-0 in district, will face 27th-seeded Archbishop Shaw
(Marrero) in the first round of the Louisiana High School Athletic
Association playoffs Friday.
Tabary will start again after having
wrestled the job from Herzog last spring after he had to sit out with
an injury sustained while playing basketball. If need be, Herzog will be
prepared to replace Tabary and display the skills that allowed Herzog
to rally Holy Cross twice this season and earned him the starter's role
as a junior.
"Tucker's a very good quarterback," said Wilson, in
his 11th year as head coach at his alma mater after 32 years as a
college coach. "Thank God we have two good quarterbacks."
After
Holy Cross failed to score on the previous drive that reached East
Jefferson's 3-yard line, Herzog immediately went to work in putting the
Tigers in position to end the regular season with a five-game winning
streak.
Faced with fourth-and-10 from the East Jefferson 23-yard line with 53 seconds left, Herzog found wide receiver
Kevin Spears
with a 13-yard completion. Two plays before the Tigers scored, East
Jefferson interfered with Spears to move the ball even closer.
With
the football on the 1, Wilson said Holy Cross intended to run a "clock
play" with Herzog instructed to spike the ball to stop the clock.
Instead, Wilson said when Herzog noticed the East Jefferson defenders
"standing up and standing around," Herzog took it upon himself to find
his way into the end zone.
"He did a good job," said an appreciative Wilson.
In
a limited role, Herzog has done well all season. He's rushed 17 times
for 108 yards and five touchdowns and completed 22 of 37 passes (59.5
percent) for 327 yards and two scores. Against East Jefferson, he was 5
of 9 for 92 yards, with his longest completion covering 53 yards.
Wilson said Herzog has adapted extremely well to being a backup.
"He's helped the younger players learn what to do," Wilson said. "He's an unbelievable leader."
