Tyler Grace Community Visits All Saints With Playoff Implications On The Line

Tyler Grace Community Cougars (4-2, 2-1)

Vs.

Tyler All Saints Trojans (4-2, 2-1)

7 p.m. Friday

Mewbourne Field, Tyler

Coaches

• Grace: Mike Maddox
• All Saints: Mike Hall

Last week

• Grace: defeated Bullard Brook Hill, 55-14
• All Saints: lost to Bishop Gorman, 45-0

Next week

• Grace: vs. Carrollton Prince of Peace, Oct. 24
• All Saints: vs. Dallas Shelton, Oct. 24

Playmakers

Grace

• QB/ATH Chandler Nutt, Sr., 6-2, 195 (67 of 117, 894 passing yards, 11 passing TDs, 1 INT, 356 rushing yards, 7 rushing TDs)
• RB/WR Zach Tatman, Sr., 6-0, 210 (107 carries, 988 yards, 12 TDs)
• WR/S Jonny Spitzer, Sr., 5-11, 165 (22 catches, 286 yards, 4 TDs, 29 carries, 212 yards, 2 rushing TDs )
• WR//DT Call Florence, Sr., 6-0, 200

All Saints

• OL Blake Bengston, Sr., 5-8, 240
• ATH Luke Lee, Jr., 6-3, 210 (65 tackles, 12 TFL, 1 INT, 315 all-purpose yards)
• RB Jace Evans, Jr., 5-10, 184 (82 carries, 408 yards, 1 TD)
• RB Matthew Brunson, Sr., 6-0, 180 (58 carries, 350 yards, 4 TDs)
• WR/DB Griffin Greene, Sr., 6-1, 180 (51 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 FF)
• WR/LB Willis Greene, Soph., 5-7, 140 (52 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 INT)

Just the facts

• All Saints and Grace have met just once.
• Grace won the meeting, 65-6, in 2007.
• The two teams enter Friday's game with identical records. At 2-1 in TAPPS Division II, District 2, All Saints and Grace are part of a four-way tie for second place alongside Brook Hill and Dallas Christian. Bishop Gorman owns first place in the league as the only team with a 3-0 district record.
• Grace's Zach Tatman will eclipse the 1,000-yard mark with 12 rushing yards Friday.
• Quarterback Chandler Nutt needs 106 passing yards to break 1,000 yards this season.
• All Saints' 2014 success is a dramatic turnaround for the program. The Trojans were a combined 4-16 between 2012 and 2013, including a 1-9 record last season.
• All Saints could really use the win Friday. It still has to face Dallas Christian and Brook Hill.
• Grace's schedule after All Saints features Carrollton Prince of Peace and Dallas Shelton. Those two schools have combined for one district win -- Prince of Peace over Shelton. The Cougars wrap up the regular season against Bishop Gorman.
• All Saints and Grace share one common opponent. All Saints topped Frisco Legacy Christian 9-7 while Grace beat the same team 49-35.

Key matchup: Grace's offense versus All Saints' defense. No doubt about it, the Trojans are a defensive oriented team. Five players have more than 40 tackles and the unit as a whole held all five teams prior to Bishop Gorman to no more than 15 points.

The Cougars could become the second team to get past the 15-point threshold. Running back Zach Tatman has been playing well all season behind a good offensive line. He has a quick acceleration and usually reaches at least the linebackers' level of the defense. Tatman also flashed his big play ability last week against Brook Hill with an 87-yard touchdown run.

He's not the only threat. Grace quarterback Chandler Nutt's mobility causes a second running concern and can open things up for a good group of receivers.

All Saints' best approach to the game would be controlling the clock on offense and limiting Grace's opportunities with the football. That's been the Trojans' style all season. The offense has just 1,616 yards on 295 plays compared to Grace's 2,744 yards. The Cougars have run 12 more plays through six games.

Don't be surprised if: Friday's game has a big say in seeding for the playoffs. The two teams are part of a four-way tie for second place in the district while Bishop Gorman visits Brook Hill simultaneously in another high-profile TAPPS game.

The winning side of the All Saints-Grace game will be in a tie for first place by night's end if Brook Hill takes down Bishop Gorman. Should Grace top All Saints, it still has a head-to-head game against Gorman and a decent chance to win the district if it wins out.

If All Saints comes out on top, it will be in great playoff positioning with a game against winless Shelton next week and big match ups against Dallas Christian and Brook Hill to close out the regular season.