Victories are great, but great victories turn into monumental ones the second time around. Andrew Jackson proved that a Tiger could not change its stripes because a Tiger can only be a Tiger each day of the week. This is exactly what the team epitomized at the Gateway Conference Championship as the territorial Tigers defeated First Coast 45-29 becoming the Gateway Conference Champions for the second year in a row.
Jackson would begin their first tournament game against Ed White. The Tigers went on to effortlessly dismantle the Commanders by way of a 76-43 defeat. Jackson would later advance to the next round to battle against (19-3)Paxon. The matchup between the two giants would not prove to be a landslide victory for Jackson as Paxon outscored Jackson in the first and fourth quarters. Jackson went on to narrowly defeat Paxon 55-51 which led to the team’s placement to compete in the Championship game.
While the Tigers stalked prey and left casualties in their path, the First Coast Buccaneers would seemingly navigate through out the ranks of opponents.
Sandalwood became the first tournament team to succumb to the Buccaneers by a slim sanctimonious 48-47 defeat. Next , Atlantic Coast would take their shot at the championship placement only to be stung by a 75-63 Buccaneer defeat advancing First Coast to the Championship.
The Jackson and First Coast(17-6) matchup would be that of a bitter one for First Coast as Jackson dished a roaring 49-38 defeat over First Coast earlier in the season.
Led by senior Joshua Knox, the Tigers would go on to lay heavy paws into the Buccaneers defeating them 45-29. Jackson would once again surmount upon the throne of champions as the 2018-2019 Gateway Conference Champs. At 20-4 Jackson is rolling and has generated lots of excitement and buzz around the city. Their big game against powerhouse Providence (21-3) today will be a sure test for the Tigers, where they’ll truly see where they measure up on the road to districts.
