Tate secures playoff berth

Seven seasons of missed opportunities, miscues, and frustration, three that Rigby experienced first-hand, fluttered away with quarterback Edwin Richburg's deep, picture-perfect spiral.

Seeing receiver Tevon Padgett all alone and streaking down the opposite sideline, Rigby moved cautiously, wide-eyed with his right hand reaching to the sky.

"I was thinking to myself," Rigby said with a sigh of relief. "Just please catch it."

Padgett did catch it, giving Tate a 21-3 lead in the second quarter and setting the tone for the Aggies' 28-16 win against Milton at Pete Gindl Stadium on Friday night.

Rigby's animation wasn't about one well-executed play; after all, he had already seen his rocket-armed quarterback throw two other 60-plus yard touchdown passes in the second quarter.

This third score was more about the Tate program, just 3-6 on the year, making its first playoff appearance in seven seasons.

If there were ever a time for a trio of big plays, this was it.

"When the season started, we never talked about wins, we never talked about going undefeated," Rigby said. "We just played it week-by-week.

"But we had one goal — to go to the playoffs this year. I told them all year, 'I don't care if we win one football game, I don't care if we win two, it doesn't matter Just go to the playoffs.' "

After a playoff tuneup hosting Panama City Mosley next week, Tate will travel to either Fort Walton Beach, Choctawhatchee or Crestview —whichever team wins the three-team shootout for District 2-4A — in the first round on November 21.

Knowing that Friday's winner would lock up the District 1-4A runner-up spot behind Pace and that coveted spot in the playoffs, Tate— a program that had won just 19 games since 2002 — played its best and most consistent game of the year by far.

Trailing 3-0 and punting on their first three possessions, Richburg settled in and played the second quarter like a video game. First he found receiver Q Ford, who appeared to be tackled at the Milton 25, but rolled on top of a Milton defender without touching the ground and ran in for a 67-yard touchdown.

After trading empty possessions, Tate got the ball back on its own 34 with 2:18 in the second quarter. Richburg need just the one play, firing a ball to Ford down the middle, hitting him in stride for a 66-yard score. Then it was the icing on the playoff cake, another one-play drive and 64-yard bomb to Padgett to make it 21-3 with 37 seconds left in the half.

"We've had so many ups and downs," said Rigby. "We had two-quarter games, looking like we're unbeatable, then in two quarters looking like the worst team in America. But the kids believed. Nobody but their mommas thought they could do it."

Richburg, a player battling an up-and-down season himself, had the game of his career, going 7-of-12 for 268 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

"I was just seeing touchdowns, that's all I was seeing," said Richburg, who missed two games earlier in the year for violating team rules. "All year, we've been struggling to try and put points on the board. We just had to come out this game and put points up."

Tate padded its lead to 28-3 when Richburg connected with Padgett again from 29 yards away with 9:31 left in the game.

Ford finished with three catches for 135 yards and two scores while Padgett had two catches for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Tate defense followed suit, holding the Panthers to only 143 yards (94 passing, 49 rushing) while forcing six punts and two interceptions in the first three quarters.

Revived by a stellar performance and a goodbye wave to the playoff drought, Rigby is energized for the new season ahead.

"When you get in the playoffs, anything can happen," Rigby said. "It's about gelling at the right time, peaking at the right time. I'm so proud of the kids, because as many of the ups-and-downs, highs-and-lows we had this season, they never quit and the coaches never quit.

"We just kept going, and here we are, in the playoffs.

"Thank God."

Tate 28, Milton 16

Milton 3 0 0 13—16

Tate 0 21 0 7—28

FIRST QUARTER

M--Mauricio Barber 31 FG, 9:40

SECOND QUARTER

T--Q Ford 67 pass from Edwin Richburg (Blake Cicheskie kick), 7:33

T--Q Ford 66 pass from Edwin Richburg (Cicheskie kick) 2:06

T--Tevon Padgett 64 pass from Richburg (Cicheskie kick) 0:37

THIRD QUARTER

No Scoring

FOURTH QUARTER

T--Padgett 29 pass from Richburg (Cicheskie kick), 9:31

M--Dedricks Simmons 3 run (Barber kick), 6:12

M--Austin Worley 14 pass from Matt Floyd (pass failed), 0:54