The entire Tyner community was saddened this week as news spread that one of their own, former Rams all-state quarterback Marquice “Doc” Craddock, had died after a lengthy illness. The news hit especially hard for the Rams who had played for Craddock in youth league, including senior Ke’un Webb.
“Probably about half the guys on this year’s team played for his Chiefs in little league,” Webb said. “He was at a lot of our games and practices and was always giving us pointers and trying to make us better.
“The last time I talked to him was last Friday after we won. I got tackled on a kick return that I probably should have scored on, and he came up to me and said, ‘You should never get tackled in the open field. I coached you better than that.’ I just shook my head and told him I would be better next time.
“I’m going to give everything I’ve got for him, to try and make him proud.”
Webb’s next opportunity to make a play with the ball under his arm will be at noon EST today when Tyner faces Union City for the Class 2A state championship in the BlueCross Bowl at Tennessee Tech University. It’s a rematch of the Rams’ 1997 state-title win and the first time Tyner has played for a championship since that night.