WO-S grad Chavis part of Missouri Tigers rise to top spot

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WO-S grad Chavis part of Missouri Tigers rise to top spot

Gabriel Pruett

The Orange Leader

There are not too many athletes during the course of the college football season which can call themselves No. 1.

Former West Orange-Stark standout Tommy Chavis is one of them.

Chavis, who is now a junior at Missouri University, is the starting defensive lineman for the Tigers who are headed to face the Oklahoma Sooners this Saturday in the Big 12 Championship.

The Tigers polished off the Kansas Jayhawks last weekend to win the Big 12 North and moved into the No. 1 spot in the nation, just above the West Virginia Mountaineers.

A win over Oklahoma and Missouri would be headed to the BCS National Championship.

“It has been an exciting year,†Chavis said. “We have played hard all season long. It is just an awesome feeling right now. Kansas was the biggest game I have ever been a part of. We played at Arrowhead Stadium with 80,000 people. It was a great atmosphere and was crazy down there on the field.â€

The Tigers defeated the Jayhawks 36-28 while the Sooners downed the Oklahoma State Cowboys 49-17 to set up the match-up.

“We knew they (Jayhawks) liked to control the time of possession,†Chavis said. “We came in wanting to stop the running game and they would have to rely on their quarterback. We wanted to force him into making a couple mistakes. We were able to do a pretty good job of that.â€

The Tigers did force a fumble and Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing into throwing two interceptions.

Oklahoma defeated Missouri 41-31 earlier this season which is the Tigers’ only loss of the season.

Missouri committed four turnovers and gave up 18 fourth-quarter points to the Sooners in the loss.

Missouri’s victory over Kansas, coupled with then-No. 1 LSU’s 50-48 triple overtime loss to Arkansas last Friday, moved the Tigers to the top spot. Missouri, which has not been ranked No. 1 since it spent a week there in November 1960, had never led the BCS standings.

“For me, I was never worried about our ranking,†Chavis said. “First I was focused on winning the Big 12 North and once we got that I am now focused on beating Oklahoma. We are rewriting history but I still have a hunger. A team can easily lose its focus, get beat and be right out of that top spot. Look at all the teams this year that have been No. 1 and been beat.â€

With his eyes on the Sooners, Chavis knows the Tigers will have to be at their best to beat one of the nation’s premier teams.

“They are good offensively,†Chavis said. “They have several good backs and a great quarterback (Sam Bradford). We have to bring our ‘A’ game. We have to play as hard as we can and try to play a perfect game. Of course mistakes are going to happen but we have to try to adjust to them.

“I am excited to play these guys again. I feel we really hurt ourselves in the loss. We just have to finish stronger this time around. They had a great crowd in Norman last time around.â€

Chavis’ road to Missouri University did not happen right out of West Orange-Stark High School.

Chavis first made a stop at Kilgore Junior College before heading to Columbia, Mo.

The 6’2-280 pound lineman has provided a nice stability at a position that saw Missouri lose both Brian Smith and Xzavie Jackson to graduation last year. Smith left as the No. 1 all-time career sacks leader in Tigers history while Jackson finished at No. 7.

“I just was not given the opportunity right out of high school yet felt that I was good enough to end up DI,†Chavis said. “I went to Kilgore and stayed focused on my grades and then left after my first year. It is just a blessing because we are all family here at Missouri. During my sophomore season I already knew I made a great decision. It has been nothing but a great experience. We are No. 1 and we want the Big 12 title. Then later on we will hopefully start talking about the national championship.

“At the start of the year it was difficult to see what kind of team we would have. Everyone from Day 1 was committed because we knew how good we were last year. Last year we lost three games in November and beat Kansas. The attitude this year has been a lot better. We are far from satisfied right now and are focused on Oklahoma.â€