That's the assessment of Nic Cowart, the Cass High offensive lineman who played his last high school as a member of the Georgia all-star team on Saturday night.
"We played them tough," Cowart said Sunday. "But it all came down to the offense and we couldn't get the ball into the end zone."
Cowart, who was rotated in every two series on the left side (the same position he played at Cass), said he got to see a lot of action up close and did his best to tack another win onto his football resume, but it was not to be.
"I was real pumped because I wanted to win," he said. "I left everything on the field. I gave it my all."
It was the third year in a row that Tennessee won the annual prep all-star football game, which was played this year at Baylor School in Chattanooga.
Cowart said he and his Georgia teammates moved the ball but needed to do more to win.
"We had a couple of good runs by our quarterback (Ridgeland's Dominique Wilkins) and our running backs," he said.
Cowart said Adairsville's Vic Beasley accounted for a number of gains and noted Tigers Tripp Abernathy, Tevin Pullum and Dallas (Creamer) also played.
Cowart said it was a new experience having the Adairsville High stars on the same side of the ball.
"It was a good experience. I used to play against them on Friday nights and then to be playing together with them trying to win a ball game," he said.
He noted Georgia tried hard to get on the scoreboard in the final period, taking the ball near the Tennessee end zone.
"Then we threw an interception," he said.
That interception came on the Tennessee 3-yard line, and Tennessee took the ball down the field to score and seal their victory.
Cowart said the Georgia and Tennessee players were intense, adding that a couple got ejected.
"There were a couple of run-ins with people, people talking trash and getting into each other's head," he said. "It started getting a little serious at the end of the game. We were down. We were frustrated."
Cowart said while he didn't get into the heated discussions, he did get "a good view" of them.
"I just tried to keep my cool in the All-Star game," he said.
Terrell Robinson, the Tennessee quarterback from South Pittsburgh, was named most valuable player of the game.
Robinson was credited with making 55 yards rushing and massing 83 yards the aerial route.
Cowart said even though his team lost, he enjoyed the experience and made a number of new friends through participation in the game.
"I would definitely do it again," he said. "I had a great time."
--Information from the Chattanooga Times Free Press was used in this report.