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THS airs out the Bulldogs
The Thomasville Tigers traveled to Grove Hill this past Friday, November 3 and defeated the Clarke County Bulldogs 26-6 in the 91st meeting between the two archrivals. The play of the Tigers brought several standing ovations from the multitude of Thomasville fans that filled to overflow the visitors' stands in the near record crowd that packed into H. 0. Prim Stadium. The play of Tigers caught the attention of Thomasville Head Coach Jack Hankins as well. "I am very proud of the effort our players had against Clarke County," Hankins said. "I thought we played hard and were very physical on both sides of the ball. In big rivalry games good teams learn to control their emotions and play through the ups and downs. I thought we did exactly that and basically took control of the game after the first quarter." In the game, which was hard fought from the opening kickoff to the final whistle neither team managed to score in the first quarter although the Bulldogs drove into Thomasville territory twice only to be turned away both times. The first stop by the Tigers occurred with 8:36 to play in the first quarter when a Bulldog fumble was recovered by James Jones at the Thomasville 35-yard line. The second occurred one possession later when the Tiger defense rose up and stopped the Bulldog offense on downs at the Thomasville 38. The Tigers also saw one of their offensive drives in the period halted with an interception that the Bulldogs returned to midfield with :49 remaining in the quarter.
The next three minutes of the quarter found the two teams exchanging turnovers. Thomasville's Tysean Thompson got things started picking off a Bulldog pass at the Tiger eight yard line with 4:21 remaining in the period to stop yet another Bulldog thrust into Thomasville territory. The Tigers returned the favor with 3:32 remaining giving up an interception of their own that the Bulldogs returned to the Clarke County 47 yard line. That wasn't the end of the aerial thievery however as the Tigers grabbed another one with 2:22 remaining before halftime. Jake Overstreet had the honors this time picking off the Clarke County pass at the Thomasville 18-yard line. Taking it from there the Tiger offense did a little better with this opportunity, marching 82 yards for their third touchdown of the game. They literally used every second remaining on the first half clock in the process with Jake Overstreet plowing in from four yards out as the last second ticked off. Aguair's extra-point was wide left but the Tigers had increased their lead to 20 - 0. As the third quarter began the Tigers, who won the pre-game coin toss and elected to defer to the second half; got good field position taking over at their 35 yard line following the kickoff going out of bounds. Appearing to be taking up where they left off at the close of the first half, the Tigers marched right down the field and were in position to score again when a costly penalty and a sack on fourth down ended the threat. Seizing the momentum for a moment, the 13ulldogs took advantage of the Tigers failure to sustain their drive and marched 63 yards for what would be their only score of the game, knocking it in from one yard out with 7:33 to play in the third. The extra-point attempt was short but the Bulldogs had cut the Thomasville lead to 20-6. The Thomasville fans had a momentary scare two minutes later when the Bulldogs fell on a Tiger fumble at the Thomasville 44-yard line with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter. The Thomasville defense stepped it up however and held the Bulldogs on three downs forcing a punt that the Tigers let roll dead at their own 33 yard line. That set the stage for the Tigers last scoring drive, which ended with Mitchell Cowan diving in from one yard out with 9:36 to play in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was set up by a Jake Overstreet to Tysean Thompson pass that covered 31 yards and gave the Tigers a first and goal at the four-yard line. Cameron Dunegan's extra-point try was blocked but Thomasville led 26-6. Thomasville defensive back Alex Buford put the proverbial final nail in the coffin with 6:41 remaining in the game when he picked off a Bulldog pass at the Thomasville 29-yard line. From there the Tigers were able to run out the clock making the final 26-6. Leading the Tiger defense which played tough all night was Katrell Watters with 14 tackles followed by his brother Jarrell Watters with 11. Others with key defensive plays were; Alex Buford, Jake Overstreet and Tysean Thompson with one interception each and James Jones with a fumble recovery. On special teams Alex Buford had a key defensive play when he blocked a Clarke County punt and then returned it deep into Bulldog territory. Over on offense, the Thomasville ground game which produced 258 rushing yards was led by Delvonte Harris with 148 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Joining him with rushing touchdowns were Mitchell Cowan and Jake Overstreet with one each. In the air Jake Overstreet was 13 for 23 for 180 yards and one touchdown. Tysean Thompson led the receivers with eight catches for 125 yards and one touchdown. The win by the Tigers moved their regular season record to 9-1 while the Bulldogs with the loss fell to 7-3. Both teams have qualified for the AHSAA state playoffs and both will be hosting first round games. The Gordo Green Wave will be traveling to Grove Hill while the Tigers will be welcoming the Central of Tuscaloosa Falcons to Thomasville. Looking ahead at their first round opponent Thomasville skipper Jack Hankins had nothing but good things to say about the Falcons. "Central of Tuscaloosa is a well coached football team that is loaded with athletes," He said. "Their offensive line is very good and they have play makers at all their skill positions. Defensively they are very aggressive and quick. They will be a very formidable opponent." The Tigers and Falcons are scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff this Friday, Nov. 10, at D. F. Anderson Field.
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