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Tigers headed to Birmingham!
It all started with the Bulldogs winning the opening coin toss and electing to defer to the second half giving the Tigers the ball first. Much to the delight of the Tiger faithful who filled and overflowed the visitors’ side of the stadium, Alex Buford returned the opening kickoff to the Andalusia 32 giving Thomasville great field position for their first possession. From there the Tigers pounded it in for the first of 10 touchdowns scored between to two teams during the game. Delvonte Harris got the honors on the first one blasting in from six yards out with 8:15 remaining in the first quarter. Henrique Aguiar added the extra-point and Thomasville led 7-0.
The dust had hardly settled before the Thomasville defense was handing the ball back to the Tiger offense as the Bulldogs’ second fumble of the night fell into Thomasville hands at the Bulldog 25 yard line with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers were quick on the draw again scoring their third touchdown of the game with 2:56 to play in the initial quarter on a 14 yard scamper by James White. Jake Overstreet plunged in from three yards out with the two point conversion and Thomasville led 21-0. Thomasville’s bounty seemed to continue less than a minute later when the Bulldogs’ coughed up their third fumble with 2:06 remaining in the first quarter giving the Tigers the ball at the Bulldog 45 yard line. Unfortunately the Tigers failed to capitalize this time when a procedure penalty helped to halt their drive at the Andalusia 27 where they turned the ball over to the Bulldogs on downs. By this point the game had moved into the second quarter and the cloud that had appeared to be hovering over the Bulldogs in the first quarter found its way to the Tigers. The switch became noticeable quickly as the Bulldogs broke their second play of the new series 73 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point was good and the Bulldogs had cut the Thomasville lead to 21-7. After one first down on their next possession the Tiger offense stalled and punted to the Bulldog 38 yard line. Taking over there the Bulldogs pounded it in again scoring this time on a 25 yard run with 4:30 left in the second quarter. The extra-point attempt failed but the score stood at 21-13. Following a return of the ensuing kickoff to their 43 yard line the Tigers gave the ball right back to Bulldogs two plays into their next offensive series when they fumbled at the 45. The fired up Andalusia offense made it hurt taking it in with 2:43 remaining in the period on a 10 yard run. An attempt at a two point conversion came up short leaving the Tigers on top 21-19. The Bulldogs brought the Andalusia fans to their feet less than a minute later when they picked off a Thomasville pass near mid-field and returned it to the Tiger 42 yard line with 1:45 still remaining before halftime. The cheering switched sides with 1:20 remaining when Alex Buford snatched a Bulldog aerial out of the air at the Thomasville five. The Thomasville cheers and sighs of relief turned to gasps :06 later when the Tigers fumbled the ball on first down giving it back to the Bulldogs at the nine with 1:14 remaining in the half. Once again the Bulldogs cashed in, running it in from nine yards out on their first play from scrimmage. The extra-point was good and Andalusia had taken the lead 26-21. If that wasn’t enough the generous Tigers gave the ball back to the Bulldogs yet again when they fumbled on their first play of the next series at their own 25 yard line. This time the defense stiffened forcing the Bulldogs into a 35 yard field goal attempt that fell short leaving the score at 26-21 as the first half came to a close. As the third quarter got underway the Tiger defense appeared to set the tone stopping the Bulldogs on three downs forcing them to punt. Thomasville’s safety however fumbled the punt giving the ball back to the Bulldogs at the Tiger 49. With their backs to the proverbial wall the Tiger defense forced another Bulldog fumble at the Thomasville 20 keeping their hopes for a second half come back alive. The Tiger joy was short lived however as what appeared to be a nice 15 yard gain on first down suddenly turned sour when the ball squirted loose at the 36 where the Bulldogs fell on it. With the turnover the pressure was right back on the Thomasville defense to stop the Bulldogs again. Rising to the challenge, Tiger defensive lineman Jeremy Borden tackled the Bulldog quarterback at the exchange point forcing a fumble that safety Jake Overstreet scooped up and carried 77 yards for a Thomasville touchdown. Overstreet ran in the two point conversion and Thomasville was back on top 29-26 with 3:55 remaining in the third period. The Bulldogs let everyone in the stadium know that they were not done taking their next possession and driving it 65 yards to the Tiger one yard line where they faced a fourth and goal. Once again the Tiger defense, which had spent all but one play of the third quarter on the field, rose to the occasion throwing the Bulldogs for a three yard loss to the Thomasville four. It was time for the Tiger offense to step up at that point and step up they did driving 96 yards for a touchdown. Delvonte Harris capped the drive bulling in from two yards out with 4:45 remaining in the game. Aguiar’s extra-point was no good but Thomasville led 35-26. Running a hurry up offense the Bulldogs put the ball in the air consistently on their next possession moving the ball into Tiger territory. That threat was ended with 2:52 to play when Jake Overstreet picked a pass off in the end zone giving Thomasville the ball at the 20 on the touchback. Tiger tailback Alex Buford all but sealed the victory two plays later rambling 77 yards for a touchdown. Aguiar was on target with the extra-point and Thomasville led 42-26 with 1:56 left in the game. Just to make sure, Buford intercepted a Bulldog pass with 1:25 to play lock it up. On offense the Thomasville ground attack was led by Buford with 158 yards and one touchdown on seven carries. Delvonte Harris was next with 66 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, followed by Jake Overstreet with 39 yards, one touchdown, and two- two point conversions on six carries and James White with 33 yards and one touchdown on eight carries. In the air Overstreet was 3 for 6 for 41 yards with one interception. Shed Simmons led the receivers with two catches for 31 yards while Tysean Thompson had one catch for 10 yards. Over on defense Katrell Watters led the charge with 18 tackles followed by Alex Buford and Jarrell Watters with 10 each. Joining them with nine tackles apiece was Jeremy Borden and Justin Smith. Jake Overstreet had three fumble recoveries including one for a touchdown while Justin Smith and Nick Smith had one apiece. The Tigers also had three interceptions with Alex Buford claiming two and Jake Overstreet one. Following the game an excited Coach Jack Hankins had this to say, “I am extremely proud of the courage and willingness to keep fighting our guys displayed in the win over Andalusia. There were a lot of ups and downs in the game but they never doubted themselves but kept playing hard and rose to the challenge. It was a great team win!” With the win the Tigers who are 13-1 will advance this week to the 4A State Championship game at the Super Six Playoff Finals in Birmingham. Their opponent will be a 13-1 Guntersville team that beat Alexandria 24-3 last week to advance from the Northern half of the state. “We will have our work cut out for us against a very good and well coached Guntersville team,” Coach Hankins said. “They have a very good quarterback who runs and throws the ball extremely well with good skill people around him. They are very sound on defense and have been prolific on offense scoring a lot of points in each of their games. They will be a real challenge for us.”
The game between the Tigers and the Guntersville Wildcats is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Thursday, Dec. 7, at Legion Field in Birmingham.
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