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Thomasville downs Jax 31-14
In the game, the Tigers piled up 293 yards of total offense, including 185 yards rushing, while allowing the Aggies to only 74 total yards. Besides dominating the game on offense and defense, the Tiger special teams did their job as well, taking advantage of three breakdowns in the Aggie kicking game to pick up nine points directly and position themselves for seven more. The Tigers set the tone for the game in the first quarter scoring 17 points in a span of twenty-one seconds and then adding eight more before period ended. Leading the Tiger offense on the ground was Alex Buford with 98 yards on eight carries, followed by Roya Campbell with 49 yards on 11 carries and Delvonte Harris with 39 yards on nine carries. In the air Daniel Rogers was 8 for 19 for 108 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. On the receiving end of Rogers' passes Tysean Thompson had two catches for 53 yards; Shed Simmons had 2 catches for 28 yards and a touchdown; Kenny Sanders had two catches for 15 yards and Alex Buford had one catch for 12 yards. During the night Buford had 180 all purpose yards adding 70 yards on a kick off return to his rushing and pass reception totals.
Things got underway with the Aggies winning the coin toss and electing to defer to the second half, giving the Tigers the ball first. On the opening kickoff Thomasville's Roya Campbell raced 85 yards for an apparent touchdown but the Tigers were charged with a clip on the return, negating the score and putting the ball back at the Thomasville 27. The Aggies stopped the Tigers on three downs at that point forcing a punt that only carried to the Jackson 42, setting the Aggies up with a relatively short field.
The Tiger defense went to work then holding the Aggies to seven yards on three downs, forcing them into a punting situation at the 24. At that point Jackson's long snapper sailed the ball over his punter's head into the end zone. Rather than risk a possible Tiger touchdown the punter scooped the ball up and retreated out of the end zone deliberately taking a safety that gave Thomasville a 2 - 0 lead with 4:57 to play in the opening quarter. Following the safety, Jackson was forced to take a free kick from their 20 yard line. The kick was a good one traveling 50 yards to the Thomasville 30 where deep back Alex Buford took the ball in. Following basically the same path that Campbell had taken on the opening kickoff, Buford dashed 70 yards for a Tiger touchdown. Harrison Lewis added the extrapoint and Thomasville led 9 - 0 with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter. The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds giving Jackson the ball at their own 35 with a chance to regroup. It wouldn't turn out that way however, as an alert Jarrell Watters fell on an Aggie fumble on first down putting Thomasville back business at the Jackson 40. It only took the Tigers one play from there to strike pay dirt again with Alex Buford scampering 40 yards for his second touchdown of the evening. The Tigers elected to go for two points on the conversion and Roya Campbell blasted in from three yards out to put Thomasville on top 17 - 0 with 4:26 yet to play in the period. The Aggies managed to pick up one first down on their next possession before the Tiger defense stiffened, forcing them into another punting situation. Once again the snap to the punter was too high sailing over his head to the Jackson 15 where he recovered it to prevent the Tigers from picking it up and scoring. Taking over there, the Tigers wasted little time capitalizing on the mistake. Daniel Rogers culminated a short drive with a nine yard scoring strike to Shed Simmons as the first on the rolled down to :36. Harrison Lewis tacked on the extra-point and the Thomasville lead stood at 24 - 0. The Aggies finally got untracked early in the second quarter when they launched a 65 yard drive that ended in a 36 yard run for a score. The extrapoint was good and Jackson had reduced the Thomasville lead to 24 - 7 with 8:58 to play in the second stanza. Neither team was able to pick up any more points before half time with the Tiger defense stuffing the Aggies on their next two possessions and the Aggies picking off two passes to halt Thomasville drives late in the quarter. As the third quarter got underway both teams saw their first offensive series come up empty. The only difference was that Thomasville facing a fourth and long at their 20, had their own mess up in their punting game, turning the ball over to the Aggies on downs at that point. The Tiger defense, which was exceptional all night, rose to the occasion pushing Jackson back to the 25, forcing a 42 yard field goal attempt that was both wide right and short of the mark. Smiles turned to frowns only a minute or so later however when a Tiger fumble at their 34 yard line was picked up by the Aggies and advanced to the Thomasville six. From there Jackson was in the end zone in short order, scoring on a three yard run. The extra-point was good and suddenly the Aggies had cut the lead to 24 - 14 with 1:27 remaining in the third period. The two teams exchanged interceptions as the third quarter wound down and the fourth got cranked up. Jackson picked off the first one in Aggie territory late in the third period on a somewhat controversial call that had the entire Tiger sideline upset about an interference call that wasn't made. The Tiger interception came at the 11:23 mark of the fourth quarter when Tysean Thompson pulled the ball down near the Thomasville forty and advanced it to the Jackson 46. Following Thompson's interception the Tigers appeared to be headed for some insurance points as they drove the ball deep into Aggie territory. The drive was halted at the Aggie 11 however on another Thomasville fumble. The relentless Thomasville defense stepped up yet again driving the Aggies back to their four yard line in three downs forcing them to punt out of their end zone. The punt turned into a good one rolling dead at the Thomasville 44. The Tiger offense would not be denied this time driving the ball 54 yards for what would turn out to be the final points of the game. Roya Campbell ended the drive with a six yard plunge for the touchdown. Lewis was on the mark with his extra-point and Thomasville was on top 31 - 14 with 4:54 remaining in the game. A last ditch effort by the Aggies ended with 4:06 still showing on the fourth quarter clock when Katrell Watters intercepted a pass over the middle giving Thomasville the ball at the Jackson 44. From there the Tigers were able to run out the clock making the final 31 - 14. Following the game Thomasville Coach Jack Hankins once again had mixed reviews for his team. "I thought we played with a lot of desire and intensity like a good team should," Hankins said. "It was a big game and you could tell by our level of play that these guys have been in some big games before. We handled the pressure and even when we made mistakes we did what we had to do to overcome them. I am proud of our effort." On the flip side the coach wasn't pleased with the turnovers. "One thing we can't continue to do is turn the ball over a half dozen times a game," the Tiger Skipper said. "We were fortunate that they didn't hurt us any more than they did. There is no telling what we could do if we stopped turning the ball over."
With the W. S. Neal Blue Eagles who are also 2 - 1 coming to town this week, Hankins knows the Tigers must forget about last week and focus on what's next. "W. S. Neal is a lot like they were last season," Coach Hankins said. "They are very big up front and have a lot of speed at the skill positions. Beyond that they are very physical on both sides of the ball and fundamentally sound. We will have to play very well to win the game." The game will be the third region game for both schools and is scheduled to be played at D. F. Anderson Field in Thomasville this Friday, September 21. Kick off for the game is set for 7:00 PM.
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