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THS defeats Beauregard 38-17
In the game, the Tigers accumulated 347 total yards including 312 on the ground. Leading the Tiger attack on offense was Roya Campbell with 96 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 12 carries. Following him was: Alex Buford with 79 yards on eight carries; Delvonte Harris with 62 yards on seven carries; and James White with 52 yards on 11 carries.
In the kicking game Cameron Dunegan was five for five on extra-point attempts and added a 27 yard field goal. He also had one punt that carried for 52 yards. Over on the defensive side of the ball Jarrell Watters led the charge for the Tigers with eight tackles followed by Josh Jackson and Kattrell Watters with six tackles each. Mitchell Cowan and James Jones were next with five stops apiece. In other big defensive plays Cowan and James White both had one sack in the game and Courtney Campbell blocked three punts in his roll on special teams. Things got started with Thomasville winning the opening coin toss and electing to defer to the second half, giving Beauregard the ball first. The Hornets began their first possession at their 27 after returning the opening kickoff to that point. The Tiger defense established their prowess in the series forcing the Hornets into three downs and a punt that carried to the Thomasville 30. It looked as though the Hornet defense was going to return the favor holding the Tigers in their first three downs forcing the punting unit to come on. It was at that point that a strange turn of events took place. The snap on the punt went to the Tiger up back, who not expecting it couldn't handle it. With the ball rolling around on the ground Tiger punter Cameron Dunegan picked it up and began moving forward. After three yards he too fumbled the ball at which time Delvonte Harris scooped it up for the Tigers and picked up the first down. From there the Tigers drove to the Hornets' 10 yard line where Cameron Dunegan got the first points of the night on 27 yard field goal that put Thomasville out front 3 - 0 with 4:32 to play in the first quarter. The next Hornet series, which began at their 20 following the kickoff, ended in a fourth and 22 punting situation from their eight yard line. A short punt then gave the Tigers the ball on the Beauregard 37. The Tigers wasted little time taking advantage of the short field with Roya Campbell finishing the scoring drive with a one yard plunge with :37 left in the opening period. Cameron Dunegan added the extra-point and Thomasville led 10 - 0. The jubilation on the Thomasville sideline was short lived however as the Hornets returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. Their extra-point attempt was good and with :26 left in the quarter the Thomasville lead had been cut to 10 - 7. Things remained that way until the 6:19 mark of the second quarter when a Tiger fumble at the Beauregard 18 seemed to fire up the Hornets. Taking over there, the Hornet offense drove to the Thomasville 28 yard line where they kicked a 35 yard field goal to knot the score at 10 - 10 with 1:54 left in the second quarter. To add insult to injury, on the ensuing kickoff the Hornets tried an onside kick that the Tigers fumbled giving Beauregard the ball back at the Tiger 44 with 1:50 to play in the half. It was the Tiger defense's turn to step up and be counted at that point. And step up they did, shutting down the Hornets on three straight plays forcing the Hornets into a fourth and 16 punting situation from their 38. Just as he had done earlier in the game Tiger defender Courtney Campbell broke through the Hornet punt protection and blocked the punt giving Thomasville the ball at the Beauregard 32 with :42 left before intermission. The opportunistic Tigers didn't let the golden opportunity pass them by and scored with :19 remaining when Alex Buford hooked up with Shed Simmons on a 24 yard touchdown pass. Simmons made a terrific catch on the play snagging the ball which had been tipped twice before he could secure it. Cameron Dunegan drilled the extra-point and the Tigers took a 17 - 10 lead to the locker room. As the second half got underway neither team was able to get anything established in their first possession and exchanged punts. The Tigers got the best end of the exchange as Dunegan's punt traveled 52 yards pinning the Hornets at their five yard line. The Tiger offense did get cranked up on their second possession of the half when Roya Campbell darted in from four yards out with 6:21 to play in the third quarter. Dunegan was on target with his extra-point and the Thomasville lead stood at 24 - 10. Lightening struck again on the Hornet's next possession when Courtney Campbell blocked his third punt of the night giving Thomasville the ball at the Beauregard 49. From there the Tigers made his efforts pay off driving the 49 yards to pay dirt. Roya Campbell culminated the drive with his third score of the night barreling in from three yards out. Dunegan's kick was on target and with 11:30 to play in the fourth quarter the Tigers were on top 31 - 10. After stopping the Hornets on four downs at the Thomasville 48 the Tiger offense went back to work and got on the scoreboard one final time when Roya Campbell picked up his fourth touchdown of the night on a 16 yard scamper. Dunegan remained perfect on extra-points and Thomasville led 38 - 10 with 4:24 remaining in the final period. The Hornets did manage to score one more time late in the game on a two yard run with 1:00 to play. Their extra-point was good making the final 38 - 17. With the win the Tigers improve their season mark to 9 - 2 and will move on to the second round of the state playoffs where they will host the 9 - 2 Fayette County Tigers. Fayette County, who finished the season as the runner-ups to Central of Tuscaloosa in Region 4, defeated Daleville 48 - 21 last week to advance to the second round. "It probably goes without saying but, Fayette County has a very good football team," Tiger Skipper Jack Hankins said. "They have some outstanding skill people and run an efficient pass oriented offense that utilizes that talent. On defense they are very aggressive and are led by one of the better middle linebackers we'll see. We will definitely have our hands full." Although it will be the first time the two schools have ever met, ironically long time Fayette Coach Waldon Tucker, who was originally from Marengo County, has several ties to Thomasville including having coached both Coach Jack Hankins and Coach Adam Elliott at Fayette County. Beyond that, during his high school days, Tucker was the quarterback on the highly touted Linden Red Devil team that set numerous school records and dominated almost all of their opponents during a three year period in early 1960's. It was in that role as the Linden quarterback that he was part of one of Thomasville's biggest upsets in school history when the Tigers went on the road and defeated Tucker and his Linden teammates 13 - 7 in the fall of 1965, becoming one of only two teams to have beaten the Red Devils in over three years. Demopolis was the other team having also beaten Linden that same year 6 - 0. It was also rumored that Tucker once had an interest in the Thomasville coaching job and was a finalist for the job in 1976 when Ronnie Massey was named as The Tigers' Head Coach.
The game between the Thomasville Tigers and the Fayette County Tigers is scheduled for Friday, November 16, in Thomasville at D. F. Anderson Field with kickoff set for 7:00 PM.
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