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Tigers fall short in Tuscaloosa
With the loss the Tigers ended their season at 11 - 3 while the Falcons improved to 14 - 0 and will be playing the Deshler Tigers in the 4A State Finals. "Naturally we are all disappointed that it ended the way it did," Tiger Coach Jack Hankins said. "We played hard and put ourselves in a position to win but just came up a little short. I am very proud of this team for the effort they gave all season, they accomplished a lot more than some folks thought they would coming off the good 2006 season." The Thomasville offense which accumulated 310 yards in the game rolled up 283 yards on the ground and 27 yards in the air. Leading the Tiger rushing attack was Roya Campbell with 157 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. Following him were: Delvonte Harris with 71 yards on seven carries; Alex Buford with 31 yards and one touchdown on seven carries; and James White with 24 yards on seven carries.
On defense Thomasville was led by Katrell Watters with 13 tackles followed by Jarrell Watters with 10. Alex Buford and Shed Simmons were next with seven tackles each while Roya Campbell had six. In other big defensive plays James Jones and Scipio Tolbert each had a quarterback sack while Alex Buford and Tysean Thompson both recorded interceptions. Things got started in the game with Thomasville winning the coin toss and electing to defer to the second half, giving Central the ball first.
From there the Tiger offense went to work driving 52 yards for their first points of the night. Alex Buford culminated the drive darting in from five yards out. Cameron Dunegan added the extra-point and Thomasville had taken an early 7 - 0 lead with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Falcons responded on their next possession driving 77 yards for their first score of the night. The touchdown came on a 10 yard run with 2:48 remaining in the first stanza. The extra-point attempt was wide leaving Thomasville on top 7 - 6. After swapping punts on their next possessions, the Thomasville offense appeared to be on the march early in the second quarter only to see the threat end with a Falcon interception at the Central 20 that was returned to the 33.
Thomasville was unable to do anything on their next offensive possession but a punt on fourth down rolled out at the Central six-inch line pinning the Falcons deep in their territory. After moving the ball to within six inches of the first down in three plays the Falcons decided to go for it on fourth down at their 10 yard line. The Tiger defense stuffed them on the play holding them to no gain, giving the Thomasville offense great field position The Tiger offense responded as they should, pounding it in from there. Roya Campbell finished off the short drive bulling his way in from two yards out. Cameron Dunegan was on the mark with the extra-point and the score was knotted at 14 - 14 with 1:29 to play in the first half. With the first half clock ticking down, Central went to the air trying to pick up a quick one before the half ended. Alex Buford put a stop to the Falcons' efforts though picking off a pass with :11 remaining to send the teams to the locker room all tied up. Getting the ball first in the second half, Thomasville appeared to be on their way to taking the lead as they drove into Falcon territory. The drive was halted at the Central 20 however when the Falcons intercepted their second Tiger pass of the evening. Taking over there, the Falcons also looked to be making a threat to take the lead. But, a Tysean Thompson interception at the Thomasville one yard line on a fourth down situation ended the threat but effectively pinned the Tigers inside their own one. Demonstrating how you move it off your own goal line, Roya Campbell broke the first play the Tigers had 81 yards to the Central 18. From there Thomasville slammed it in again with Roya Campbell ending the 99-yard drive with a one yard plunge for the touchdown. Cameron Dunegan's extra-point attempt was wide left by inches leaving Thomasville with a 20 - 14 lead with 3:09 to play in the third quarter. Just as they had done before the Falcons answered the Thomasville score less than two minutes later when they scored on a two yard run with 1:38 remaining in the third period. Their two point conversion attempt was stopped by the Tigers leaving the game tied at 20 - 20. Thomasville appeared to have taken the lead again early in the fourth quarter when Daniel Rogers hit Delvonte Harris with a 55 yard screen pass for a touchdown only to see it called back for holding. The Tigers were unable to make a first down after the penalty and punted the ball, penning the Falcons at their seven yard line. The Tiger defense stopped the Falcons after one first down forcing a punt that carried to the Thomasville 38. From there the Thomasville offense went back to work driving 62 yards for the go ahead touchdown. Roya Campbell ended the drive picking up his third touchdown of the night when he dove in from one yard out. Cameron Dunegan was on the mark this time and Thomasville led 27 - 20 with 3:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Falcons would not go away however and just as they had done before, mounted a drive in response to the Tiger score. It started this time at the Central 41 following a squib kick by the Tigers. The drive appeared to be in some jeopardy when Central was faced with a third and 17 at their 33, but a 41 yard pass completion to the Thomasville 24 kept the drive alive and put the Falcons in position to ultimately score on a 13 yard pass with 1:45 remaining in the game. Electing to go for two points and the win the Falcons picked them up on a scramble by the quarterback that saw him win a race to the right pylon by inches. With the touchdown and two point conversion the Falcons had gone ahead 28 - 27. A last ditch effort by Thomasville to score again failed leaving the final at 28 - 27, sending the Tigers, their Coaches and fans home disappointed but proud and thinking about what might have been.
Despite the loss the Thomasville coaching staff and players all are to be commended for a great effort in the game and in the season as a whole. They accomplished a lot in 2007 and made the year very special for all of us.
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