By Barry H. Hendrix
The Thomasville High School Tigers varsity football team beat Class 3A, Region 3 opponent, the Dallas County High School Hornets, 51-6 Oct. 17 at D.F. Anderson Field.
The Tigers recovered Dallas County fumbles from four different kickoffs, and Thomasville would go on to score after each recovery.
"(Gunnar Lewis) did a good job kicking the ball like he was supposed to – to give us a chance,” said Clint Anderson, THS Head Football Coach. “Our guys that are going down for that purpose – they were prepared for any kind of miscue as far as handling the ball. They did a good job of being aggressive and going and get it.”
THS quarterback Christian Draper “ran the offense very well. He did a good job of taking what (Dallas County) was giving us as far as pass coverage and reading it properly. He had a couple of scrambles, where he did a really good job of pulling it down and realizing they didn’t have containment and taking advantage of that as well.”
Despite a Homecoming week full of activities, the Thomasville players showed a lot of energy and effort in the game. “I was pleased with our level of intensity and excitement,” coach Anderson said. “The guys were playing fast. I was pleased with both sides of the ball.”
Thomasville’s Troy Davis recovered a Hornet fumble on the opening kickoff. THS had the ball on the Dallas 40. Five plays later, C.J. Rowden ran 1 yard for the touchdown (10:00 in the first quarter). A 2-point conversion run by Hunter Norwood was also good.
Thomasville’s Alvin Patrick recovered another Dallas fumble on the next kickoff. The Tigers had the ball on the Hornet 39. Three plays later, B.J. Cheeseboro ran 8 yards for the TD (8:34 in the first). The point-after kick by C.J. Welch was also good, and the Tigers led 15-0.
Thomasville’s Jacob Rotton recovered the third Dallas fumble on the next kickoff. The Tigers had the ball on the Dallas 35. Six plays later, Rowden ran 4 yards for the TD (4:55 in the first).
Christian Draper threw 40 yards to Cheeseboro for a Tiger TD (8:20 in the second quarter). Norwood added a 2-point conversion run.
C.J. Welch intercepted a Hornet pass, and Thomasville had the ball on the Tiger 41. Five plays later, Draper threw a 6 yard pass to Cheeseboro for the TD (3:20 in the second).
Thomasville’s Rowden recovered another Hornet fumble on the next kickoff. The Tigers had the ball on the Dallas 43. Three plays later, Alvin Patrick ran 7 yards for a Tiger TD (1:56 in the first half).
Thomasville led 44-0 at halftime.
The Tigers had the ball first in the third quarter, and their first drive was successful ending in a 9-yard TD run by Patrick (3:30 in the third). The point-after kick by Mayder Pop was also good.
Dallas County’s Eric Sturdivant ran 46 yards for a TD (6:26 in the fourth). The 2-point conversion run by Jaylin Crusoe was not successful.
Sebastian Laister recovered a Tiger fumble (5:01 in the fourth). Dallas had the ball on their own 31, but the drive stalled out over-on-downs (3:45 in the fourth).
Thomasville (4-4) will travel Friday, Oct. 24 to play region opponent, the Greensboro High School Raiders (4-4), at 7 p.m. at Robert Lucky Stadium.
Cash or GoFan will be accepted at the gate.