By Barry H. Hendrix
The Thomasville High School Tigers varsity football team won 20-7 Aug. 28 over the Sweet Water High School Bulldogs at Victory Field in Sweet Water.
Clint Anderson, THS Head Football Coach, saw improvements in the second game of the regular season. “I thought our tackling was better Thursday night,” he said. “Sweet Water had some good backs, and I thought our guys were a lot more sound fundamentally when we tackled.
“Our pursuit to the ball was a lot better overall. We got a lot of help to the football. That’s the key, when you’re undersized, you’ve got to tackle in groups.”
The Bulldog defense was tough at the goal line. Two of the Thomasville touchdowns were scored on fourth down. “Their front seven was really good,” Anderson said. “Of course, with their familiarity with what we run, it is always a challenge to move the football against them. At times, we were a block away from having big plays. Early in the season, it is the kinds of things you hope don’t stop drives and keep you from being able to continue to get first downs and move the football. They (the Bulldogs) were a tough challenge for us in the box.”
Thomasville took advantage of Sweet Water mistakes, a second bad snap on a punt and later a fumble.
The Tigers missed a field goal after gaining good position after a first bad snap on a Bulldog punt. Coach Anderson still had confidence in kicker C.J. Welch. “He does it every day in practice. I feel like that is an opportunity we missed.”
Thomasville had two turnovers, an interception and fumble. “That hurt us as far as being able to add to our lead. …Luckly, we were able to keep them from capitalizing on our turnovers.”
The Tigers ended the game with two long drives. Although they did not score, Thomasville ate up valuable time and kept the ball away from Sweet Water. “We wanted to take time off the clock,” Anderson said. “We wanted to sustain the drive – get first downs. Our defense was playing good. We were sitting there with a two-score advantage. At that point, we just want to be methodical with what we do. …Obviously, we would have loved to finish in the end zone, but to be able to run the clock out and end in a victory formation, that is all you can ask for.”
Scoring attempts in the game began a 33-yard field goal try by Thomasville’s C.J. Welch, which was no good (3:31 in the first quarter).
A bad snap on a Bulldog punt gave the Tigers the ball on the Sweet Water 13-yard line. Four plays later, on fourth down, Thomasville’s Jakaden Grayson scored a touchdown from the 4-yard line (11:18 in the second quarter). The point-after kick was no good.
Thomasville’s Brayden Williams recovered a Bulldog fumble on the Sweet Water 22-yard line (10:01 in the second).
On the next play, Troy Davis scored the touchdown (9:54 in the second). The point-after kick was good, and THS led 13-0.
Thomasville was intercepted by Sweet Water’s Daniel Harris (7:46 in the second). The Bulldogs had the ball on the THS 49-yard line, but they couldn’t move the ball any farther than the Thomasville 41 before having to punt.
On the next possession, a great pass from THS quarterback Christian Draper to Mychal Brothers moved the ball to the Bulldog 5. Four plays later, Jakaden Grayson scored the TD from the 1-yard line (8.8 seconds in the first half).
The point-after kick was good, and THS led 20-0 at halftime.
Sweet Water’s Deion Blanks ran 16 yards for a TD (4:36 in the third quarter). The point-after kick by Efrain Cardenas was also good.
The Bulldogs recovered a THS fumble at the Sweet Water 35-yard line (3:49 in the third). The Thomasville defense responded, and Sweet Water could only move the ball to their own 44-yard line before having to punt.
A THS 36-yard field goal attempt was no good (5:05 in the fourth).
The THS Tigers varsity football team (1-1) will next travel Friday, Sept. 5 to play Class 3A, Region 3 opponent, the Southside Selma High School Panthers (1-0), in Memorial Stadium (7975 Highway 80 East in Selma). Kickoff will be a 7 p.m.
Cash or GoFan will be accepted at the gate.