With a 4-0 start, Thomas County Central has gotten off to its best start since 2007, when the Yellow Jackets went 13-1 and reached the semifinal round of the state playoffs. If they can survive this week’s challenge from Valdosta, coach Bill Shaver’s team may be on the verge of doing something special.
The No. 4-ranked Yellow Jackets will try to break a 40-year losing streak to the Wildcats on Friday. Thomas County Central is 1-12 against Class AAAAAA No. 3 Valdosta; it won the first meeting in 1978 but has lost the last 12.
The two South Georgia powers didn’t play from 1986-2012, but restarted the series in 2013. The first one was close, the second was a defensive struggle and last year’s game was what Thomas County Central coach Bill Shaver referred to as a “scorefest.” Valdosta won that game 69-35, a contest that saw the Wildcats throw for 500 yards and Thomas County rush for 500 yards.
So what will this year’s game be?
“You never know,” Shaver said. “I didn’t expect that last year.”
Shaver has a close relationship with first-year Valdosta coach Alan Rodemaker. Shaver, who has been at Thomas County for 25 years, coached for a time at Presbyterian College – his alma mater -- and coached Rodemaker. They worked together at the quarterback-receivers camp at Cairo this summer.
“It’s a good friendly rivalry,” Shaver said.
Thomas County has proved to have a good mixture of talent on both sides of the ball. It can score a lot of points. It can play good defense. It can mix it up with rivals on the road and find a way to win.
The offense is led by quarterback Kelias Williams (5-10, 200), who has rushed for 503 yards and 10 touchdowns and thrown for 371 yards and one touchdown. In addition to his skills, Williams knows all the split back veer attack the Yellow Jackets use.
The defense, which is operating under new management this season, is led by outside linebacker Derrick Brock (6-4, 218) and defensive lineman Tyrelle Palmer (6-2, 300). Brock had 12 tackles last week against Monroe, when the defense forced five turnovers.
Here are four other interesting games on Friday’s docket:
Ware County at Northside Warner Robins: No. 4 Ware County (2-1) faces its most difficult challenge in Class AAAAAA No. 2 Northside. Ware County quarterback Jemar Lincoln has thrown for 364 yards and four touchdowns and run for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Gary Williams (193 yards) and Lawrence Herriott (129 yards) pace the running attack.
The Ware County defense will be tasked with slowing a Northside team that averages 42.5 points. Ronnie Adams has 19 tackles and five sacks for the Gators and Ernest Jones has a team-leading 21 tackles and two sacks.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the regular season. Ware Count holds a 3-1 record against Northside and beat the Eagles 16-7 in the first of the playoffs in 2015.
Woodland (Stockbridge) at Jones County: Two good quarterbacks will on display when Woodland (3-1) travels to Jones County (2-1) in this important Region 4 contest. Woodland's Reid Larsen has thrown for 466 yards and six touchdowns and added 80 yards on the ground. Jones County's Bradley Hunnicutt, fully recovered from an early season ankle sprain, has thrown for 754 yards and five touchdowns in two games. The teams haven't played since 2011 and Jones County leads the series 2-0.
Ola at Stockbridge: No. 2 Stockbridge (3-0) finally gets a chance to play a home game. The Tigers have been successful keeping the ball on the ground with QB Kenderick Duncan (268 yards, two TDs) and back Jalen Holston (391 yards, two TDs). Duncan has thrown for an additional 316 yards. Ola (2-1) is led by quarterback Bryce Lawrence, who has thrown for 363 yards, and running back Chris Rodriguez, who has rushed for 33 yards and seven touchdowns. The series between the two Henry County rivals is tied 2-2, but Stockbridge has won the last two meetings, including 48-27 in 2015.
Kell at Paulding County: There are few chances to take it easy in Region 7. No. 5 Kell, now 2-1 after surviving last week against No. 9 Rome, will try to regroup for a trip to Paulding County (2-1). Kell features a balanced attack behind QB John Lampley (421 yards passing, 232 yards rushing) and a strong defense led by Tennessee commitment Solon Page (40 tackles, five for loss). Paulding County is balanced on offense behind QB Brantley Mauldin and back Marquis Tre'von Lewis. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
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