As has been exhaustively documented here, there has not been a repeat champion in Class 2A since Buford won four in a row from 2007-10. On Friday, the Thomson Bulldogs begin a journey that, if it ends in a championship, will finally end that narrative.
The Bulldogs (9-1), who beat Fitzgerald in last year’s title game, are ranked No. 1 and are the top seed from Region 4. They play unranked Jeff Davis in Round 1 then, likely, No. 4 Toombs County in Round 2.
They lost their season opener 14-12 to 4A’s Burke County and haven’t lost since. They’ve scored at least 55 points in each of their last six games, all against Region 4 opponents. In their last five games, they’ve given up eight points or less, and only once have they allowed more than 14 points, when they beat Washington County 57-29.
For a team that’s trying to win back-to-back titles, the Bulldogs certainly look the part. Bulldogs coach Michael Youngblood said it hasn’t been easy this season.
“The hardest part about defending the title is, you’re no longer a surprise,” said Youngblood, in his sixth season at Thomson. “Teams want to beat the defending state champs, so you are getting everyone’s best effort. Getting your kids to understand that they will get everyone’s best effort, and you have to be able to sustain the waves that will come at you during the course of a game.”
With each season cycling out last year’s senior’s with incoming JV players, the transition from last season has been a work in progress.
“Since Game 1 we have made some changes, and our quarterback (senior Jahkias Jones) has taken off,” Youngblood said. “Once we made that change, our team has been much more explosive, and everything that we preached this summer had come to a head. Either get ready for a long ride, or be ready for everything that people will throw at you. I would say, ‘Lesson learned,’ and our kids are playing at an extremely high level and we are looking forward to these playoffs.”
The playoff field contains a number of championship contenders in addition to Thomson. The Bulldogs are grateful to head into the postseason relatively healthy, and will stick to the one-game-at-a-time mantra.
“We are healthy as we can be right now,” Youngblood said. “We are privileged to be one of the 32 (playoff) teams. You don’t have to worry about 30 other teams, you have to worry about what is in front of you and that’s all that matters. Let the fans worry about that and you focus on the game at hand”
Now for my annual playoff predictions:
Credit: Predictions by Adam Krohn
Credit: Predictions by Adam Krohn
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