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Thomasville Tigers warp Trinity
In the game the Wildcats actually out gained the Tigers 332 yards to 292 yards but the aggressive and opportunistic Tiger defense and good special team play proved to be the difference. That was particularly true in the final three quarters when the Tiger defenders employed a bend but don't break posture. "I am very proud of our team's mental toughness," Thomasville Head Coach Jack Hankins said. "It would have been easy to get down and lose faith when we fell behind 14-0 early in the game but our guys held on like a rusty nail and demonstrated great courage and tenacity in their willingness to battle back for the win. I thought our special teams had a big part in the win, three big returns, a punt block and overall good kick coverage." It all got started with the Tigers winning the opening coin toss and electing to defer to the second half giving the Wildcats the opportunity to get the ball first. The Wildcats wasted very little time taking advantage of having the ball first converting a third and six situation into a 66-yard touchdown pass. The extra-point was good and with 10:22 remaining in the first quarter Trinity was on top 7-0. After stopping the Tigers in three downs on their first offensive possession the Trinity offense was back in business taking over after a Thomasville punt to the 14-yard line. From there the Wildcats took off on a 12-play drive that covered the 86 yards to the end zone. The actual touchdown came on a 3- yard run with 1:18 remaining in the first period. Once again the extra-point was good and the Wildcats had extended their lead to 14-0. On the ensuing kickoff Thomasville deep back Alex Buford took in the kick and returned it to the Wildcat 38- yard line giving the Thomasville offense great field position. The offense didn't waste any time taking advantage of the short field with Jake Overstreet culminating the short drive with a 1-yard plunge to get the Tigers on the board. Henrique Aguiar added the extra-point and Thomasville had cut the Trinity lead to 14-7 with 11:34 to play in the second quarter. After stopping the Wildcats on three downs in their next offensive series and forcing a punt, the Tiger offense was back in business at the Thomasville 36-yard line. Mixing an occasional pass in with their ground attack the Tigers covered the 64 yards to pay dirt rather quickly with Buford scampering in from 17 yards out to draw the Tigers to within one. Aguiar nailed the extra-point and the score was knotted at 14-14 with 8:02 remaining in the half. Thomasville had two more good opportunities to add points before the half came to a close, but could not do anything with them. The first came when Delvonte Harris blocked a Trinity punt and Mitchell Cowan returned it to the Wildcat 32. That threat ended with a Wildcat interception at the 12-yard line. The second opportunity came about when Tiger linebacker Justin Smith made a shoe top grab on an interception of a Wildcat pass at the Trinity 33-yard line. Once again the Tigers failed to convert, turning the ball over on downs this time, leaving the score tied as the teams retired to the locker room for halftime. Things looked promising for the Tigers early in the third quarter when they took their opening possession and drove into Wildcat territory. It was all for naught however as the drive stalled at the Trinity 18 and the Tigers missed an attempt at a 35-yard field goal. To add insult to injury Thomasville saw yet another opportunity go by the way side in the third quarter when they could not turn a fumble recovery by Brady Sullivan at the Trinity 43 into points. The Tigers finally got untracked again mid-way the fourth quarter when James White completed a 75-yard drive with a 23-yard ramble for a touchdown. Aguiar was on target with his extra-point and Thomasville had the lead for the first time 21-14 with 6:52 remaining in the game. A key play in the drive was a 35-yard pass from Overstreet to Andrew Parten that allowed the Tigers to convert on a third and 11 situation. The game was far from over at this point however, as the Wildcats methodically moved into Thomasville territory and found themselves knocking on the door at the Thomasville 18. That's when the Thomasville defense rose to the occasion again when comer Tysean Thompson, who had been victimized on the Wildcat's first touchdown, stepped in front of a Whit Mitchell pass and took it 65 yards the other way ending up at the Wildcat 17. From there the Tigers punched it in again when Delvonte Harris barreled in from 3 yards out with :47 remaining in the game. Aguiar made it 4-for-4 on extra-points and the Thomasville lead stood at 28- 14. Thompson then sealed it with :15 left on the clock when he grabbed his second interception of the night taking it in at the Thomasville 47 and returning it to the Trinity46. Leading the Tiger offense on the ground was Alex Buford with 77 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries. Following him was James White with 54 yards and one touchdown on six carries and Delvonte Harris with 47 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Jake Overstreet accounted for the other Tiger touchdown rushing for 19 yards on four carries. In the air Overstreet was 7-for-12 for 95 yards. On the receiving end of Overstreet's passes were; Tysean Thompson with 49 yards on five catches, Andrew Parten with 35 yards on one catch and Shed Simmons with 11 yards on one catch. On defense Justin Smith led the charge with 10 tackles and one interception. Following him were Katrell Watters with nine tackles and a caused fumble, Jarrell Watters with eight tackles, Alex Buford and James Jones with seven tackles. TyseanThompson had two interceptions for the Tigers while Brady Sullivan had a fumble recovery. Up next for the Tigers is a second trip to the semi-finals of the State Playoffs in as many years. This year the Tigers will be taking on a good Andalusia Bulldog football team who entered the playoffs as the Region 2 runner-ups. "We will be facing a very good and well coached Andalusia football team that will be good in all phases of the game," Coach Jack Hankins said. "They are big on both offense and defense and are known for their hard nosed, physical style of play. Offensively they employ a true option running attack that they will try to use to control the tempo of the game. We will need to play our best to beat them."
The game between the Tigers and Bulldogs is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff this Friday, December 1, in Andalusia.
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