THOMASVILLE – The Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets are headed to the AAAAAA State Championship after a close semi-final game with Marist on Friday. This marks the program’s first appearance on high school football’s biggest stage since 2002.
This 13-7 victory is Central’s second close away game win in a row. Central was able to jump out to an early lead and held Marist, who has averaged over 30 points a game this year, to just seven points.
This game against the War Eagles was a knock down, drag out fight all night long. A true “old school” type of game that saw the Yellow Jackets run the ball down Marist’s throat throughout the entire contest. All season long, Central has been a team that favors the run, but also uses the pass effectively. This is clearly shown by quarterback Jaylen Johnson’s numbers this season with over 1,700 passing yards and close to 200 passing attempts. However, that was not the game plan on Friday night in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jackets ran the ball in excess as was their game plan. A plan to place a firm grip on the dominance of their run game and never let go. Johnson actually had more rushing attempts that he had completed passes. Central passed the ball a total of 13 times, while rushing 45 times for a total of 241 yards.
Those who want the perfect example of “old school” football, look no further than Thomas County Central’s first scoring drive. The drive went 80 yards over the course of 16 plays and ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Johnson.
“That was the game plan going in. We wanted to establish a vertical run game,” said Central’s head coach Justin Rogers. “I think Marist tries to bait you into chasing stuff, because you think you’re not going to get the ball very much. So, we talked about it all week. Our plan was to go eight…
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