Two seasons ago, Thomas County Central’s Yellow Jackets entered their game against Northside-Warner Robins vying for a region championship against an Eagle team they had never defeated before, winning 24-14.
What a difference two seasons can make.
Riding the able legs and arm of junior quarterback Jaylen Johnson and a swarming defensive effort, the Yellow Jackets dismantled Northside by a record-setting 62-0 margin. It was the most lopsided loss in the Eagles’ program history.
“We’ve challenged our players to start turning that corner from being a good team to an elite team,” said Central head coach Justin Rogers after the game. “I think they’ve responded well so far.”
Central wasted no time getting on the board. On their opening drive of the night following a good opening kickoff return from Dannell Jester to near midfield, Central’s quarterback took matters into his own hands. From his own 46-yard line, Johnson took off through the Northside defense and didn’t stop until he found the Eagle end zone. With the Drew Reneau PAT, the Yellow Jackets led 7-0.
The first quarter was dominated by penalties, as both teams were flagged for a combined 13 penalties in the opening frame alone.
After forcing the first of eight Eagle punts, the Yellow Jackets would strike again, this time with Johnson hitting Rodney Dunbar for the first of his three touchdown receptions on the night, this one for 36 yards. With the PAT, it was 14-0.
Central forced another Northside punt on their next possession and started at the Central 44. Senior running back AJ Clark would cap off an impressive drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0.
On the opening drive of the second quarter, sophomore star Tre Pringle forced another Northside fumble inside the Eagle 5-yard line. Rubbo would get his first scoop-and-score of the year for the TD. The PAT was errant, and Central led 27-0.
After forcing another Eagle punt, on their first play from scrimmage Central’s junior star running back Christian “Deuce” Lawrence would burst for a 43-yard TD scamper. Reneau’s PAT pushed the score to 34-0.
The next time Central’s offense got their hands on the ball following a Tre Pringle interception, Johnson would connect with senior receiver Ethan Rehberg for a big 45-yard pass deep into Northside territory. The Yellow Jacket QB then hit Dunbar with another touchdown pass, this time from 22 yards. Central led 41-0 with the PAT.
Trading possessions, Central’s defense would again put points on the board when Aacoyah Rauls deflected an Eagle pass and eventually intercepted it. He took it 46 yards for the score for his second ‘pick six’ on the season. The PAT was good, and Central led 48-0 going into the half.
Coming out of halftime with a running clock, Johnson continued to roll, hitting Dunbar for yet another touchdown, this one from 47 yards out. The Reneau PAT pushed the score to 55-0.
The night’s scoring was capped off by sophomore running back Cobe Carnage’s three-yard touchdown run followed by freshman placekicker Jake Jones’ PAT for the 62-0 final.
“We played a solid game on both sides of the ball,” Rogers stated about Central’s third straight win over Northside. “These last two games of the regular season will determine how we go into the post-season, so now it’s basically time for the playoffs to begin for our team next week against Houston County.”
Johnson was 12 of 20 passing for 229 yards with three scores and ran for 60 yards on four carries. Lawrence finished with 54 rushing yards on nine carries with a TD, and Clark had 43 yards on eight carries with a score. Dunbar had his best night of the year with 5 catches for 103 yards and three TD’s. Central finished with 440 yards of offense on the night, while holding Northside to just 76 total yards for the game.
With the win, #3-ranked Central moves their season record to 7-1 on the season, and will now travel back to Warner Robins to face the 6-2 Houston County Bears, who are coming off a 14-0 loss to Coffee County.