WAYNESBORO, Ga. — On fourth-and-goal from the nine-yard line with 17.9 seconds remaining, senior Jaylen Golphin broke up a pass intended for Marcellus Brigham to seal a 24-21 road win for Burke County over Thomson in Friday’s season opening thriller at the Brickyard.
The highly anticipated matchup between what are often the area’s two best teams did not disappoint. Both squads lit up the scoreboard for three touchdowns each during the game’s second and third quarters before the defenses settled into a rhythm for a nail biting fourth quarter in which neither team could score, as the capacity crowd witnessed one dramatic stop after another.
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Burke County senior Marshall Flowers earned WJBF’s McDonald’s Offensive Player of the Game award after completing 13 of 18 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Flowers converted three crucial completions on third-and-long, including a 19-yard floater to Jeremy Richardson that put the Bears ahead for good with 1:04 remaining in the third quarter.
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Burke County nursed its 24-21 lead for the final 13 minutes while Brandon Lively, Markel Kelly, Jordan Franklin and Jaylen Golphin took turns make what felt each time like the stop of the game. Lively took home the Defensive Player of the Game plaque, after recording four tackles and three more for a loss. Lively brought down Thomson’s electric rusher Jontavis Curry in the backfield on third-and-3 to stop the first of three possessions for Thomson in the fourth quarter.
Kelly and Golphin combined to take down Curry in the backfield on fourth-and-3 on the second possession of the final quarter for the Bulldogs. And later when Thomson had pounded the ball all the way to the Burke County 3-yard line with a minute remaining, Jordan Franklin tackled Anthony Jeffery in the backfield to back Thomson up and force the Bulldogs to pass on the final three plays. After two incompletions, Golphin was able to break up the game winning attempt at the goal line from Noah Story to Brigham.
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Burke County’s stingy fourth quarter defense was a change in theme after an offensive explosion for both teams during the middle two quarters. Thomson’s Curry, who is probably the area’s best football player, scored two touchdowns and gained 115 yards on the ground and another 39 receiving. On three separate occasions Curry froze a defender who had him cornered and left him standing and unable to lay a finger on Curry as he darted past him. The first time came on his first rush from scrimmage on the second play of the second quarter when he zoomed 59 yards for a touchdown after making a man miss in the backfield.
The win for Burke County snapped a two-game losing streak for the Bears against their archrival. This year marks the first time in a decade when the two teams don’t share a region and fight for its championship crown. But whether it’s a cold night in October, like it’s been for many years, or a hot one in August, like tonight, it’s almost guaranteed to be a magical night when these teams clash.
