It was truly a game of inches for the Harlem Bulldogs in their 36-29 home loss to Thomasville Friday night in the first round of the Class AAA Georgia High School Association playoffs.
While Harlem looked poised to punch it in for a go-ahead touchdown near the goal line with the game tied at 29-29 late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs fumbled with Thomasville recovering and taking over on their own 40-yard line.
After a long run put Thomasville inside the Harlem seven-yard line, Leeland Chapman burrowed his way in from the one-yard line on 4th down to give Thomasville a 36-29 lead with less than a minute left. The Thomasville Bulldogs’ defense held in the final few seconds to preserve the win.
Harlem had its chances throughout, even after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, and then 21-7 in the second after Harlem’s Corey Boyd and Thomasville’s Lavonta Cole traded 11-yard and 8-yard rushing scores respectively.
Then, with just under five minutes left before halftime, the brothers Evangelista connected on a 40-yard Ethan-to-Elijah scoring toss. Will Holder’s 2-point conversion run cut Thomasville’s lead to 21-15.
Harlem had another shot at cutting into Thomasville’s lead before halftime when Ryan Bodie lined up for a field goal attempt. But Thomasville’s Anthony Hill bolted around end and laid his body out to block the kick. That special teams stop kept the score 21-15, Thomasville at halftime.
In retrospect, the missed field goal attempt turned out to be a pivotal missed moment for the hometown Bulldogs, as they received the ball to start the third quarter.
Three minutes in, Ethan Evangelista successfully capped off Harlem’s first drive of the second half when he tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tee Williams. Bodine nailed the extra point to give Harlem a 22-21 lead — its first lead of the night.
Had that blocked field goal to end the first half been good, it would’ve given Harlem a bit of a larger lead, and perhaps some extra momentum. Instead, both teams’ defenses bowed up through the rest of the third quarter until Thomasville’s Ant Anderson broke a 75-yard touchdown run early in the fourth to put Harlem up 29-22.
Ethan Evangelista responded with a 4-yard score on the ensuing drive to tie the score at 29-29 before the game-winning sequence of events took place.
The loss ended Harlem’s season at 7-4, while Thomasville (6-5) moves on to face undefeated Calvary Day in the second round next Friday. Calvary Day routed Jackson in its first round game 49-0.
See a list of Friday night’s final scores for CSRA playoff teams, and check out our list of game times scheduled for Saturday.
Aquinas 49, Glascock County 28 | FINAL
Next opponent: vs. Macon County (9-2) which beat Christian Heritage 30-7
Lincoln County 41, Wilkinson County 0 | FINAL
Next opponent: Friday Nov. 17 at Schley County (10-0)
Thomasville 36, Harlem 29 | FINAL
Crisp County 45, Hephzibah 20 | FINAL
Carver-Columbus 40, Richmond Academy 2 | FINAL
Woodward Academy 31, Evans 14 | FINAL
Fullington Academy 22, Thomas Jefferson Academy 8 | FINAL
Thurmond 53, Keenan 20 | FINAL
Next opponent: at Gray Collegiate Academy (13-3)
Silver Bluff 22, Fairfield Central 21 | FINAL
Next opponent: vs. Abbeyville (11-1) which beat Newberry 41-28
Midland Valley 24, South Pointe 17 | FINAL
Next opponent: at Westside (11-1) which beat York 49-13
