Michael Youngblood didn’t need to wait until the Sunday afternoon film session to see what happened in Thomson’s 14-12 loss to rival Burke County Friday.
He didn’t need a coach’s huddle, either. That’s because one of his senior football players beat everything and everyone else to it.
“One of my senior players, Storm Hunt, walked up to me and said, ‘Coach, we’re selfish. We don’t do what you asked us to do,’” Youngblood said. “And I can’t say nothing when you got a senior leader who walks up to you and tells you that, because he knows. He knows how we practice and coach things. And we had opportunities to win the game, and we didn’t.”
Thomson hit the scoreboard first and led 6-0 in a first quarter that it dominated on both sides of the ball. But by the time halftime came, Burke County had scored the 14 points it needed to win the game.
But it’s how those 14 points came that irked the defending Class AA champion coach.
“We had two punts blocked, and a blown coverage where we just got beat man-on-man, and there’s no excuse for that,” Youngblood said. “Those three plays allowed them to score 14 points.”
Throw in the blocked extra point after Thomson’s first score, and the failed 2-point try after the second touchdown that could’ve tied things up with less than two minutes left in regulation, and it was a total special teams melt down that Thomson said he blames himself on.”
But the offense, though it showed flashes — like the 99-yard fourth quarter touchdown drive that almost tied the game — struggled with consistency. Quarterbacks Jahkiaus Jones and Noah Story had their moments, but several big plays were also missed in the passing game.
“We got kids doing jumping hacks, wide open, and we won’t throw them the ball for whatever reason,” Youngblood said. “We locked in to throw to someone else for whatever reason. Several home run passes, and we missed them. It’s like, we got out there, and everything we have worked on to do, we did the opposite.”
Story connected on a pair of passes with Jones that gave Jones an opportunity to show off his prowess in the open field. Jones also rushed for 74 yards on 13 carries. Anthony Jeffery ran for 86 yards on 14 carries and a score. Jamere Roberts, a slash-type player that saw some time at quarterback in zone read situations ripped off some impressive runs, including the 4-yard scamper that put Thomson in a position to tie the game later.
Jahkiaus Jones almost connected with wide out Tyrikus Jones on what would’ve been a 75 yard passing score. Tyrikus Jones split the corner and safety had both Burke County defenders beat, but the ball fell just a few feet in front of him beyond his grasp. If caught, it would’ve been a sure touchdown.
It’s a game that Thomson, no doubt, would like to have back. It’s one of the CSRA’s most competitive rivalries. Plus, Burke County got the Bulldogs at the Brickyard last year. But Youngblood and company know that the loss isn’t the end of the world.
If anything, it gave the Bulldogs an early-season preview of the level of opponent that they’ll see if they make another deep run into the state playoffs.
“That was like a third round, fourth round playoff game for us,” Youngblood said of the Class 4A Bears. “And this place isn’t foreign for us. It’s exactly where we were last year. “So we’re gonna try to go out and do what we did last year and try to rip off 14 wins. It starts when we break down film and show the kids their mistakes, and then we gotta throw that in the trash and focus on doing what we need to do to make a run at a region championship.”
That move-on process for Thomson starts Friday when it travels to Jefferson County Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Both teams will be looking for their first win as Jefferson County fell 49-20 to Aquinas last Friday in both squads’ season openers.
