For about the first five minutes, Thomson and Putnam County — the two leaders in Region 4-AA — looked like they’d be engaged in a shootout game set for instant classic status with region supremacy on the line.
But after those first five minutes, it was simply Thomson being its dominant self once again. The top-ranked, defending Class AA state champion Bulldogs looked every bit the part as it drubbed Putnam County 56-6 Friday night and solidified its place alone atop the region standings with just Glenn Hills and Westside remaining on the regular season schedule.
Thomson wasted no time putting points on the board, as it took its opening drive and marched 65 yards in nine plays, capping the touchdown drive off with a 3-yard plunge by quarterback Jahkiaus Jones to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead.
Putnam County’s Kaleb Crawford quickly answered with a 61-yard gallup to the end zone, but the missed extra point attempt kept the War Eagles behind 7-6 midway through the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, it took Thomson just two plays to score again. It happened when Jordan Lane found pay dirt on a long touchdown run. That gave Thomson a 14-6 lead, still in the first quarter.
But from there, the Bulldogs’ defense stiffened and Putnam County had no answer for Thomson’s multifaceted offensive attack. The Bulldogs went on to score 42 more unanswered points, while Putnam County never really threatened again offensively.
Thomson (7-1, 5-0) seems to be peeking as a team at just the right time, similar to last year’s squad. And with a 1-7 Glenn Hills squad coming up next week, followed by a date with Westside (3-4), it doesn’t look like the momentum is going to stop rolling down hill as the playoffs approach.
Aquinas’ undefeated region mark tarnished at Washington-Wilkes
Aquinas coach James Leonard was wary about the Washington-Wilkes Tigers all week. Leonard called them “a very tough team,” and warned that if his Fightin’ Irish bunch overlooked them, it would be to their own peril.
It’s not really possible to tell whether or not Aquinas overlooked Washington-Wilkes. But the Tigers proved to be every bit as formidable as Leonard feared they be. And that led to them handing Aquinas a 31-27 loss Friday night — the Irish’s first region loss of the season.
Part of the reason for the setback was an uncharacteristically tough night for junior quarterback Jim Franklin. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior came into Friday night’s contest completing 70 percent of his passes while having thrown for 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Franklin finished the night in Washington with three interceptions in that game alone.
Despite that, Aquinas still had a shot at the end to win it.
After scoring a touchdown while being down 31-14, Aquinas perfectly executed an onside kick, and four plays later, Franklin found Jack Rhodes over the middle of Washington-Wilkes’ defense. Rhodes bought the long pass, bounced off of several defenders and spun his way for a 40-yard touchdown at the 2:05 mark of the fourth quarter to chop the lead to 31-27.
At that point, the lights in the stadium went out which prompted about a 10 minute delay. Though Aquinas players seemed to be rejuvenated on the sideline by the stoppage in play and a dark football stadium, once the lights came back on, Franklin was unable to engineer a game-winning touchdown drive.
The loss dropped Aquinas to 6-2 and gave it its first region loss of the season ahead of next week’s showdown with undefeated region leader Greene County.
CSRA scoreboard
Here are scores from other notable games in the area:
Briarwood 41, Augusta Prep 6 | FINAL
Dublin 62, Jefferson County 13 | FINAL
Augusta Christian 31, Ben Lippen 28 | FINAL
Lakeside 30, Grovetown 0 | FINAL
Ware County 64, Greenbrier 20 | FINAL
Glynn Academy 22, Evans 14 | FINAL
Thomson 56, Putnam County 6 | FINAL
Greene County 28, Lincoln County 3 | FINAL
Washington-Wilkes 31, Aquinas 27 | FINAL
WACO 41, Butler 20 | FINAL
Thurmond 34, Silver Bluff 7 | FINAL
Saluda 28, Fox Creek 10 | FINAL
North Augusta 49, Airport 15 | FINAL
