Evans quarterback EJ Hogan got into the victory formation for one final snap and a kneel-down. Then the celebration began.
The first Evans win over a ranked opponent from any classification in 17 years.
A victory over a Thomson team that was a 14-point favorite, two years removed from a Class AA state championship and came in having only lost four games in the last three years.
It was the kind of win that puts a program like Evans on a confidence trajectory that makes it believe it can compete with anyone.
But while, if you’re an Evans fan, you should feel good for the Knights in the victory, if you’re a Bulldogs fan, you shouldn’t necessarily feel bad for Thomson in the loss.
In fact, Thomson coach Michael Youngblood says that celebration scene his players were forced to watch may turn out to be exactly what his bunch needed to see.
“One thing I’m learning about this crew, they have to be in pain to understand,” Youngblood said after Friday’s 35-28 loss. So, the pain of watching Evans celebrate like they’d just won the state title or like, they beat Thomson, our kids didn’t understand that. So they had to watch them celebrate just now, so I’m hoping that pain woke them up.”
Youngblood knows his team has some work to do, particularly on defense. But he doesn’t sound like a coach that’s ready to push the panic button just yet.
Here are three reasons why Thomson is still on track to accomplish a fourth straight region title and make another Class AA state title push.
Thomson’s reputation precedes it.
Some people don’t think a Class AAAAA team beating a Class AA team should be classified as an upset. But here are two reasons why that line of thinking is erroneous.
1. Thomson’s reputation in the state of Georgia is solid. Thomson’s really never been bad as a football program. If some years they’ve experienced a setback, missed the playoffs, had a non-winning season, etc., it’s more of an anomaly than a pattern. And Thomson’s body of work extends beyond their “small class” status. Go back in the annals of time, and you’ll see Thomson has always been an equal-opportunity powerhouse — meaning they’ve beaten schools from just about any classification, and done so regularly. So, it’s no wonder why Georgia High School Football Daily chose the Bulldogs as a 14-point favorite. And no wonder why local prognosticators had Thomson high in their CSRA rankings — if not No. 1.
2. Classifications aren’t about skill level and resources as much as it is just about sheer numbers. There are Class A programs that have more resources, more money, better facilities, better coaches, better access to feeder programs and developmental recreational ball and a greater selection of athletes than Class AAAAAA programs. And those aforementioned things are the reasons why high school football programs in Georgia are successful.
So even if this Thomson squad is younger and rebuilding a bit, its solid reputation is exactly the reason why the Bulldogs were favored, probably should’ve been favored and will likely be favored for the rest of their games, including against South Carolina Class AAAA North Augusta, GHSA Class AAA Richmond Academy and Class AAAAAA Grovetown.
Explosiveness abounds on this roster
Forget the final score. This game was even. Thomson’s got young talent. Evans’ has just as much, plus probably a little bit more depth and experience. Thomson and Evans went blow for blow basically for the whole game. And that’s major, considering the youth and inexperience on this team.
For example, Thomson broke in junior Markevion Jones as its starting quarterback. And the 6-foot-1, 150-pounder showed he’s got the chops to guide the Bulldogs’ offense expertly over the next two years. He completed 6 of 10 passes for 66 yards and one score through the air while added 95 rushing yards while averaging 11.9 yards per carry.
And what happened to senior running back and Kent State commit Anthony Jeffery? He had just 21 yards on seven carries. And he got 18 of those yards on one play. Well, Thomson didn’t really need him much, thanks to junior Jaris Sinkfield who ran for 123 yards and a score on just five carries. Sinkfield also snagged five balls for 48 yards.
Junior Santyler Cartledge was the one who caught Jones’ touchdown pass. Ask Youngblood, and he’ll tell you that Thomson’s offense is going to be just fine.
“We went for it on fourth down a couple of times. Went for the 2-point conversion but got hit in the mouth,” Youngblood said. “Went for it on fourth down again in our territory, got hit in the mouth for whatever reason. Their linebacker slipped through, and that’s the ballgame. But we did that because I think we’ve got some guys that we got the ball to in certain positions to make us be successful, and we had to score because defensively we’re terrible. We really are. And I don’t know how to fix it when you don’t have people who want to plug in the holes.”
Some of that, Youngblood admits, had a lot to do with the caliber of offensive line Thomson faced against Evans, namely one, Mason Short.
“Give Evans credit,” he said. “Mason Short showed us why he’s going to Georgia. He kicked our tails. He whooped us on that end, and they ran the ball on their sideline. We’re trying to get our linebackers to bump it, trying to get our secondary to roll down there. We’re trying to slide the front, and it just didn’t happen.”
Youngblood said, though, that priority number one for the foreseeable future will be shoring up that defense.
“I think overall, we’re gonna be fine on offense,” he said. “We gotta get together on defense. We’ve gotta get better at linebacker. We’ve got to tackle better at linebacker. That’s where we’re weak right now. And we gotta get some safeties rolling down in the box to help us get that plus-one in the box.”
Coach Youngblood has been here before
As frustrating as Friday’s loss was, Youngblood is absolutely not unfamiliar with this territory. Thomson’s loss to Evans was the third straight season opening loss the Bulldogs have experienced. The last two were against Burke County.
And guess what? In both 2022 and 2023, Thomson bounced back to win a region championship. In 2022, Thomson bounced back and ripped off 14 straight wins en route to the Class AA state crown.
Plus, Youngblood’s in his seventh season at the helm. All of this means he’s not new to this. And if anyone can help a team figure out how to bounce back from an early-season setback, Youngblood has proven, with this Thomson squad, he can.
North Augusta will present a tough challenge Friday. Swainsboro was a Class A state runner up last year. Rival Burke County shares a region with Thomson this year. And, depending on how fast a young, inexperienced Laney squad matures, that could be a tough battle as well.
Thomson’s got some young, inexperienced pieces that need to mature as well.
“We had some guys who had to step in and do some things a tad bit differently,” he said. “We showed some flashes. Sinkfield, Zay Brinson. Jones, our quarterback, he stepped and did some things. It’s all a learning lesson for us.”
