Thomasville was able to capitalize on miscues and scored huge in the running game to secure an impressive win of 33-21 against Straughn at the AHSAA second round of the state playoffs on Friday evening.
Director of the team Ashley Kilcrease said the team was disappointed, but gave credit the team’s opponent.
“We believe that we didn’t have the best game but they’re an excellent football team. The running back could be the best we’ve seen all season. They did an excellent job in getting that ball as well as we were able to have a difficult to tackle him. We chose a poor day to make mistakes and I am happy for these boys. They took home their first region champion in 14 years. They also won played in a playoff match. They lost to a very good Thomasville team but that’s nothing to be worried to think about.” Kilcrease told the media.
Thomasville (10-1) started the game on the 28-yard mark and scored one first down on the 22-yard run of Decorian Cowan, who was in midfield. The drive eventually stalled when the team was forced to punt. Straughn (10-2) began the drive from its own line at 23, and was rewarded with an 8-yard run by Grant Barnes on second down. Layne Grantham moved the chains by running 3 yards before the defense resisted and forced the punt.
The second drive set up the first score of the game. Cowan got a first down on second-and-1, but a holding penalty moved the ball back to 32. After a 7-yard rout by Dallas Bryant, Beau Bryant got John Figgers open with an 69-yard pass to 1 at which point Parker Black made a tackle. Cowan was able to score immediately following the play as well as Clinton Thompson added the PAT to give the team a 7-0 lead with just 5 minutes remaining in the first half. Straughn was able to score on back-to-back 10-yard runs through Grantham and Barnes on the next play. Grantham then took into high for an 18-yard finish to Barnes. Cameron Adams followed with a 3-yard run that was assisted by a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to the opposition 11. A couple of minutes after, Thomasville had a takeaway after Kyron Horn took the ball and threw it away.
A huge pass of 54 yards on the second-and-12 of the following drive was completed before the close to the initial. Cowan began the second quarter with a four-yard run, and capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Diego Bryant was true on the two-point attempt and extended his lead by 15-0 at 10:03 left until halftime.
Barnes and Grantham took off on the ground, with four runs in the first down. The 11th play of the drive was when Grantham take off in the sky, where Grantham found Mack McIntyre wide open. Brenden Bartholomew was right to score the extra point, and the score was brought up to 15-7 with 5:12 left remaining until the end of the half.
Thomasville came back with an eight-play, 76-yard run. Cowan scored three first downs, and then finished with a touchdown of 5 yards. The two-point conversion was not bad and made the score 21-7 at 1:12 until halftime. Ryan Cobb recovered a fumble in defense right after the intermission, however Straughn could not score.
Beginning at the 38-yard line, Grantham had a 10-yard run on the opening play of the second quarter. Three minutes further, Grantham connected with Black for a 56-yard touchdown. Bartholomew’s PAT brought the score to 21-14 with just 10:27 to play in the final quarter. Thomasville then pushed the ball off the back of Cowan and crossed the 2-yard line, but Straughn stood and forced the ball to be turned over during downs.
Following a personal foul, which was enacted to allow for breathing space at 19-yard line, Straughn had to punt but was able to keep possession when McIntyre recuperated a ball after an unbalanced return. Thomasville stopped and blocked a second attempt to punt before Cowan made a score of 43 yards on the initial play from the scrimmage. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful and the score was pushed to 27-14.
Straughn began with its own forty, and moved across midfield following the call for pass interference. Adams was able to carry the ball on a first-down to the 35 of the other team before the pass was ruled to be infringed. Barnes scored from just two yards away on the 5th play and Bartholomew broke the uprights, bringing it to 27-21 at end of the three. Cowan continued to gain momentum through the air and scored a touchdown of 7 yards. The attempt to score two points was not bad, and Thomasville increased its lead to 33-21 with 10 minutes to finish.
A mishap on the following home drive stopped an attempt to drive in the territory of the visiting team The teams did not pose any threat throughout the game.
Even with the loss Straughn set a record at the school for scoring the most points in a single season, with 428 points. That was higher than the total score of 418.
“I am extremely proud of our team, which was an unforgettable year that can’t be described in a single evening. This doesn’t diminish all we did in the past season.” Kilcrease said.
The article Straughn closes season in second round loss to Thomasville 33-21 was first published at The Andalusia Star-News.
