THOMSON — After losing to Thomson 50-42 last season, the Academy of Richmond County overcame the loss with a 41-40 victory at the Brickyard on Friday, Aug. 28.
“The offseason all we talked about is being able to overcome mental toughness,” said ARC Coach Keenan Grissett. “We went down in the second half and years past we would have dropped our head, but this team showed two weeks in a row now not to drop our head. I am proud of my guys.”
It was a back-and-forth game early as both teams scored on their first drives.
ARC scored with 51 seconds remaining in the first quarter after a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Henry Rivers, regaining a 14-7 lead.
The Bulldogs were held to a field goal on their next possession and ARC took advantage. Quarterback Carson Hand connected with Carl Butler on a 66-yard touchdown pass extending the Musketeers lead to 20-10.
Thomson would regain momentum with a 57-yard pass from quarterback Quaderrion Hunt to Noah Merriweather, making the score 20-17 at the half.
Senior Zay Brinson helped Thomson earn the lead once again with 10-yard rushing touchdown to start the second half, making the score 24-20.
One of the few turnovers in the game came in Thomson’s favor as they forced a fumble and extended their lead to 31-20 after a rushing touchdown from Jayden Turman.
“We said good or bad another play is coming,” Grissett said. “We just have to get ready for the next on.”
ARC continued to battle back, but Thomson answered with kickoff return touchdown by Merriweather, extending the Bulldogs lead to 38-26 with under four mins remaining in the third quarter.
With 2:24 remaining in the third quarter, Hand rushed in a one-yard touchdown to cut the Bulldogs lead to 38-33.
After forcing Thomson to punt, ARC took a 41-38 lead on a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion catch from senior Lo’than McBride.
With a great defensive effort, the Musketeers hanged on to 41-40 lead after deciding to take a safety with 11 seconds remaining in the game.
ARC will now move to 2-0 and Thomson will fall to 0-2. The Musketeers will look to stay hot on the road against Westside Friday, Sept. 4. Thomson will look for their first win hosting Warren County also Sept. 4..
Sportswriter Christopher Rickerson is an Augusta University graduate who has covered area sports for publications including Augusta University‘s Bell Ringer, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. He won three Georgia Press Association sports awards in 2026. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News’ free weekly newsletter here.
