THOMSON, Ga. — Thomson’s Zay Brinson rushed in five touchdowns and scored the game winning two-point conversion Aug. 29 as he led the Bulldogs to a 50-42 victory over the Academy of Richmond County at the Brickyard.
Brinson ran in his fifth touchdown of the game with 37 seconds remaining and what seemed to be an easy decision for most to kick the field goal and tie the game, it was not for Thomson Head Coach Michael Youngblood.
“We had a new snapper, and I didn’t want to put the pressure on him,” Youngblood said about the decision to go for two. “He is a first-year center, and I couldn’t put that pressure on him to tie it. I would rather go for the win and if something went wrong, everybody could blame me.”
Brinson ran in the two-point conversion, pushing the Bulldogs ahead 43-42. Youngblood praised Brinson on his great performance after the game.
“I told him I was going to give him the rock,” Youngblood said. “I knew we were going to need him because he is a much bigger back than anyone we have.”
Throughout the game, both teams waged a back-and-forth battle. Thomson got an early 14-6 lead, but the Musketeers answered with a 55-yard rushing touchdown by running back Mykheal Smith. ARC made the two-point conversion to tie the game 14-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams scored one more time before Thomson gained a 35-21 lead after a couple of defensive stands and back-to-back rushing touchdowns by Brinson.
ARC senior quarterback Carson Hand led the Musketeers on a comeback run by throwing three touchdowns in the second half, including a 64-yard pass to wide receiver Lo’than McBride. The defense forced turnovers and 21 unanswered points pushed ARC ahead 42-35 late in the fourth quarter.
Youngblood said after the game he was glad to see his team overcome adversity and earn the win after giving up 21 unanswered points,
“It’s part of the process, sometimes you have to keep grinding and believe in what you’re doing,” Youngblood said. “I thought our kids overcame some adversity, we had some issues with some different things, but at the end of the day, we had enough kids to pull together and get us this victory.”
The Musketeers defense stopped the Bulldogs on a important fourth down with under four minutes remaining. Thomson did get one more opportunity with two minutes remaining and took advantage. Not only did Brinson score to help Thomson win, but quarterback/safety Markevion Jones intercepted the ball and ran it back for a touchdown to seal the Bulldogs 50-42 victory.
“We got to get disciplined on defense. We can’t give up 42 points,” Youngblood said. “We had some busted coverages and assignments, and they did a really good job on offense. They are good as advertised and they are going give some people some problems.”
Thomson will host Grovetown for the Bulldogs’ homecoming game next Friday, Sept. 5. ARC will travel to Westside also next Friday night.
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. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News’ free weekly newsletter here.
