Burke County did it again, defeating Thomson 49-42 to advance to the Georgia High School Football 2A semifinals.
The Bears knocked off the Bulldogs in the regular season 49-35 earlier this month. Just like before, the Bears were able to host the Bulldogs and win.
“Coming to the Bear Den has to be an advantage for us and our guys showed that tonight,” said Burke County Coach Franklin Stephens. “Heck of a football game; this is just another classic. I have been here three games for the Burke County and Thomson series, and it has been down to the wire and a classic every time.”
Stephens was named the head coach back in January 2023.
Friday’s game was a back-and-forth battle as both teams scored early, tied at 7-7. The Bears would take the lead at the end of the first quarter after a touchdown catch from Kel’von Scott.
Thomson answered with a one-yard touchdown run from Anthony Jeffery, tying the game 14-14 with 10:21 remaining in the second.
Star senior running back A’meere Williams rushed in a 5-yard touchdown to put the Bears back in front 20-14 after the missed extra point with 6:07 remaining in the half.
Quarterback Sean Vandiver helped extend the Bears lead to 27-14 on a two-yard rushing touchdown.
A 21-yard pass to Thomson wide receiver Jaris Sinkfield cut the Bulldogs deficit to 27-21 at the end of the first half.
The Bulldogs took the lead early in the second quarter as Jeffery ran in his second short touchdown of the game, making the score 28-27.
Williams answered after catching a dump off pass and advancing for a 21-yard touchdown. A missed extra point only put the Bears ahead 33-28.
Sinkfield did it once again, this time catching a 78-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Markevion Jones and pushing the Bulldogs ahead 35-33 at the end of the third quarter.
A pass interference on third down helped the Bears keep their fourth quarter drive going and Williams ran in his second touchdown of the half. Burke County converted the two-point conversion, regaining a 41-35 lead.
The play that secured the Bears the win came the very next play as Thomson fumbled the ball after the kickoff with under seven minutes remaining. Williams scored his third touchdown of the half on a 11-yard run, pushing the Bears ahead 49-35 after another two-point conversion.
Thomson answered quickly with a long pass and another touchdown run by Jeffery, but it was too little, too late as Burke County hung on to win 49-42.
“That fumble was huge; we just needed a break,” Stephens said. “The last few games, we have had some turnovers. This game we didn’t have any. We talk about the formula to win football games and one of them is do not have turnovers and tonight too many penalties, but we didn’t turn the football over.”
The Bears will now advance to the semifinals to play Rockmart next Friday, Dec. 6.
Christopher Rickerson, an Augusta University graduate, has covered area sports for Augusta University, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter here.
