Thomas County Central's Tyrelle Palmer (54) on the Veterans Memorial Stadium turf during the waning hours of practice Wednesday.

THOMASVILLE — Reid Ansley was one of seven Thomas County Central athletes in line to play at the annual Florida-Georgia War of the Border Game. Like everyone else, he was playing for a scholarship offer — and that meant he didn’t take it easy on his offensive brothers.

In the scrimmage portion on Day 1 of practice, Ansley blasted Yellow Jacket running back Tyrice Cloud on an outside run, which drew some ‘oohs’ from his teammates.

“It was unfortunate,” Ansley joked.

He, along with some other Yellow Jacket starters, were selected to participate at the main event, playing for Georgia’s team on Friday night. Derrick Brock, Dominique Arrington and Tyrelle Palmer joined Ansley on Central’s list of defensive players that were set to showcase their abilities to potential landing spots at the college level.

“I know last year there were several college scouts that were at the game and picked up on some names that they didn’t have before,” Central coach Bill Shaver said. “But it’s always a chance for them to maybe show something they hadn’t done already. A lot of them have been seen before but now some of them can be seen with the best of the best in the area so you can get a better idea of how they are. 

“You never know what pair of eyes might get on them.”

Ansley, a defensive lineman, is coming off a year with 19 tackles, three tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He was second on the team in quarterback pressures with eight.

“It’s phenomenal, it really is,” Ansley said. “It’s a bunch of competition with high-level guys. It’s unbelievable. I’m just blessed to be here.”

Palmer was also a foundation for Central’s defensive line. He totaled 36 tackles, 13 for loss and five forced fumbles. He pressured the quarterback 11 times, good enough for most on the team. His performance during the 2016 season earned him an all-area selection. 

Both have had some schools talk to them, with Benedict College from South Carolina and Carson-Newman University from Tennessee expressing some interest in Palmer.

As for the competition from Florida, Central’s players — and a lot of others — didn’t get a lot of experience playing them throughout their careers.

“We can’t know what to expect,” Ansley said. “We just have to be ready for it all. I’m sure they’re gonna have some high-level athletes too. We gotta believe, have a game plan and execute it.”