THOMASVILLE — Reaching deep into their bag of tricks Friday night against Berrien County, the Thomasville High Bulldogs found one of the biggest treats of all.

Thomasville rolled to a 67-23 win over the Rebels on Friday night, going to 5-4 on the season but most importantly 3-0 in Region 1-AA. 

And that means a region championship for the Bulldogs.

“Being the 1 seed is huge,” said a happy Bulldogs coach Zach Grage after the win. “That was our goal coming into it. But don’t be satisfied being good enough. We’ve got to go be great.

“I was proud of our effort all night. I was proud of our energy,’ Grage continued. “We kept challenging them to be the best they can be, to have that champion mentality.” 

The Bulldogs ran reverses, had a successful onside kick, ran the hitch and pitch on the first half’s final play and even through in a double pass for a touchdown for good measure. 

Quarterback Ronnie Baker was 20-of-26 passing for 246 yards and four touchdowns, three to senior tight end Payten Singletary. He also ran for a score and was on the receiving end of a double pass from Rico Johnson for a touchdown.

“I told the coaches, I know we’re 2-0 in the region, but I about fall asleep watching us the run ball every snap,” Grage joked. “So let’s open this up a little bit and get our receivers back in to it a little bit. We ran the ball 90 times the last two weeks and this week only had one running back with a touchdown.” 

Thomasville scored in conventional ways, too — along with other unconventional methods. Senior kicker Hurston Waldrep drilled a 53-yard field goal, and Austin Chastain added a 30-yarder in the final minutes.

The defense got into the act as well, with KD Johnson racing 50 yards with a fumble to help put the Bulldogs in front 30-8 midway through the second quarter.

With the reserves playing the fourth quarter, Kanye Stephens broke off a 52-yard touchdown burst on the final play from scrimmage.

Berrien went with an offense familiar in Thomas County for a long time — the split-back Veer — behind quarterback Ja’marquis Johnson, a top college prospect. He had a 35-yard TD run for Berrien’s first score, and Gerrick Johnson went 89 yards up the middle on a dive play for the Rebels’ second score.

“Our halftime talk was about cleaning things up,” Grage said. “We had a lot of things called back on penalties. We have to be smart.”

Thanks to the double pass TD, the onside kick and a lengthy drive that followed it Thomasville held Berrien to just three plays on offense in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs are off this coming week before closing the regular schedule at Early County on November 8.

Grage acknowledged his team is playing better now than at the start of the season but hopes they are not peaking — just yet.

“If you look at how this team has grown and how this team has come together, and this team is resilient, that’s what I’m proud of them about,” he said. “We’re not satisfied with good enough.”