TURNING ON THE JETS: Malachi Thomas takes it 50-yards for a rushing touchdown as the horn blared for the end of the half.

THOMASVILLE- Thomas County Central celebrated Homecoming with a huge win over the Godby Cougars on Friday night, 55-19, while paying homage to the late Ed Pilcher.

After the kickoff to Thomas County Central, the Jackets’ offense symbolically lined up in the split-back veer formation as tribute to Pilcher, who passed away last December. Pilcher was known for running the veer formation every year of his coaching career, and through his offensive dominance, the Jackets achieved five state championships.

The Jackets held the formation, resulting in a delay of game penalty, which the Cougars had already determined they would decline prior to the start of the game.

Following the special tribute, the offensive line began their dominating first half. After a 3-play, 19-yard drive, the Jackets found themselves inside Godby’s red zone. Within minutes, Quarterback Jaylen Johnson threw a perfect 5-yard touchdown pass to Trey Brenton for a 6-0 lead. Junior kicker Drew Reneau attempted the extra point, but it was no good.

Mere minutes later, the Jackets kicked off to Godby. On the Cougars’ first possession of the, Dee Reddick intercepted the pass and ran it all the way to Godby’s red zone.

With 8 minutes left in the first quarter and the ball on Godby’s 5-yard line, Ahmad Ponder walked it into the end zone. Reneau attempted the extra point, redeeming himself and giving the Jackets a 13-0 lead.

After punting the ball back to Godby, the Cougars only made it to their own 16-yard line, before they had to punt on a third down. But, even punting proved to be a struggle when the Jackets blocked the punt, allowing Reddick to turn on the jets and take it to the house with a 40-yard rushing touchdown. Reneau got the extra point, giving the Jackets a 20-0 lead with three minutes left to go in the first quarter.

Godby turned over on down with less than a minute left in the quarter, giving the Jackets the opportunity to score at the top of the 2nd.

On a third down with the ball on Godby’s 4-yard line, AJ Clark took it to the end zone with 11:22 left to go in the half. Reneau made the extra point, giving the Jackets a 27-0 lead.

The Cougars struggled to get anything going. After the kickoff return, Godby once again was unable to get a first down, turning it over to the Jackets.

On the 2nd down, the Jackets found themselves on Godby’s 3-yard line, where Johnson walked it into the end zone on the quarterback keeper, giving Central a 33-0 lead. The extra point attempt by Reneau was good.

The Cougars tried to get something going with only 7 minutes left in the half, but after only making it to their own 32-yard line, they were forced to punt the ball, which Reddick returned with a 61-yard rushing touchdown. With Reneau’s extra point, the Jackets were ahead 41-0.

Godby hit a bright spot with only four minutes left to go, running it four a touchdown. They attempted the extra point, but it was no good. However, it was enough to get Godby on the board, leaving them still trailing 41-6.

With under a minute left in the half, Central got a first down on Godby’s 50-yard line. As the clock dwindled into seconds, Malachi Thomas took it to the house with a 50-yard rushing touchdown. With the extra point good, the Jackets headed into halftime with a hefty 48-6 lead.

Following the crowning of the new TCCHS Homecoming Queen Kirsten Guyton, the teams returned to the field, where the Cougars were determined to put some points on the board.

They started the third quarter off with a rushing touchdown, but failed on the two-point conversion, leaving them still scrambling, as the Jackets held a 48-12 lead.

After a long drive, Central found themselves back in Cougar territory on Godby’s 18-yard line. With less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, freshman quarterback Jabari Watkins took it into the end zone on a rushing touchdown. Sophomore kicker Drew Jones attempted the extra point, and it was good, giving the Jackets a 55-12 lead.

The Cougars were able to put one final touchdown on the board in the fourth quarter to end out the game.

Cougar quarterback Lazarus Chambers completed a touchdown pass to Jamarin Simmons, with Tony McClain getting the extra point.

While it was certainly a lopsided game, the playing time for multiple different Yellow Jackets was invaluable as they head into region play against Veterans on the road next week. It was also a great game for defense and special teams, who head coach Justin Rogers thought played especially well.

“The first half was lights out,” he said. “Dee Reddick had a really special game and it was just nice to be back at home.”

Headed into region play, Rogers is happy with the team’s progress, but knows the region will provide a new depth and acknowledged the Jackets haven’t played their best game yet.

“It’ll be a lot more four quarter-type ballgames,” he said. “Other than the Bainbridge game, we haven’t really had that and you wonder how you’ll respond, but I feel pretty confident about that.”

The Jackets will head into region play 5-0, ranked number one.