THOMASVILLE — The Thomasville Bulldogs lost on Friday night in their second region contest against Carver. Thomasville struggled early on to score and to stop the Tigers in the first half. The Bulldogs were held scoreless in the first half, while Carver got to work quickly.

In the opening minutes of the game, Carver took the ball inside the Thomasville 20 yard line and punched it in on the ground. Then with a gutsy and demoralizing call, the Tigers went for two and got it, making 8-0 Tigers.

The Bulldogs sparked back to life on an Anthony Hill Jr. interception, but a missed field goal gave the ball back to the Tigers on their own 20. The Bulldogs defense looked solid until Carver threw an 80 yard bomb for the touchdown. They did, however, fail on the two point conversion, leaving the score at 14-0.

Carver continued to utilize the passing game, hitting several long passing plays over the Bulldogs defense. They were able to get inside the five yard line and, with just five minutes to go in the half, the Tigers drove into the end zone on the ground. They completed a pass on the two point conversion making it 22-0, a lead they took into half time after Thomasville turned the ball over on downs.

Whatever head coach Jonathan DeLay said to his team at halftime worked initially because, on the opening kickoff of the second half, Lavonte Cole turned on the jets and took it 88 yards to the house for the touchdown, giving the Bulldogs their first points of the game. The Bulldogs defense then held strong, forcing the Tigers to punt several times in the quarter. They also disrupted the passing game as Tyreek Williams came up with another interception with two minutes left in the third quarter.

However, the Bulldog offense struggled to score. No rusher had more than 20 yards on the night, but the Bulldogs were able to move the ball in the air. Quarterback Cam Hill was 12-19 with 135 yards and Cole Shaw had a great night with five receptions for 51 yards. But, only Jay Randall, who had three yards on five carries was able to score with his one yard rushing TD with two minutes left in the game.

The Thomasville defense wasn’t able to hold off the Tigers for the entire half as Carver broke free for a 59 yard rushing touchdown. Carver was able to hold onto the ball after Randall’s score and run the clock out, ending the game, 28-14 and handing Thomasville their first region loss.

The Bulldogs now sit at 3-4 on the season and are second in the region tied with Crisp County, Monroe, and Dougherty. This loss, while disappointing, by no means puts Thomasville out of contention for a region title or a playoff run. They have been inconsistent, but when this Bulldogs squad comes together they look like one of the more capable teams in South Georgia.

Thomasville will face Columbus next in an away game this Friday. Columbus has had a rough season so far, going 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the region. Their last game was a 33-0 loss to Dougherty.