THOMASVILLE — The Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets are headed to the AAAAAA State Championship after a close semi-final game with Marist on Friday. This marks the program’s first appearance on high school football’s biggest stage since 2002.

This 13-7 victory is Central’s second close away game win in a row. Central was able to jump out to an early lead and held Marist, who has averaged over 30 points a game this year, to just seven points.

This game against the War Eagles was a knock down, drag out fight all night long. A true “old school” type of game that saw the Yellow Jackets run the ball down Marist’s throat throughout the entire contest. All season long, Central has been a team that favors the run, but also uses the pass effectively. This is clearly shown by quarterback Jaylen Johnson’s numbers this season with over 1,700 passing yards and close to 200 passing attempts. However, that was not the game plan on Friday night in Atlanta.

The Yellow Jackets ran the ball in excess as was their game plan. A plan to place a firm grip on the dominance of their run game and never let go. Johnson actually had more rushing attempts that he had completed passes. Central passed the ball a total of 13 times, while rushing 45 times for a total of 241 yards.

Those who want the perfect example of “old school” football, look no further than Thomas County Central’s first scoring drive. The drive went 80 yards over the course of 16 plays and ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Johnson.

“That was the game plan going in. We wanted to establish a vertical run game,” said Central’s head coach Justin Rogers. “I think Marist tries to bait you into chasing stuff, because you think you’re not going to get the ball very much. So, we talked about it all week. Our plan was to go eight and ten play drives, really turn this into an old school TCC vs. Marist type game. That was the plan, keep their offense off the field, go right at them.”

It was a plan that was built and executed to perfection off the back of senior Trey Brenton, who had 29 of the Jackets 45 carries for almost 200 yards and a touchdown. The workhorse of a running back became an iron man as he willed himself through each collision he faced through the 48 minutes of play. Big runs, key first downs, clutch runs to ice the game, fans name it and Brenton did it against the War Eagles of Marist.

Of course, 13 points doesn’t send any team to the state championship game without a stellar defense. Luckily, that is exactly was Central has. Central’s defense came up big on play after play on Friday night, holding a very good Marist attack to just seven points and shutting them out in the second half. Central was able to redirect Marist away from their impressive run game and make them choose the pass attack.

The Central defense had several players step up with big plays. Cam Brooks had a huge fumble recovery, Jayden Rubbo forced a pair of fumbles, recorded a sack and was a constant disruption every time Marist ran the option. Caleb Anderson and Tywon Christopher each finished with 11 total tackles and Auburn commit Dee Reddick recovered a key fumble in the last four minutes to help ice the game.

“I thought our defense did a phenomenal job of keeping the ball in front, always tackling, really limiting the run game, kind of taking that run away defensively and forcing them to have to go to the passing game, which now, you’ve got them trying to beat you in a way they didn’t want to beat you in,” Rogers said. “I can’t say enough about how well our defensive players and staff put an unbelievable plan together.”

The 13-7 win now sends a 14-0 Central team to the state championship in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, on December 12 where they will take on Woodward Academy out of College Park, GA.

“You’re built for this. You’ve earned this opportunity, just keep being the person you are,” said Rogers about his message to the team headed into the state championship game. “Who you are daily is going to be who you really are. How you behave, how you go about your life, that will determine your success in life. It’s no different in football so, just keep being who you are, keep doing the things you need to do. Don’t change anything. You’re built for this.”