CAIRO — Last Friday night may turn out to be the defining moment in the Cairo Syrupmakers football season. 

Trailing 13 points at halftime to Region 1-AAAA rival Thomas County Central, the Syrupmakers scored 14 second-half points, kept the Yellow Jackets off the scoreboard and survived a 14-13 comeback win.

The Syrupmakers kept their hope alive of another home playoff game with the win. They are also still alive for the region championship, pending the outcome of Friday’s Central-Bainbridge game and Cairo’s game on Thursday at Dougherty.

Cairo coach Steven Devoursney discussed the significance of what last Friday’s wins means for the season moving forward.

“You hope you don’t get overconfident that you’re too good, but it was a big win for us. It was a good way to come back. It was a good test to show them what not to do in the first half,” Devoursney said. “We were pleased to get out of there with a win, for sure. Our kids were banged up and sore afterward. It was a physical game, emotional game. Hopefully, we’re past that. Hopefully it gives us some momentum, if nothing else.”

Cairo has hosted at least one playoff game every season since 2004. That streak will continue if the Syrupmakers can defeat the Trojans at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany on Thursday. That is Cairo’s focus this week, not the possibility that a region title is still in play.

“We can’t control that, but we can control finishing second. If we win the next one, we’ll finish second in the region. That’s what we’ve got to do, concentrate on Dougherty and try to keep that streak alive,” Devoursney said. “If anything else happens, that’s just icing on the cake.”

Cairo has to stay focused on Dougherty considering how well the Trojans have performed this year. They are tied for second with Central and Cairo at 2-1. Dougherty is 7-1 with its only loss to region leader Bainbridge.

“They had almost everybody coming back from last year,” Devoursney said. “Anytime you’ve got one of the best running backs (Kameron Davis) in the country on your team, you’ve always got a chance. They’re really good.”