THOMASVILLE- The Highway 84 Tour for the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets wrapped up on Friday with a 45-14 win over the Bainbridge Bearcats.

The rain started early in the first quarter, but didn’t hold back the Jackets, who had a long drive to get the first touchdown on the board.

With a 3rd down and four yards to go, quarterback Jaylen Johnson pitched it to running back Trey Brenton for a first down. Johnson went on to hand it off to Brenton again on the 2nd and goal for a touchdown. Drew Reneau kicked a successful extra point, jumping out to a 7-0 lead with 2:22 left in the first quarter.

After kicking it back off to the Bearcats, QB Cam Sanders took it to the 46-yard line, but was blind sighted when his throw was intercepted for a touchdown by TCC’s Tywon Christopher for 14-0 lead.

Head Coach Justin Rogers thought this play was huge for the momentum of the team.

“Anytime you score on defense those are emotional plays,” he said. “It’s like slam dunks in basketball; it’s just such a momentum play. It’s always big to get something early on like that.”

However, the Bearcats answered on the next drive with a 27-yard touchdown from senior wide receiver Antavious Murphy. Sanders threw Murphy a short pass, allowing him to tiptoe into the end zone. Nicholas Tyre kicked a successful extra point, making the score 14-7.

After a long stalemate in the second quarter, the Jackets picked up another touchdown on the third down when Johnson connected on a short pass to Malachi Thomas to go up 21-7, ending the half.

As the rain continued to beat down during the second half, the Bearcats tried to stop the Jackets. The defensive line came out strong, successfully stymying the Yellow Jackets’ run attack for most of the third quarter. However, the Jackets were able to kick a 30-yard field goal, giving them 17 point lead over the Bearcats.

The Bearcats responded on the next drive, with two huge plays of their own.

Sanders stepped up into the pocket, unable to find a pass he liked, he swung out and took off for a first down. On the 2nd down, Sanders tossed a screen pass to Murphy, who turned on the jets and took it to he house, making it a 10 point game between the Bearcats and Jackets.

That was the last time the Bearcats would score, as the wheels began to fall off for the purple and gold.

The Bearcats had the ball on their own 21-yard line, when it came loose and the Jackets recovered it.

Already in the Bearcats’ red-zone, Johnson went with the quarterback keeper on 3rd down and 1, resulting in a 1st and goal. He then went with the quarterback keeper option again, resulting in a touchdown with only .08 seconds left in the third quarter. The Jackets held a 31-14 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Jackets put together two more successful plays for a 45-14 win after Johnson connected with Brenton again to go up 38-14 and the Yellow Jackets recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

Rogers was excited with the win, but admitted the team shot themselves in the foot during the first half.

“We had some untimely penalties both offensively on some holdings and defensively with a face mask and pass interference,” he said. “That was the biggest thing there was us just shooting ourselves in the foot, but I thought we played a good, clean second half.”

The wins come after several emotional, rivalry games that were closely followed by the community and fans.

“They are quality teams and opponents and they’re always emotional because they are rivalry games and community games,” Rogers said. “It’s great to be 3-0, but it’s also great to have an open week now.”

The open week comes at an ideal time for the Jackets, who can now reset before taking on Brooks County.

During this break, Rogers said the team plans to focus on the basics of offense such as catching, throwing routes and blocks.

They will be back in action on Friday, September 15 in Quitman at Brooks County.