THOMASVILLE- When the #1-ranked Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets host the #5-ranked Lee County Trojans to defend their 2021 Region 1-AAAAAA championship this Friday evening, it will become the newest chapter in a proud history of championship games played at The Jackets’ Nest stadium.

Of course, followers of the program know that all five of Central’s state titles in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997 were won at The Jackets’ Nest. Central still ranks as one of only two teams in the state to have won five or more state championships at home, with the other being Valdosta.

The first-ever title tilt played at the stadium goes back over 50 years to the 1972 season. Thomas County Central (then Central High School) met Cook County for the second time to play for the Region 1-AA championship. Guided by head coach Will Roy Cooley and led by quarterback Billy Joe Copeland and receiver Joe Frank Burns, Sr., Central won the first meeting between the schools by a 20-12 score in the regular season, then would go on to secure the schools first-ever region crown with a 21-0 shutout of the Hornets in the region playoff.

The Yellow Jackets would win another Region 1-AA championship in the 1974 season when they defeated Fitzgerald in a tough defensive battle by a 7-3 score. That Central win still stands as the only one in program history over the Purple Hurricanes.

Over a decade would go by before Charlie Ward, Jr. would lead Central to back-to-back Region 1-AAA championships. Moving up in classification and playing in their home stadium in 1986, the Charlie Greene coached Yellow Jackets would edge the Alphonso Ellis-led Thomasville Bulldogs in a thrilling 13-7 classic. Central would go on to win back-to-back region crowns for the first time in school history with the 1987 region crown against Thomasville, a 35-21 thriller played downtown at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Nearly a decade would go by before the Yellow Jackets would secure another region crown at home. While Central did win the 1993 region title on the road, they would win another at home in 1996. Led by head coach Ed Pilcher, with juniors Joe Burns, Leonard Guyton, and Raytorrie Newkirk carrying the team, Central won the 1996 Region 1-AAA championship after sweeping their region slate and defeating Hardaway from Columbus by a 34-6 score. Central would repeat as region champs in 1997, but secured it on the road 55-6 against Hardaway.

Up another classification, the next region title won by Central at home would come in 2002, when the Erik Walden-led Yellow Jackets would edge Ware County by a 31-28 score in a thrilling game played at Thomas County Stadium to win the Region 1-AAAA championship. Thomas County Central would win region at home again in the 2006 campaign, when Debrale Smiley would lead the Yellow Jackets to a 62-35 win over Bainbridge to secure the crown.

The 2006 and 2007 seasons represent the last time Central repeated as region champions.

Under head coach Bill Shaver, Central would secure the 2009 region 1-AAAA crown. Led by quarterback Eric Dodson and star defensive end Ray Drew, the Yellow Jackets would stun top-ranked Westside-Macon by a 27-18 score.

Moving up in classification yet again, Shaver would guide Central to the 2016 championship in Region 1-AAAAA when quarterback Kelias Williams led the home-standing Yellow Jackets to a 49-27 win over Harris County.