THOMASVILLE — When the Syrupmakers of Cairo traveled just 25 minutes over to rival Thomasville High School, few would have predicted the final score. Cairo shut the Bulldogs down and put up 24 points in the process.

“I’m just proud of the team,” said Cairo head coach David Coleman. “The coaches and the players, I thought they stepped up and did a good job. It’s just a credit to the work they did throughout the week.”

While both offenses had a chance to strike early, the battle for the pitcher started off slow as both Cairo and Thomasville looked sluggish. The Syrupmakers were able to snag an interception and recovered a fumble, but failed to capitalize. With five minutes left in the first quarter, Thomasville kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

Cairo was able to tie it up in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but was able to break open the scoring at the tail end of the first half. With just four minutes left in the half, KJ Spence took it two yards and snuck into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game, giving the Syrupmakers a seven point lead.

Cairo took that lead into half time and came out swinging in the second half. Spence had another short yardage touchdown in the third, allowing the Syrupmakers to take a 17-3 lead into the fourth quarter.

The final quarter of play was Cairo’s finest. Not only did they complete their shut down of the Bulldogs offense, but they emphasized it with a 60 yard return pick six by Melik Williams. A final PAT from kicker Andrid Rojas made it 24-3, and the Syrupmakers would hold off the Bulldogs for a 21 point victory.

The Cairo defense was on full display in this game. Cairo’s secondary, which has been good all year, limited THS quarterback Cam Hill to just 118 yards passing and forced a pair of interceptions. Meanwhile, the receivers were having a hard time too. Cole Shaw was the only Thomasville receiver with more than two catches and all but one receiver was held under 30 yards receiving.

”I’m proud of the way that they played,” Coleman said. “I thought they played hard and I’m very proud of them.”

The Bulldogs found little success on the ground as well, as the Cairo defense held Thomasville to just 63 yards rushing and the longest run they allowed was just 10 yards.

It was a dominating and statement victory for Cairo, who showed off a very tough defense. As for Thomasville, they need a bounce back victory against Bainbridge this Friday. After putting up 42 on Brooks County, the Bulldogs have scored just 10 points in their last two contests. The question is can the Bulldogs get their mojo back against a Bainbridge team who was recently blown out by Thomas County Central. It will be a tall task, but the home town atmosphere could do the trick for the Bulldogs as they take on the Bearcats this Friday at 8:00 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Stadium.