Supposedly, the Thomasville Bulldogs were bailed out when the lightning detectors went off on consecutive nights a month and a half ago, forcing the cancellation of the game between the ‘Dogs and the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets.

It’s easy to see why some people would think that. For one, the Bulldogs had lost three consecutive games and seven of the last eight to their cross-county rivals, including a 56-26 thrashing in 2003.

The Jackets have been the big bully for the past decade, and anybody with half a brain wouldn’t have thought the 2004 version would be any different. The Jackets were coming off an impressive tie against the mighty Valdosta Wildcats in a scrimmage the week before while the Bulldogs were tied by lowly Tift County in their preseason matchup.

A tie to Tift County? There’s no way the Bulldogs could hang, right? Well, that Tift County team is looking pretty good right now. It’s currently 5-1 and coming off a 34-2 victory against Valdosta. Tift County also beat Crisp County, which beat Dougherty, which beat Bainbridge, which beat Cairo, which beat both Central and Thomasville. But Cairo beat Thomasville by two (9-7) and Central by four (7-3), which I think means Thomasville would beat Central 6-4. But that’s enough of the six degrees of separation because if I continue, I’m sure Kevin Bacon will somehow enter the picture.

Instead, I’ll look at it from the standpoint of an unbiased sports writer from Ohio who has no ties to either school. After watching both teams — I believe the Bulldogs are better than Central.

Both teams entered the season with questions. The Bulldogs returned only eight starters and lost more than 20 seniors to graduation. The Jackets returned seven starters and lost star quarterback Erik Walden and running backs Moses Cochran and David Dawson.

But with the mid-point of the season in the rear-view mirror, it’s easy to see the new players at Thomasville have done a better job of filling the voids than their counterparts at Central.

Players such as A.D. Phillips, Freddie Moore, Stacey Hadley, Bruce Thomas and Bobby Cherry have stepped up. With the help of returning starters Clay Hodges, Bryce Lauder, Joseph Dunbar and Chris Burkes, the Bulldogs look to be on the path for their second consecutive region title.

The offense has been steadily improving each week. Phillips has emerged as one of the best running backs in the region while Moore gives the Bulldogs another threat teams must prepare for. Hodges has found a Peyton Manning-to-Marvin Harrison type connection with Hadley.

The defense is big, fast and physical and continues to improve. The most points the Bulldogs have given up was 21 to Dougherty in their second game. Since then, they have only given up 26 points in three games.

The only thing Central had going for it against Thomasville was the fact it was the opening game of the season. But if it was rescheduled, like many in Thomasville would love to see, my money is on the ‘Dogs.