CANEY BAY — Thomasville senior quarterback Cam Hill threw for four touchdowns and ran in another leading the seventh-ranked Bulldogs to a 45-0 Region 1-A victory here Friday over Brantley County.
Hill finished 13-of-16 for 222 yards with scoring tosses of 17, 51, 14 and 42 yards to four different receivers. Hill spread the wealth around completing passes to seven receivers. He also scored on a 35yard scamper.
“Thomasville is a very wellcoached, athletic football team,” said BCHS head coach David Shores. “We (coaches) knew there would be some match-up issues going into the game. We wanted to run the ball and try to be more physical up front. I think we got better, in that regard.
“We took a few sacks which really skewed the rushing stats, but we were able to put a few decent drives together … we just couldn’t break more than a couple of explosive plays because of the speed of their defense.”
Thomasville capitalized on some of the mismatches with five plays of 11+ yards including Hill’s (four carries, 46 yards) 35-yard run and a 37-yard gallop by A.J. Holt (three carries, 50 yards).
The Bulldogs had nine plays of 12 yards or longer in the passing game.
“Defensively, we gave up too many big plays,” Shores said. “I think they had three series where they scored in one play. When you give up 21 points on three plays you’re not going to come close to beating a good team.”
Shores is looking at the game as a tuneup for Berrien and its spread attack.
“Thomasville exposed some areas we really need to improve on when defending a spread offense,” he said. “We are excited about the opportunity to play two more games and I think the kids are looking forward to preparation this week.”
The Bulldogs went right down the field with the opening possession on the right arm of Hill, who completed 5-of-6 passes in the 58yard scoring drive. He connected with Jabarri Robinson on a 17-yard aerial for the first points. Camden Christie’s first of six PATs crawled over the crossbar after being partially blocked for a 7-0 lead with 9:35 remaining in the first period.
After BCHS went three-and-out on its opening series, the visitors only needed 42 yards for a second score. Hill scored on the second play running up the middle of the Herons’ defense for the 35-yard touchdown. Christie kicked the margin to 14-0 with 6:55 on the clock.
Another three-and-out by the Brantley County offense was followed by a 51-yard scoring toss from Hill to Nigel Pittman on a skinny post route for a 21-0 advantage just past the midway point of the first period.
Brantley County picked up its first first down of the game on the first play following the ensuing kick off. Quarterback Kaden Hendrix (16 carries, 57 yards) ripped off a 25-yard run out to the Herons’ 45.
They eventually cross midfield on a fake punt with Hendrix (2-for-7, 12 yards) connecting with Dennis Raulerson for a 12-yard gain on fourth-and-seven to the Thomasville 40. BCHS fumbled the ball away on the next snap with the Bulldogs recovering.
The visitors returned the favor one play later with Hayden Hickox pouncing on the loose pigskin at the Thomasville 45.
Two penalties and an 18-yard quarterback sack doomed the Brantley County possession with the Herons punting the ball away on a fourth-and-40.
The Bulldogs followed with their only score of the second quarter — a six-play, 59-yard drive ending with a two-yard run behind right guard by A.J. Holt. Christie extended the lead to 28-0 10:40 before intermission.
Brantley County picked up a couple of first downs on its next offensive series with Hendrix breaking off runs of 13 and 16 yards. The possession ended with a punt and was followed by the Bulldogs’ lone punt of the night with just under a minute left in the half.
Mason Kicklighter (five carries, 23 yards) supplied the Herons’ big gain in the run game on the opening possession of the second half with a 23-yard gain down the Thomasville sideline. BCHS turned the ball over on downs after coming up short on third- and fourth-andtwo with no gains at the Bulldogs’ 48.
Thomasville quickly moved 52 yards in three plays. A 37-yard gain by Holt on the second play set up Hill’s 14-yard pass to D.J. Sawyer (three catches, 43 yards) pushing the lead to 35-0 with 7:50 on the third quarter clock.
Following a three-and-out by the Herons and a short field to work with, Thomasville would add to its lead with a 26-yard field goal by Christie with :57.5 left in the period.
Brantley County hurt itself with a penalty nullifying Tallan Collins’ interception and 40-plus yard return across midfield.
Pinned inside their 10 after the kickoff, the Herons caught Thomasville unprepared on the second play of the final period. Jayden Byron motioned from wide receiver to quarterback with Hendrix shifting outside.
The two hooked up for a 36-yard completion moving the ball out to the BCHS 41. Disaster struck two plays later with an interception on a wide receiver pass play.
The Bulldogs turned the miscue into points in two plays scoring on a Hill to Addam Barnes 42-yard swing pass with 4:30 on the running clock. Christie added the PAT for the final points of the night.
