Football Game Preview: Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets vs. Gainesville Red Elephants + How To Watch

Two dominant backs in Christian Lawrence and NIGEL NEWKIRK are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets and the Gainesville Red Elephants will compete for holiday cheer at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Thomas County Central sitting on 14 straight wins and Gainesville on four.

Thomas County Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Everything went their way against Roswell as they made off with a 49-28 victory. The result was nothing new for the Yellow Jackets, who have now won 13 matchups by 21 points or more so far this season.

Jaylen Johnson

Passing Yards

12/11/25 vs Roswell	223
11/28/25 vs Woodward Academy	188
11/21/25 vs Villa Rica	136
11/14/25 vs Woodstock	179
10/31/25 @ Coffee	218
+ 6 more games

Thomas County Central's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaylen Johnson led the charge by throwing for 223 yards and two TDs while picking up 11.2 yards per attempt. That's the most passing yards Johnson has posted since back in September. A healthy portion of Johnson's aerial production (105 yards to be exact) went to Jabari Watkins, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.

Thomas County Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 326 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in four consecutive contests.

Special teams also played a big role in the game for Thomas County Central, adding 13 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of DJ White, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.

Meanwhile, Gainesville faced Rome in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Red Elephants simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Wolves 37-6. The Red Elephants are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the ninth game they've won by 20+ points this season.

Thomas County Central's record is now 14-0. As for Gainesville, their record now sits at 12-2.