Two dominant backs in Anthony Jeffery and A'Merre Williams are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Thomson Bulldogs will venture away from home to face off against the Burke County Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Thomson is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 41-21 margin over Hapeville Charter. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bulldogs.
Jeffery and Jaris Sinkfield were among the main playmakers for Thomson as the former rushed for 266 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry and the latter rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries. Sinkfield really tore up the turf during one magnificent 76-yard run. Markevion Jones got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Thomson was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 486 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 207 rushing yards in nine consecutive games.
Thomson didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kennedi Bailey and Jones.
Meanwhile, Burke County had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 28.8 points) and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. They blew past the Wildcats 49-28. Given the Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 108th, while the Wildcats are ranked 273rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Burke County's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Williams, who rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries, and Sean Vandiver, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. Those 122 rushing yards gave Vandiver a new career-high.
Burke County's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.7 points per game. As for Thomson, their record is now 9-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Thomson has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 244.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Burke County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 245.1. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Thomson came up short against Burke County in their previous meeting on November 8th, falling 47-35. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Williams, who rushed for 173 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries, and also picked up 90 receiving yards. Now that Thomson knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
