A treacherous third quarter proved costly for No. 9 Putnam County in its visit to No. 2 Thomson on Friday night. The Bulldogs took full advantage of a trio of takeaways and turned each into points, ultimately leading to a 27-3 demise for the War Eagles in the Region 4-AA matchup.
A fumble by Putnam’s DJ Bland on a punt gave Thomson momentum early in the third quarter. The Bulldogs cashed in as quarterback Jahkiaus Jones had a long scramble down the left sideline, setting his team up inside the Putnam red zone. A few plays later, running back Tre’Tre Jeffrey punched it in from three yards out, putting Thomson ahead 14-3 after the PAT.
Putnam quarterback Branan Griffin tossed one of his two third-quarter INTs on the next possession. The freshman signal-caller was picked off by Thomson senior safety Marcellus Brigham, who returned to Putnam County’s side of the field.
The Bulldogs’ rushing attack of Jeffrey, Jones and Jontavious Curry couldn’t be stopped. Each carried the ball on the next possession, although this time it was Curry who reached the end zone. The senior running back burst through an open gap for his only TD of the game, but the PAT attempt went wide right.
Griffin’s final INT of the contest came on the following drive. Thomson senior cornerback Dez Boyd grabbed the ball out of mid-air and returned it to about the 50-yard line. The Bulldogs ran a few plays, then headed to the fourth quarter with a 20-7 lead.
By that time, Thomson had all the momentum and carried it through the final 12 minutes of the game.
The Bulldogs’ final score came with 10:52 remaining in the fourth, as Jones had a 50-plus-yards scramble, setting Thomson up near the Putnam 20-yard line. Jeffrey scored his third rushing TD on a jet sweep out of the backfield a few plays later.
The first quarter was scoreless between the two GHSA top-10 Class AA programs, as each felt each other out in the opening 12 minutes.
Thomson got on the board first at the start of the second quarter when Jeffrey reached the end zone on a six-yard rush, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 advantage with 9:52 left in the half.
The War Eagles couldn’t move the ball on a consistent basis in the first half as their run game was stunted by the Bulldogs’ defensive front. Putnam got inside the Thomson 10-yard line late in the second quarter but was forced to attempt a 19-yard field goal. Bryan Canales connected on the kick for what turned out to be the War Eagles’ only points in the game.
Putnam County was held to just 70 yards total offense in the first half, with 54 of them coming on a long passing connection from Jalon Kilgore to Bland. The War Eagles had net zero rushing yards through the first two quarters on 13 attempts.
Jones finished the game 11-of-18 passing for 77 yards. Curry led the Bulldogs in rushing, totaling 131 yards on 10 attempts with a TD. He also hauled in a team-high five passes for 37 yards. Jeffrey rushed for 95 yards on 15 carries with three TDs.
The War Eagles had a season-low 106 yards of total offense. Rashod Daniel led them in rushing with eight carries for 12 yards. Tamarion Peters totaled two yards on six attempts. Griffin was 7-of-19 passing for 46 yards and two INTs on Friday night.
Thomson (7-1, 5-0) likely secured the Region 4-AA championship with the victory over Putnam County. The Bulldogs still have two more league games left, but they have now beaten both Laney (7-1, 4-1 Region 4-AA) and the War Eagles (6-2, 4-1 Region 4-AA), which were the other top-two contenders for No. 1 in the standings.
Putnam and Laney are now tied for second place in Region 4-AA and will meet next week at Al Reaves Field for a 7:30 p.m. tilt to decide that spot. The Wildcats are coming off a 28-15 region victory over Westside of Augusta on Friday night. Putnam County narrowly defeated Laney 13-6 last season in Eatonton.