Fitzgerald rallies past THS

By Jamie Wachter

October 28, 2006 01:04 am

— FITZGERALD — Special teams kept Thomasville from having a special night Friday at Jaycee Stadium.
Two snaps that sailed over punter Freddrick Holton's head handed Fitzgerald a 14-10 Region 1-AA win.
With the Bulldogs (5-3, 5-1) holding onto a 10-2 lead with 4:45 left in the game, Holton watched a second snap fly past him and all the sophomore could do was fall on the loose ball at the Thomasville 9.
Three plays later, Fitzgerald senior Nick Williams plowed in from two yards out to pull the Purple Hurricane (8-0, 6-0) within 10-8.
Fitzgerald was unable to convert the two-point conversion.
“That's just the way it goes,” Thomasville coach Richie Marsh said of the snapping woes. The first botched snap sailed through the end zone, allowing Fitzgerald a 2-0 lead with 9:51 left in the first quarter.
“The kid works on it every day and he certainly didn't mean for that to happen.
“It's just one of those things that happens in big region games. It just went high."
Fitzgerald regained the lead early in the fourth quarter when Williams plunged in from three yards out with 9:00 left in the game.
Thomasville’s Dakari Mitchell intercepted the two-point conversion pass in the end zone to keep it 14-10.
However, the Bulldogs were unable to mount an answer. On the ensuing drive, Thomasville sophomore running back Tyrone Williams wore down the Hurricane defense with a physical inside running style. Williams ripped off 43 yards on five carries to move the Bulldogs into Fitzgerald territory. However, on a fourth-and-two from the Hurricane 20, Williams was stopped just inches shy of a first down, handing possession back to Fitzgerald with 4:20 remaining. Williams finished with 72 yards on 15 carries to pace the Bulldogs.
“Run away from (Jarrel Paschal),” Marsh said about Thomasville's success in moving the ball late. “That kid's unreal. He made about 48 plays on us.”
While the Hurricane were unable to run out the clock, they were able to milk more than two minutes off before punting the ball back to
Thomasville. Nick Williams came up large again on that drive for the
Hurricane, plowing his way to a first down on a third-and-nine. He
churned out 102 yards on 22 carries, powering the Hurricane to 201
rushing yards.
"They got it by what, about like that," Marsh said with his right
thumb and index finger touching together. "And then we miss by about
that," he stated with his fingers separated by about two inches.
"That's how you know it's out of your hands, brother."
The late rally for Fitzgerald wasted a spectacular defensive play by
Bulldogs' senior linebacker Oscar Jackson. With Fitzgerald driving for
a go-ahead score late in the first half, Jackson snagged Corey Taylor
by the back of the jersey at the Thomasville 5. In the process,
Jackson spun Taylor around and ripped the ball out of the Hurricane
running back's hands and took off 95 yards in the other direction to
push the Bulldogs to a 10-2 halftime lead.
"That's what I love about coaching Thomasville," Marsh said of
Jackson's play. "You ain't got to teach kids how to play football.
When they're born at Archbold Hospital, they come out learning out how
to play football. That just something from growing up in Thomasville,
kids know that. They love the game."