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The 2010 Thomasville Tigers faced an uphill struggle against a tough region schedule even before the season began. The Class 4A preseason poll ranked the Tigers as the No. 2 team in the state. The problem is that the No. 1 UMS-Wright Bulldogs and the No. 3 Jackson Aggies also reside in the same region as Thomasville.            If Thomasville wanted to win a state championship, they would need to survive the region schedule to have a shot.          The Tigers returned twelve starters, including several players who started as freshmen and sophomores. Cornerback Chris Davis and running back Michael Thornton along with running back John Knight were back to lead the team in 2010.

Sweet Water             6     Thomasville             26

The No. 3 ranked Thomasville Tigers blasted Sweet Water 26-6 to open the season with a win over their closest rival. Michael Thornton scored twice while Tevin Watters and James Jones added a touchdown each to propel the offense in the battle of state powers. Sweet Water came into the game as the No. 1 team in Class 1A but proven to be no match for the Tigers.

Thomasville             55     Monroe County             14

Tyler Hayes scored four touchdowns as the No. 2 Thomasville Tigers rolled to a 55-14 win over Monroe County in week two. Hayes scored on runs of 15, 12, 12 and 33 yards as the Tigers rolled up 260 yards rushing in the contest. Charles Taylor scored on a 1-yard run and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Watters as the offense clicked all night. The defense limited Monroe County to just 36 yards of offense.

B.C. Rain          7   14     Thomasville             50

Quarterback Tevin Watters tossed two touchdown passes and rushed for another score as the Tigers romped B.C. Rain 50-14 at home. Michael Thornton scored twice and finished the night with 60 yards rushing on just seven carries.

Thomasville    38         56     Saraland 0   0   0   0   0

John Knight rushed for 126 yards and scored 5 touchdowns as the Tigers dominated Saraland 56-0. Knight scored on runs of 3, 9, 30 and 40 yards and returned a kickoff 70 yards for another score as Thomasville scored 38 points in the second quarter. The Tigers played well in all phases of the game in the game played at Archbishop Lipscomb Stadium in Mobile.

Demopolis             17     Thomasville             41

The No. 2 ranked Tigers rolled over the Class 5A fourth ranked team from Demopolis in week five of the season. Thomasville used big plays from their running game to dominate the game. Michael Thornton rushed for 132 yards and scored on a 70-yard run while James Jones added a 62-yard run. Tyler Hayes scored on a 11-yard run and caught a 59 yard touchdown pass.            Demopolis led 10-7 but the Tigers offense got going in the second quarter to overpower their opponent. Thomasville racked up 410 yards rushing as five running backs scored for the Tigers.

Escambia County 0   0   0   0   0     Thomasville 0   0   21   0   21

The No. 2 ranked Tigers shutout Escambia County 21-0 as they scored all of their points in the third quarter of the defensive struggle. Charles Taylor got things going for the Tigers on the second play of the third when he raced 47 yards for a touchdown. He finished the evening with 82 yards rushing on only seven carries.              Tyler Hayes scored on an 11-yard run and Michael Thornton wrapped up the scoring on an 11-yard run for the Tigers. Thornton finished the game with 75 yards on 11 attempts.

Thomasville 14   28   7   0   49     UMS-Wright 0   7   0   7   14

Thomasville got a measure of revenge as they defeated UMS-Wright 49-14 in week seven to run their record to 7-0. The Bulldogs were the last team to beat the Tigers in last seasons playoffs. The second ranked Tigers scored 21 points before UMS-Wright picked up their initial first down and led 42-7 by intermission.            Michael Thornton rushed for two touchdowns as the Tigers scored in a variety of ways. Hayes returned a punt 55 yards for a score, Jonathan Knight raced 90 yards on a kickoff return and Artemus Gaines returned a blocked punt 16 yards for another score. The Bulldogs were held to 84 yards of offense by the Thomasville defense as they dominated the Bulldogs most of the game.

Thomasville 35   7   7   7   56     W.S. Neal 0   0   0   7   7

The Tigers blocked three punts, returning two for touchdowns as they romped over an outmanned W.S. Neal team 56-7. Thomasville led 35-0 after the first period and 42-0 by halftime. Lukador ran nine yards with a blocked punt and Myles Clayton matched the feat by racing 26 yards with the second blocked kick of the game.            Thomasville ran their record to 8-0 on the season in the runaway victory. The win set up a matchup with No. 1 ranked Jackson for the Region championship the next week.

Jackson 0   7   0   0   7     Thomasville 18   10   7   0   35

As the final seconds disappeared from the clock, the Tigers knew they were the No. 1 team in Class 4A after defeating the top-ranked Aggies of Jackson convincingly 35-7 at home. Thomasville scored on four of their first five possessions as they took a 28-7 lead into intermission. The ground game clicked as Thomasville rolled up 294 yards rushing behind the running of Tyler Hayes, Michael Thornton, James Jones and John Knight.            The win snapped a three game losing streak to Jackson and gave the Tigers their first Region championship since 2007. The Aggies never got going on offense as the Tigers held them to six three and outs in their first seven possessions and finished with 185 yards of offense The Tigers racked up 426 yards to dominate the statistics.

Thomasville             48     Clarke County 0   0   0   0   0

The top-ranked Tigers ended the regular season with a 48-0 romp over Clarke County in preparation for the playoffs. The defense held the Bulldogs to just 166 yards of offense and forced three turnovers including a 65-yard return of a fumble by Tyler Hayes. John Knight and Michael Thornton each scored two touchdowns as the offense dominated the Bulldogs.             The 10-0 regular season was the first for the Tigers since they accomplished the feat in 1989.

Hillcrest 0   0   0   0   0     Thomasville 21   14   14   0   49

The Tigers rolled up 320 yards on the ground and Michael Thornton scored three touchdowns as Thomasville shutout Hillcrest 49-0 to open the playoffs. Special teams got in on the action as they blocked two Hillcrest punts, giving them five for the season. The defense held Hillcrest to just 106 yards of total offense and registered their fourth shutout of the season.

Straughn 0   6   0   8   14     Thomasville 14   21   14   0   49

The Thomasville Tigers ground game rushed for 388 yards as they dominated Straughn 49-14 in the second round of the playoffs. Tevin Watts tossed a 82-yard touchdown pass to Charles Taylor and Tyler Hayes scored on runs of 55 and 76 yards. The defense scored when Lukador Lanier raced 72 yards with a fumble for the fifth touchdown of the season by the defense.           The Tigers raced out to a 35-6 halftime lead as Michael Thornton scored twice. The win sent to Tigers to the quarterfinals with a perfect 12-0 record.

Dadeville 7   3   3   13   26     Thomasville 0   7   7   21   35

Michael Thornton rushed for 148 yards, mostly in the second half, as the Tigers outscored Dadeville 35-26 to advance to the semifinals. Dadeville scored first to take an early 7-0 lead in the game of unbeaten teams. Thomasville was outgained 247-88 in the first half behind the great play of Dadeville quarterback Kyle Caldwell.            The defense tightened up in the second half while the offense finally got going. Thornton scored on runs of 22 and 29 yards to give the Tigers a 28-13 lead in the fourth quarter. Dadeville scored with four seconds remaining in the game to cut the lead to 35-26 but the outcome was assured by that point.

Thomasville 7   3   14   14   38     Bibb County 0   0   0   14   14

Bibb County managed only one first down and minus four yards rushing in the first half as Thomasville roared to a 38-14 win to advance to the Class 4A championship game against Deshler in Auburn. The Tigers' offense was slow to get started in the first half as the Tigers only led 10-0 at the intermission. The second half was a different story as the offense scored twice in the third and another 14 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.           Christopher Davis raced 70 yards with the opening kickoff for a score and Charles Rogers returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. The Tigers outgained Bibb County 242 yards to 92 on the ground as they had done to most every opponent during the season. Thornton wrapped up the scoring with a 44-yard run following the recovery of an onside kick.

Deshler 14   0   14   6   34     Thomasville 21   3   21   14   59

After losing in the semi-finals the past two season, the Thomasville Tigers took advantage of reaching the Super Six by pounding Deshler 59-34 for another state championship. The game started in wild fashion as the teams scored three touchdowns in the first 44 seconds.           William Minor raced 75 yards following the opening kickoff only to have MVP Tyler Hayes return the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a score. Just a few seconds later, Jay Gardiner dashed 49 yards for a touchdown and the Deshler Tigers led 14-7. Thomasville continued scoring and led 24-14 at the half.           By the time the clock wound down, Thomasville had won their second state championship by defeating Deshler 59-34 as the two teams set numerous records for offense and scoring.           Back Chris Davis, kicker Harrison Lewis, linebacker James Jones, lineman John Marx and running back Tyler Hayes were named to the first team all-state squad by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Michael Thornton was selected to the honorable mention team.           The 2010 Thomasville Tigers set a school record for wins in a season with a perfect 15-0 record. They also wet a record for most points ever scored in a season with 667. Thomasville 2010 8/27 26 Sweet Water . . . . . . . 6 9/3 55 Monroe County . . . . . 14 9/10 50 B.C. Rain . . . . . . . . . 14 9/16 56 Saraland . . . . . . . . . . 0 9/24 41 Demopolis . . . . . . . . . 7 10/1 21 Escambia County . . . . 0 10/8 49 UMS-Wright . . . . . . . . 14 10/15 56 W.S. Neal . . . . . . . . . 7 10/22 35 Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . 7 10/29 48 Clarke County . . . . . 0 11/5 49 Hillcrest Evergreen * . 0 11/12 49 Straughn * . . . . . . . . 14 11/19 35 Dadeville * . . . . . . . 26 11/26 38 Bibb County * . . . . . 14 12/3 59 Deshler # . . . . . . . . . 34 667 15-0 157 * Playoff game # State championship game 2010 Thomasville Tigers No. Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt. 1 Eric Tate DB So. 5-7 150 2 Myles Clayton RB, DB Jr. 6-0 185 3 Charles Taylor LB, B Sr. 5-8 155 4 Tevin McKeller WR Sr. 6-4 150 5 Wilbert Welch DL, B Sr. 6-0 185 6 Zatrix Taylor LB Sr. 6-0 185 8 Dion Russell DL Jr. 6-0 300 9 Rayshawn Cairl FS Sr. 6-2 170 10 Tevin Watters QB So. 6-0 175 11 James Binkerd DL Sr. 6-2 200 12 Darius Bowen WR Sr. 5-10 182 13 Rashad Jones FB, LB Fr. 6-1 180 14 Jacob Brasell QB, DB 8th 5-9 150 15 Jimmie Lewis K Sr. 5-8 155 16 Ryan McManus LB Fr. 5-7 150 17 Artemus Gaines DB, WR Sr. 6-1 160 18 Jamaris Buford DB, WR So. 5-8 140 19 E'rick Wilson TE So. 6-0 195 20 Timothy Morrissette WR Sr. 5-8 130 21 Delvonte White DB, RB So. 5-9 135 22 Jonathan Knight LB, RB Jr. 6-0 185 24 Zavier Mapp B Fr. 5-8 150 25 Christopher Davis DB Sr. 5-10 165 26 Wytwan Norwood B Fr. 5-8 130 27 Jarvis Dunning TE Jr. 6-3 185 28 Tyler Hayes LB, RB Jr. 6-3 218 30 Dorell Owens DL So. 5-8 174 31 Tyler Coston LB Jr. 6-0 175 32 James Jones FB, LB Sr. 5-11 200 33 Hunter Jackson LB Jr. 6-1 220 34 Lukador Lanier DL Jr. 6-0 185 35 Tyler White K Fr. 5-8 130 36 Demarco Bowen DL Jr. 5-8 185 37 Jalen Johnson LB Fr. 5-9 160 38 Michael Thornton B, DL Sr. 6-3 215 39 Jacobs Brewer DB Fr. 5-7 140 40 Brandon Jackson DL Fr. 5-6 140 41 Deangelo Pugh DL Fr. 6-0 175 42 Jordan West DB Fr. 5-8 140 44 Juwan Johnson LB Fr. 5-9 160 46 Raphael Garner DL Fr. 5-8 150 47 Thomas Hood OL Jr. 5-11 155 48 Andrew Stoudemire LB Fr. 5-7 150 50 Dakota Harper OL, DL Fr. 5-11 200 51 Thomas Harvell OL Jr. 5-7 180 52 Joseph Luker OL Fr. 5-9 150 53 Caleb Champion OL Fr. 5-9 230 54 Paul Derouen OL So. 5-9 170 55 Desmond Pritchett DL Fr. 5-9 185 56 Colby Blake OL Jr. 6-0 185 57 Cody Hudson DL Sr. 5-8 150 58 Brett Skelton LB Sr. 5-8 165 59 Jeremy Rush OL So. 5-9 165 60 William Shoemaker C So. 6-0 165 61 Joshua Larrimore OL Fr. 5-8 150 62 Richard Montgomery DL Sr. 6-2 180 63 Randall Luker OL Sr. 6-0 265 64 Joseph Hare OL Sr. 6-0 120 65 Gregory Clardy OL, DL Jr. 5-10 185 66 N'kenge Gamble DL Fr. 6-3 200 67 Joel Dumas OL Fr. 5-7 150 68 Kendrick Allen OL Jr. 6-3 250 69 Bailey Hill OL So. 5-8 250 70 Jared Ogle OL Fr. 6-2 300 71 Cornelius Pritchett OL Sr. 6-4 335 72 William Ruck OL Sr. 6-4 255 73 Philip Nichols OL Fr. 5-10 185 74 John Marx OL Sr. 6-3 290 75 Andrew Sessions LB Sr. 5-11 185 76 Antwan Johnson OL Fr. 6-2 200 77 Aldon Dunn DL So. 5-8 165 78 Mason Robinson OL Jr. 6-0 240 80 Johnathan Smith LB Fr. 5-7 150 81 Terrance Hyde TE So. 6-1 160 82 Zachary Ross TE Sr. 6-5 215 83 Calvin Boykins TE Fr. 5-9 160 85 Ian Rossby FS Fr. 6-0 150 90 Ladarius Blanks DL Jr. 6-0 175 91 Adrian Culpepper DL Fr. 5-10 185 92 William Morgan DL Sr. 6-0 200

Amazing Seasons, a series on the greatest seasons in high school football history


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