Eighth grade Bainbridge football coach Heith Maxwell raised three fingers in the air Thursday evening at Centennial Field.
His players had just beat Thomas County Central 22-14, marking the third consecutive undefeated season and Southwest Georgia Middle School League Championship.
“This feels the most special,” Maxwell said. “The rest have been blowouts, but this was a game. The boys had to step up in the fourth quarter and do all the stuff they had been practicing all year and execute, and they did.”
The fist touchdown of the game came from quarterback Tristan Love, who ran the ball 27-yards up the right sideline for the score. The Bearcats succeeded on a 2-point conversion and were ahead 8-0 in the first quarter.
Thomas County Central then drove back and scored on a short two-yard pass play, but their 2-point conversion was no good.
The Bearcats then scored again on a short three-yard run, but weren’t able to succeed on the 2-point conversion. The Bearcats led 14-6 in the second quarter.
Thomas County Central opened their third quarter drive with a 61-yard pass touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion, tying the Yellow Jackets with Bainbridge 14-14.
The Bearcats’ final touchdown of the game came in the final seconds on a three-yard run by Love. He also scored the 2-point conversion, pushing the Bearcats ahead 22-14.
“Central came to play,” Maxwell said. “It was a good ball team we played, they just weren’t as good as us.”