Class 6A: Thomas County Central 49, Woodward Academy 28
Recap: Boosted by special teams, Thomas County Central took a 28-0 first-half lead. When Woodward Academy got within 14 points twice in the second half, Jaylen Johnson responded immediately to each, throwing TD passes of 57 yards to Tre-Von Pringle and 37 to Malachi Thomas. A sophomore, Johnson was 6-of-8 passing for 135 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 105 yards and two scores. Trey Brenton rushed for 154 yards. Kendarius “Dee” Reddick, a junior committed to Auburn, returned the opening kickoff 59 yards, setting up Central’s first score, and finished with 10 solo tackles. Walter Reddick had 2.5 sacks and blocked a punt that set up a 21-yard scoring drive for a 14-0 lead. Cameron Brooks had three sacks, and Thomas Central had 10 sacks as a team.
History: Thomas County Central won its sixth state title, first since 1997, and finished 15-0 with victories over eight top-10 teams, five from Class 6A and three away from home in the playoffs. Thomas Central moved to 27-1 in two seasons under coach Justin Rogers, tripling the victory total of the previous two seasons combined. Woodward Academy fell short in its first finals appearance since 1980.
Game Statistics
Thomas County Central - 14-14-7-14 - 49
Woodward Academy - 0-7-14-7 - 28
First quarter
TC - Trey Brenton 20 run (Drew Reneau kick), 11:39
TC - Malachi Thomas 20 pass from Jaylen Johnson (Reneau kick), 5:39
Second quarter
TC - Johnson 1 run (Reneau kick), 10:33
TC - Johnson 31 run (Reneau kick), 1:04
WA - Landon Walker 1 run (Hudson Hanges kick), 0:00
Third quarter
WA - Lucas Farrington 6 pass from Walker (Hanges kick), 5:52
TC - Tre’von Pringle 57 pass from Johnson (Reneau kick), 5:14
WA - Ben Grice 41 pass from Griffin Marshall (Hanges kick), 0:13
Fourth quarter
TC - Thomas 37 pass from Johnson (Reneau kick), 10:33
TC - Brenton 16 run (Reneau kick), 3:44
WA - Josiah Abdullah 46 pass from Walker (Hanges kick), 2:11
Rushing: Thomas County Central - Trey Brenton 23-154, Jaylen Johnson 12-105, Ahmad Ponder 4-4. Woodward Academy - Lucas Farrington 6-43, Landon Walker 23-20, Griffin Marshall 1-12, C.J. Heard 1-(-7).
Passing: Thomas County Central - Jaylen Johnson 6-8-0-135, Tre’von Pringle 0-1-0-0. Woodward Academy - Griffin Marshall 1-2-0-41, Landon Walker 22-43-309-2.
Receiving: Thomas County Central - Tre’von Pringle 4-78, Malachi Thomas 2-57. Woodward Academy - Ben Grice 9-137, Lucas Harrington 7-85, Josiah Abdullah 5-96, Jerome Bettis 2-32.