... we ’ re creating a lot of depth by practicing so many guys at so many spots . That ’ s what you ’ ve got to have to be successful .

Region 1-AAA

Aug . 18 Aug . 25 Sept . 1 Sept . 8 Sept . 15 Sept . 29

Brooks County at Thomas County Central Cairo Bainbridge at Tift County Monroe Oct . 6 at Carver ( Columbus ) Oct . 13 Oct . 20 Oct . 27 at Columbus Dougherty

at Crisp County

Heidi & Bernie Hall Agency

229-226-4501 2024 E . PINETREE BLVD SUITE A THOMASVILLE , GA 31792

WWW . COUNTRYFINANCIAL . COM / BERNIE . HALL

Defensively , Thomasville ’ s three-headed monster at end , including senior Keshawn Jordan , junior Geremiah Humbert and junior Keymon Jefferson , will provide persistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks . They certainly did during spring practices .

“ We had some trouble with them in the spring , especially early on getting a pass off , because they do a great job of getting after the quarterback ,” DeLay said . “ They ’ re also very physical and play the run really well .”

Thomasville has several guys vying for three spots at linebacker . These include sophomore Joe Douglas , senior Landon Smith , senior Angelo Davis , senior Carlos Smith and junior Devin Lewis .

“ The biggest thing to me , as a coach , we ’ re creating a lot of depth by practicing so many guys at so many spots . That ’ s what you ’ ve got to have to be successful . To make a deep run in the playoffs , you ’ ve got to have a bunch of guys that can go in there . You never know when you ’ re going to need them at a moment ’ s notice ,” DeLay added .

Senior Parker Beckham , also a quarterback on offense , will help lead the defensive back group . Randall played a lot at corner at the end of last year and likely will see time on defense again . Senior Tyreek Williams has played safety , while twin sophomores

Kayden and Karter Walker have been seeing time at cornerback . Cam Hill ’ s brother , freshman AJ Hill , will play in the secondary as well . He returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown in the spring game .

“ Nobody back there has really seen varsity reps . The twins saw it a little bit last year as freshmen . It ’ s all brand new to them , and they need as many reps as possible ,” DeLay said . “ That ’ s what this summer has been good for . Even though you ’ re in shorts and t-shirts most of the time , you get a lot of reps throwing the football . And 7-on-7 to me is more for the defense than it is for the offense , because there ’ s no pass rush and you ’ ve got to cover for a long time . They need as many of those reps as they can get .”

While none of Thomasville ’ s region foes predominantly throw the ball on offense , they utilize the passing game as part of balanced offensive attacks .

“ We ’ ve got to be ready for both . Other than at defensive end , we ’ re new everywhere else . By the time we get to region play , these guys will have six games under their belt , but teams are going to try to test us ,” DeLay said .

Senior Andrew Bennett returns after earning all-region last year at punter . Senior kicker Colby Hall will handle the place-kicking duties . n

24 2023 SOUTH GEORGIA FOOTBALL