Warriors fight back to overtake #2- ranked Deerfield Windsor Knights

THOMASVILLE- The Brookwood Warriors stunned fans on Friday night when they overcame a 15-point deficit to win against the Deerfield Windsor Knights in their region opener, 29-39.

The Knights came out strong, recovering an onside pooch kick on Broookwood’s 30-yard line in the first play of the quarter, proving why they were ranked #2 for the GIAA AAA region.

With 10:44 to go, the Knights were at first and goal, when Quarterback Thomas Ray snuck in to the end- zone for a touchdown.

After Waylon Marbury’s PAT, the team went up 7-0, and they weren’t done yet.

With the Warriors on the clock, Quarterback Rodge Waldrop threw an interception, resulting in a first down for the Knights.

Minutes later, the Knights were back in the end-zone, when Running Back Reid Martin scored a touchdown. Not leaving anything to chance, the Knights went for the two-point conversion.

Ray threw a perfect pass to Martin, taking the Knights to a 15-0 game with 8:30 still left in the first quarter.

The Warriors remained focused, waiting for the slightest mistakes from the Knights.

With 4:36 left, the Warriors found the moment they had been waiting for when the Knights fumbled the ball and the Warriors recovered it.

Wide Receiver TJ Thomas marched his team down to the 2-yard line for first and goal, before walking into the end zone with 2:25 left on the clock.

Following Oskar Thompson’s PAT, the Warriors were back in the game 7-15.

Minutes into the second half, the Warriors were back in the end zone again.

Thomas had a 25-yard touchdown run with 8:52 left in the half. The Warriors went for the two-point conversion to tie up the game, but were unsuccessful, leaving the score 13-15.

The Knights fought back. Ray threw a touchdown pass to Running Back Ethan Johnson with 7:21 left. The Knights opted for the two-point conversion again, regaining the lead, 22-13.

Less than two minutes later, Brookwood was attempting a first and goal from the 10-yard line. Thomas then gained 5-yards to take the team to a second and goal, but the Warriors couldn’t get the touchdown, opting for a field goal, 22-16.

With only one touchdown needed to regain the lead, the Warriors poured their heart onto the field.

With 33 seconds to go, the Warriors got a 1st down. They then made it to a first and goal at the 5-yard line with only 14.5 seconds on the clock; that’s when Waldrop threw a touchdown pass to Thomas.

Thompson’s PAT was good, propelling the team to a narrow 23-22 lead.

Coming out of the half, the Warriors were on fire.

Thompson made another field goal with 5:21 left in the quarter to go up 26-22.

As the Knights attempted to make a comeback, Brookwood Wide Receiver Destin Moore intercepted the ball for a first down.

The interception led to a series of downs resulting in a TJ Thomas touchdown for a 32-22 lead to end the quarter.

DWS came into the fourth quarter fired up, finding the endzone early.

With 8:31 left in the quarter, the Knights attempted a first and goal at the 2-yard line. Johnson was able to stroll in, giving the Warriors a narrow 29-32 lead.

Not one to leave anything to chance, Thomas scored one final time for the Warriors with only 2:50 left in the game, resulting in a 29-39 win.

Coach Shane Boggs was extremely proud of his team, after an admittedly terrible start.

“It was a terrible start,” he said. “We messed up the kickoff return and then giving up their drive and turning it over; you name it, it couldn’t have gone any worse, but then we settled in and responded making it 15-7.”

Boggs said he saw a change after the first touchdown.

“From there, I thought we really started dominating the line of scrimmage,” he said. “It’s probably the best we’ve blocked and ran the football in eight years.”

Boggs said he was especially proud of the front line and standout TJ Thomas. While Boggs said he knows there’s still tough competition ahead, he, along with the rest of the team, wanted to celebrate Friday night’s big win over the number two ranked Knights.