TCHS Into State Semifinals

Courtesy of TCHS

The Toombs County High School Bulldogs football team overcame an early deficit to rout the Elbert County Blue Devils 56-17 in The Pit on Friday night during Round 3 of the GHSA State Playoffs. With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history as Toombs County. Lyons High School won the Class B State Championship in 1975.

Elbert County, riding momentum from a resurgent season, won the coin toss and deferred, giving the Bulldogs the ball first. Both teams exchanged punts on their opening drives before a fumbled ball on Toombs County’s second possession set the Blue Devils up deep in Bulldog territory at the 25yard line. However, the Red Bullet defense stood strong, holding Elbert County to a 22-yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.

Late in the first quarter, Senior Mike Polke sparked the Bulldogs with a clutch interception, returning the ball to the Elbert 29-yard line. Senior quarterback TJ Stanley capitalized on the turnover with three consecutive runs, scoring Toombs County’s first touchdown on a six-yard keeper. Alex Otero added the extra point, putting the Bulldogs ahead 7-3 with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.

Elbert County opened the second quarter with a 15-yard quarterback draw for a touchdown, briefly regaining the lead at 10-7. However, Polke immediately responded with a thrilling 74-yard kickoff return to the Blue Devils’ 5-yard line. Stanley punched it in on a five-yard sneak, putting Toombs back on top, 14-10.

From that moment, the Bulldogs took complete control of the game. Polke continued his incredible night, scooping up a Blue Devil fumble and sprinting 40 yards for a defensive touchdown, extending the lead to 2110. Stanley then took over through the air, finding Junior wide receiver Gavin continued from page

Fletcher for a 30-yard touchdown and Senior wideout LaGonza Hayward for a 67-yard scoring strike, giving Toombs County a commanding 35-10 halftime advantage.

On the first play of the second half, Senior running back Dabyn Wadley exploded for a 65-yard touchdown run, pushing the Bulldogs’ lead to 42-10. Stanley continued to dissect the Blue Devils’ defense, connecting with Hayward for two more touchdowns of 17 and 45 yards, making it 56-10 by the end of the third quarter. Elbert County added a late touchdown before the running clock was initiated in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs’ historic win marks the first time Toombs County has reached the GHSA semifinals. Additionally, Senior Dabyn Wadley became the first Bulldog to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season since Keyshawn Morgan accomplished the feat in 2018. Senior QB TJ Stanley also surpassed the 2000 yard passing yard mark for the second year in a row and now has 2,163 passing yards and 27 TD passes on the season.

The #1 ranked Bulldogs (11-1) will travel to face #2 Dublin (13-0) on Friday night with a trip to the GHSA State Championship on the line. The game against the Fighting Irish will be in Dublin at the Shamrock Bowl at 7:30 p.m.

Mike Polke had another big game for the Bulldogs as they pulled away from Elbert County to pick up a win in the Elite 8 of the State Playoffs.Photo by TCHS