#2 Toombs Destroys Temple 50–6 in Opening Round of GHSA Playoffs

Courtesy of TCHS

The Toombs County High School Bulldogs football team set the tone for its playoff run Friday night, overwhelming the Temple Tigers 50–6 at the PIT and advancing to Round 2 of the GHSA State Playoffs. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in Class A Division 1 delivered a statement win with explosive offense, gritty defense, and standout special teams.

Despite Temple controlling the ball for nearly 30 minutes through three quarters — compared to Toombs County’s six — the Bulldogs didn’t need time to score. Senior running back Justin Powell turned his touches into fireworks, finishing with 4 carries, 196 yards, and four touchdowns — all in the first half of a career night.

The Red Bullet Defense wasted no time making an impact. On Temple’s third play of the game, sophomore Nick Carroll snagged his sixth interception of the season, setting up Toombs’ offense at the Tigers’ 13yard line. One snap later, Powell punched in the first score of the night. Temple relied heavily on a ball- continued from page

control plan, but Toombs repeatedly broke the game open in seconds. After senior Hayden Roy blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter, Powell ripped off a 55-yard touchdown run to extend the lead. Moments later, backed up on their own 27-yard line, the Bulldogs handed the ball to Powell again — and he raced 73 yards for his third touchdown, pushing the score to 19–0.

Quarterback Joseph Owens joined the scoring surge, opening the Bulldogs’ fourth drive with a 20-yard strike to senior Justice Wilds, then finding Powell for yet another 55-yard touchdown on the next play.

Owens continued spreading the ball around, later connecting with senior Gavin Fletcher on a 49-yard scoring pass. Juniors Alex Scott and Don Mincey each added touchdowns to push the lead further out of reach. Kicker Alex Otero capped the offensive showcase with a 25–yard field goal, sealing the 50–6 victory.

While the scoreboard told one story, the Bulldogs’ defense told another — a resilient unit that surrendered yards but never broke, consistently halting long Temple drives and creating opportunities for the offense.

This week Toombs will host Thomasville on Friday night in The Pit at 7:30 p.m. This is a huge matchup for Toombs as Thomasville is one of Georgia’s most storied programs with a deep playoff pedigree.