THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WALB) — Thomas County Central defeated Colquitt County 57-21 in its season opener at the Jackets Nest, earning the Yellow Jackets WALB Team of the Week honors.

It marked the first meeting between the two programs since 2012. The game carried extra meaning for Thomas County Central coach Justin Rogers, who once coached at Colquitt County.

Thomas County Central led 37-7 at halftime. The 57 points are the most a Georgia opponent has scored on Colquitt County.

Quarterback Aidan McPherson, an all-state player and transfer from Rome, rushed for 152 yards and six touchdowns on 10 carries. He also completed 10 of 16 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown.

Quarterback Roland Waldrop completed 10 of 12 passes for 124 yards.

Jabari Watkins, who is committed to Arkansas, had five receptions for 82 yards.

Thomas County Central plays Lincoln, Florida (1-0) on Friday.

Coach reflects on rivalry renewal

Rogers said the win shows the progress of his team heading into the season.

“Well, I mean, it just shows you the kids have been working really hard, and I’m really proud of them,” Rogers said. “And, you know, the next group has potential to be really good.”

Rogers said winning the season opener was one of the team’s goals.

“You know, one of our goals is always to win the opener,” Rogers said. “And so now we check that goal off. And so we’ve got a couple of weeks to get better and attack the second goal of winning the region.”

Rogers said the crowd reflected the significance of the rivalry’s return.

“We had two communities packed out in aluminum bleachers in a lightning storm, and they wouldn’t leave,” Rogers said. “It meant something to both communities. And so it was a big deal. Being able to renew this rivalry and have stuff like this, and for our community to be proud of the results of our hard work — no, ain’t no doubt, it was a big one for us.”

Quarterback tandem leads offense

Rogers credited McPherson’s ability to extend plays.

“The thing with Aidan is, at any moment, he may house it,” Rogers said. “You know, he may take it off. I really think that third quarter drive was big — 12 plays, took it down to six minutes and really just iced it out. But, you know, Aidan keeping plays alive with his feet and his hands, he was big.”

Rogers also credited Waldrop, who Rogers said had a 95-yard touchdown drive of his own and converted a big third down.

“Roland played really good,” Rogers said. “Had a big third down. Had a 95-yard touchdown drive of his own. So we’re in good shape with quarterbacks.”

Rogers said he plans to continue playing both quarterbacks.

“That just shows you, like I told y’all, man, we got two good ones,” Rogers said. “So we’ll continue to play both of them. And both of them bring so much different. There’s no doubt — Aidan’s got something that you just can’t teach.”

Rogers said having two quarterbacks allows the team to use more quarterback runs in the game plan.

“I think you notice the amount of quarterback runs we carry,” Rogers said. “Because when you know you’ve got two really good quarterbacks, you can carry quarterback runs now in your game plan and feel confident in it if something was to go bad. You know, hopefully nothing does. But when you don’t have that, you’re very limited on quarterback runs. So we’re able to do some things with both of them. We even ran Roland, and he runs well.”

Coach addresses areas to improve

Rogers identified three mistakes he wants to correct before week two: a missed extra point, an uncovered kickoff and a fumble.

“One thing, extra points — if you don’t miss that extra point, you’ve got a running clock,” Rogers said. “Next thing is, cover the kickoff and it doesn’t go in — if you cover that, you’ve got a running clock. Last thing is, don’t fumble the ball. If you don’t fumble the ball, you probably drive down, kick a field goal in the third quarter, and you get a running clock, and we can get this thing over.”

Defense limits big plays

Rogers said the defense performed well as a whole, including the secondary.

“Defense as a whole — I mean, the D-line, we already know about,” Rogers said. “I thought the secondary played really good. In fact, we didn’t have any free runners. We pretty much made them earn it the whole night. When they would get completions, we were able to get it to the ground and make them snap it one more time. If we’re going to force people to drive eight or nine plays against us, it’s going to be hard to do consistently against this defense.”

McPherson reacts to debut in the Jackets Nest

McPherson described the atmosphere during his first game at the Jackets Nest.

“Man, it was crazy being down here in South Georgia,” McPherson said. “It’s really a true blessing. Being there for the first time in the Jackets Nest, it was very loud — it was like a crazy environment. So I thank all the fans for showing up. They showed up and showed out.”

McPherson said he did not expect to score six rushing touchdowns in his debut.

“Never. Never in a million years would I have thought of it,” McPherson said. “But it’s a blessing. Give all glory to God.”

McPherson ranked the game among the top two of his career.

McPherson said the team has welcomed him since he arrived.

“Man, they just took me in so well,” McPherson said. “Since the first week, they kind of brought me in like family. And you just don’t get that anywhere else. So I just love them guys — I’d die for them guys out there on the field.”

McPherson praised Waldrop’s play, including a touchdown pass that set up one of McPherson’s touchdowns.

“Oh, we’re going to do great things,” McPherson said. “Roland’s an unbelievable football player and just a great person. When you get in the quarterback room, he knows so much. He’s a great person and a great leader on top of that.”

McPherson said the team plans to build on the win.

“Man, we’re just going to keep rolling,” McPherson said. “We’re going to put our foot on the neck.”

Asked to choose a favorite touchdown from the game, McPherson pointed to his final score of the night.

“I’d probably say that last one,” McPherson said. “It kind of sealed the end of the game, getting a running clock. So it was definitely that last one.”

McPherson also addressed recent attention surrounding his transfer.

“Man, I just deleted every social media and just got right, and got in God’s word, really, and just eliminated all the distractions and just focused on the team,” McPherson said. “And what our plan was, we came out here and executed.”

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X. For more south Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.