FITZGERALD, Ga. (WALB) — The Thomasville Bulldogs travel to face the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes tonight at 7:30 p.m. in a matchup both teams say will be decided in the trenches.

“I mean, this game is going to be about physicality,” Fitzgerald coach Wes Tankersley said. “The team that’s the most physical is going to have a chance to win this ballgame. Whichever line is going to be the most physical up front will be the one that’s going to be the most successful. So it’s our offensive line against their defensive line, and the linebackers, you know, that’s really where the battle, in my opinion, will be won.”

Fitzgerald adjusts after transfer

Through their first four games, Fitzgerald averaged over 300 yards per game on the ground. Two weeks ago, leading rusher L.J. Devine transferred to Coffee.

“Next man up mentality, that, you know, that one guy doesn’t make a football team,” Tankersley said. “Yeah, I mean, one guy can help a football team, but one guy doesn’t make the whole team. It’s us as a team and us as a group together. That’s what wins.”

“No, they’ve got a lot of really good players,” Thomasville coach Jonathan DeLay said. “I mean, he’s not the only one that carried the football for them. They’ve got some really good backs and really good skill players on the outside, too, when they want to throw it.”

Running back Landon Curry has received a bulk of the vacated carries, and quarterback Caden Cowan is expected to have a larger role.

Tankersley said one factor will determine the outcome.

“It’s just our focus,” Tankersley said. “I think it’s that sense of urgency and understanding, you know, how big this game is.”

Thomasville’s defense, ball security

The Purple Hurricanes are expected to rely on the run. Thomasville averages more than six tackles for loss per game.

“Defensively, whatever scheme we come up with, it doesn’t matter,” DeLay said. “If we don’t play physical, great pad level and run to the ball, it doesn’t matter. You can throw the scheme out the window.”

“Offensively, we’ve got to maximize our possessions because we may not get many,” DeLay said. “And then we’ve got to have great ball security. You know, the whole thing comes down to communication and execution. If we can communicate and execute, we’ll be in good shape.”

Christian Hayes leads Thomasville

Christian Hayes has rushed for 644 yards and 14 touchdowns across six games for Thomasville.

“He’s a leader. He’s a leader of young men,” DeLay said. “He does a great job leading this team. He’s very resilient. He deals with adversity so well. And the other guys feed off of that. And he’s also a really good football player.”

Tankersley addressed how Fitzgerald plans to slow Hayes down.

“He can run the daggum ball. We haven’t seen it in a little bit,” Tankersley said. “But, you know, we had somebody very similar on our team last year, Victor Copeland. So it’ll take, you know, it’ll take this week of practice and preparation to get back in the flow of being able to defend somebody like that.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight in Fitzgerald.

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