The Burke County Bears advanced to the semifinals with a 49-42 win over Thomson on Friday in the third round of the Class 2A playoffs.
The No. 3 Bears (12-1), the No. 4 seed, beat No. 10 Thomson, a 12-seed and their rival in Region 4, for the second time in three weeks. On Nov. 8, the Bears won 47-35. Both games were in Waynesboro.
The last time the Bears reached the semifinals was 2011, when they won the 3A championship with a 14-1 record under Eric Parker. Current Bears coach Franklin Stephens also won a championship in 2011, for Tucker in 4A, his second for the program, the first coming in 2008.
“This is big,” said Stephens, in his second season at Burke County. “The kids, coaches and families sacrifice so much time and effort during the season, so to reap the benefits of your work is an unbelievable feeling. For us, we’ve been ravaged by Hurricane Helene since September. It’s one of those feel-good stories. A lot of homes and property were damaged by this, and this football team gave us something we can feel good about.”
The Bears made it 49-35 with just over three minutes left in the game, and Thomson quickly responded, in line with the back-and-forth nature of the series, to bring the score to its final margin. The Bears would recover the ensuing onside kick and run the clock out.
Senior running back A’merre Williams had 146 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, and two receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bears. Senior Kel’von Scott had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 53 yards on 10 carries. Senior quarterback Sean Vandiver had two touchdowns and 55 yards on nine carries and was 7 of 9 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
Though the defense surrendered a lot of points against Thomson, junior linebacker Dexter Bynes recovered a fumbled quarterback-running back exchange in the backfield late in the fourth quarter, leading to the Bears’ final points.
Up next is a 3.5-hour drive west to play No. 8 Rockmart (11-2) the tournament’s No. 1 seed. The Yellow Jackets were last year’s 2A runners-up and beat No. 7 Morgan County, an eight seed, 49-40 in their third consecutive quarterfinals appearance.
“They’re a seasoned program,” Stephens said. “They had a deep run last year, so the semifinals is not unchartered territory for them. They expected to be here, and they’re here again. They have great speed, they’re well-coached and they get after it.”
Sources: Georgia High School Football Historians Association, MaxPreps, GHSF Daily
