Today’s interviewee is Thomas County Central coach Justin Rogers, whose team defeated Lee County 31-24 last week in a game that decided the Region 1-6A championship. Rogers came to Thomas Central in 2022, and his teams are 21-1 with two region titles since. The program had not had a winning season or region title since 2016 or a 10-win season since 2009.

1. What was different about Friday’s game than others you’ve been involved in? “It was two really good teams playing each other, obviously, but the atmosphere was different. I’ve played in front of some really big atmospheres at the Concrete Palace [Lowndes’ home stadium]. When Rush Propst came back to Colquitt County, that was a big atmosphere. I’d put this one up there with those. That’s a strong statement, but that’s how big our crowd was. Our crowd was so tuned in that we were truly playing with 12 players. It was unreal. Dean [Lee County coach Dean Fabrizio] and I were commenting about that yesterday. The environment was something else.” [As Colquitt County’s coach from 2019 to 2021, Rogers led teams into Lowndes’ Concrete Palace twice with region titles on the line, each before crowds of 12,000. In 2020, Colquitt County was home to Valdosta for the return of Propst, who led Colquitt to state titles in 2014 and 2015.]

2. What was the single most important play in the game? Describe it. “The single most important play would be the last one. They had a fourth and probably eight or nine yards to go [from the Thomas County Central 11-yard line]. Their quarterback drops back, trying to hit an underneath pass. We covered it well, and he took off scrambling. Lee’s quarterback [Weston Bryan] is a big young’un, he’s like a tight end [listed at 6 feet, 4 inches and 242 pounds], and our sophomore safety came up and wrapped him up, and our linebacker finished up. He hit him sideways where he couldn’t fall forward [a yard or less from a first down]. You know it’s two good teams when whether he falls forward or sideways determines the game. There were eight or nine players like that where if one thing changes, the game change for either side.” [This was GHSF Daily’s Play of the Day in Monday’s edition. It was not officially the last play, as Thomas Central took two kneels to run out the clock.]

3. How do you assess this year’s team? How is it different than last year’s team that made the Class 6A quarterfinals? “Every team is different, but one similarity is the character and culture. These kids love each other. They play so hard for each other. They don’t want to let each other down. They don’t want to lose and come back on Sunday and look at film and see they were the reason. Obviously we have different players, and we graduated a good senior class, but hopefully we’re building a program where the next one steps up.”

4. What is the best tip or advice that you got that helped set you up for success here? “I don’t know that there’s a tip, but there’s just so much you learn as you go. It’s a cumulative thing. I learned so much with my time at Griffin with Steven DeVoursney [as offensive coordinator on a 2013 state championship team]. I learned with trial and error at Jones County in my first time as head coach [2014-18]. I learned a lot at Colquitt. I’ve learned so much from all my stops, but I also believe timing matters, and this was the perfect time for me to come. The administration when I got here was hungry. They wanted football to be successful. They had good, talented players here. They were willing to do the things that were necessary. I was able to put together a good staff. That’s what made it enticing to resign at Colquitt and come here. A lot of these coaches wanted to get back here because they had ties. The timing of all those things is what made this thing flip so fast. Timing matters in life.”

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